“Watch the 19 tire changers,” a broadcaster says, and the replay shows why. Cars slide and slam together at the entrance to pit road, and tire smoke rolls across the stalls right where a crew is in the middle of a stop. “They have their backs turned,” the voice adds. “They don’t even know that’s happening.”

The 24 second clip was posted on TikTok by NASCAR’s official account, @nascar, with the caption “No injuries from this stack up at pit entry after Stage 1,” tagged for the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. The broadcast graphic over the opening frames reads “INCIDENT ON PIT ROAD” beside the series logo for The Chase.

The first seconds are tight on the pit stall. A lime green car slides through the frame, a crew member in a firesuit and helmet carries a tire in front of a blue Chevrolet, and then the frame fills with tire smoke. Through it, a blue and white No. 88 with HendrickCars.com on the door slides past the stall while crew members are still bent over their car a few feet away.

The wide replay that follows shows the scale of it: several cars stopped at angles across pit entry, crew members and officials in reflective vests moving in, and a loose tire rolling across the asphalt in front of the No. 88. “Oh, they’re so lucky,” one broadcaster says. “Wow, that was so close to being bad.” Near the end of the clip he notes that one crew member might be limping. The caption says there were no injuries, and the clip does not show anything more about that crew member.

What NASCAR Says Happened

According to NASCAR’s race report, the crash came at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway on September 12, 2026, when the field pitted at the Stage 1 break around Lap 50. NASCAR.com says William Sawalich braked suddenly just past the first pit stalls, setting off a chain reaction. Rajah Caruth’s No. 88 was turned sideways and blocked pit entry, and the series threw a red flag. Brandon Jones, Nick Sanchez, Harrison Burton and Jeremy Clements suffered heavy damage, with several other drivers also involved.

The No. 19 in the clip is Brent Crews’ Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. NASCAR.com reports that Sanchez’s No. 87 Chevrolet struck the No. 19’s rear changer and jackman, and that both completed the stop without injury. Sanchez and Harrison Burton were checked and released from the infield care center but could not continue, and were credited 34th and 35th.

The Rear Tire Changer’s Account

Six days later, the No. 19’s rear tire changer described the moment in a NASCAR.com interview. “Get one lug nut in, and next thing you know, I’m laying over top of the jack,” he said. He said the hit knocked the car off the jack, but “nobody on the team was hurt, and our race car got the worst of it.”

He also explained that the crew had practiced extra that week with their pit coach, running short, angled approaches because of where their stall was. He said that work “got me extremely prepared for coming around.”

Your Own Stall on the Shoulder

Pit crews have walls, officials and a speed limit on pit road, and the broadcaster’s point still applies: the people working on a car often cannot see what is coming at them. The same is true for any driver changing a tire on a highway shoulder.

NHTSA says all 50 states have Move Over laws requiring drivers to move over and slow down for emergency vehicles with flashing lights, and that in 19 states and Washington, D.C., those laws cover any vehicle with flashing or hazard lights, including disabled vehicles. When you approach one, NHTSA says to change into a lane not immediately next to it, or slow to a reasonable speed if you cannot change lanes safely.

If you are the one stopped on a shoulder, turn on your hazard lights: in those 19 states and Washington, D.C., hazard lights are what the law looks for.