Juan Pablo Montoya’s life changed forever at the 2012 Daytona 500.
And so did the future of NASCAR.
With persistent rain already postponing the race for the first time in its 54-year history, Montoya then hit a jet dryer on lap 160 when it began on Monday.
What proceeded next was a fiery hell.
The crash caused fuel to spill out onto the track and immediately catch fire.
The flames formed a wall of fire that made for a stunning and damaging visual.
Fortunately, Montoya nor the jet dryer driver, Duane Barnes, were seriously injured.
The accident caused the race to be delayed for a total of two hours and five minutes.
The race eventually finished with Matt Kenseth finishing first and taking home the crown.
Montoya finished 36th.
“You don’t think ‘oh my God, I’m going to kill myself,” Montoya recalled after the accident.
“You go ‘Oh, this is going to hurt a little bit.’
“It wasn’t that bad.”
While it may not have been ‘that bad,’ NASCAR thought otherwise.
Montoya’s infamous crash caused a positive and much safer change to the sport.
As a result of the accident, officials implemented a mandate that would require the driver of any jet dryer to wear a fire suit and helmet.
Almost 13 years later, that mandate is still in effect and is rather commonplace at this point.
At the time of the change, fellow NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon voiced his support.
Juan heck of a driver
Before moving to the US, Montoya had a promising F1 career.
Making his debut in 2001, he raced for Williams before switching to McLaren in 2005. During his time he won seven times and made the podium on 30 occasions.
However, his love for racing in the US was too much and, when the chance to switch to NASCAR presented itself in 2006 he jumped at the chance. He remained there until 2013.
“I’m really glad to see they are already taking measures,” Gordon said.
“I couldn’t believe that guy got out of the truck without a helmet and a fire suit on.
“Don’t know what kind of harness he had on, but trying to take measure to make that aspect of it safer will be a good thing.”
Days after the accident, Montoya was much more reflective of what had happened.
“The way I’ve always looked at it, ‘Either you’re going to be OK or you’re not,” Montoya said.
“I don’t think anyone could hit anything harder than I did.”
“It was a little flames for a second (inside the car), but it wasn’t much.
“It didn’t even get hot.
“I saw the flames everywhere and said, ‘I better get out of this fast.’”
“There’s actually a shot that shows the impact and I’m pretty lucky, to be honest.”
For Montoya’s fellow driver, Brad Keselowski, who was parked on the track as emergency crews rushed to Montoya’s car, he got the best view.
Using phone, he tweeted a photo of the carnage from inside his car, gaining more than 135,000 followers in a handful of hours as the delay went on.
