One has often heard of pushing race cars to their limits, but this incident takes the cake. Setting aside any unconvincing Seinfeld impressions, Marco Andretti practically drove the entire rear end off his NASCAR Truck at the Circuit of the Americas on Saturday. As he neared the end of the race, Andretti’s rear end detached itself from the truck and rolled off the track onto the grass. Astonishingly, there was no collision or impact with any objects on the road; the rear simply detached itself.
When the detached rear end finally came to a halt, the TV cameras focused on it, revealing all its components: the solid rear axle, differential, wheel hubs, coil spring, shocks, wheels, and tires. It appeared as though someone had elevated the truck, unfastened its entire rear section, and rolled it down the track. The sight of it quietly rolling away would perfectly fit the Curb Your Enthusiasm theme in the background.
What exactly led to this bizarre occurrence? The cause remains uncertain, with no official explanation regarding the detachment of Andretti’s rear end. However, based on a comprehensive analysis by The Autopian, it appears that the welds on the rear truck’s trailing arms failed just ahead of the U-bolts. The reason for this failure is still unknown, but it is likely that the stresses from wheel hop during heavy braking played a role. According to NASCAR journalist
Fortunately, the detachment of the rear axle did not result in a crash or contact with other vehicles. Once the rear end of the truck detached, the race was halted to remove the truck and rear end from the track. After the race resumed, Cory Heim, who was leading prior to Andretti’s truck mishap, maintained his position to secure his first victory of the season. Most importantly, this incident gave us the amusing scene of a runaway rear end rolling along the track.
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