A dramatic and emotional moment played out at a racetrack in Virginia after racer Mike Jones suffered a bad crash, spun out, and caught fire during a race Saturday.
So to the track, clad in a t-shirt and shorts, rushed Jones’s father, Dean. And cameras were rolling as the elder Jones pulled his son from the flaming wreck, just as rescue crews arrived on scene.
“I didn’t have time to be afraid. I had to get my son out of that car,” Dean Jones told WDBJ-7 News.
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The NASCAR-sanctioned late-model race was held at the South Boston Speedway on Saturday. Jones, driving car #39, was struck by another racer and lost control, striking the barrier before his engine caught fire.
In the dramatic video recorded from the stands, the elder Jones pulls his son from the driver’s side window before reaching back into the car to activate the fire suppression system, right as first responders arrived on scene.
That the rescue occurred on the Father’s Day weekend was not lost on either Jones.
“If I had to place a bet on who would’ve pulled me out, I would’ve bet it was him,” Mike Jones told WDBJ-7.
Dean Jones, who serves as crew chief for his son, has been placed on probation by the South Boston Speedway for violating their policy by running on to the track while a race was in progress.
“Mr. Jones will not be fined nor suspended,” South Boston Speedway said in a statement. “He has been placed on probation through the end of the year. We have sat down with Mr. Jones and discussed what transpired on Saturday, and he fully understands our position on non-safety personnel entering the track surface during an event. We are all grateful that there weren’t any injuries, and we look forward to getting back to racing.”
But with his son safe and sound, the elder Jones has a much simpler outlook on what happened.
“I’m just a dad. Just a dad, helping my son.”