Race Cars, Jet Fuel, and Explosions Don’t Mix Well

Have you ever noticed those ServiceMaster trucks that drive around on racetracks, blowing debris and moisture off of the track with that huge blower on a trailer towed behind them?  Well neither had the rest of America until the Daytona 500 when Juan Pablo Montoya lost control of his NASCAR coming around a turn and crashed into the trailer.  Unless you have kept up with the news, here’s the next thing you didn’t know: that over-sized leaf blower is actually a retired helicopter jet turbine and it uses jet fuel (who else wants one of those things for your yard?!).  Yeah, now you know what all the hubbub was about.  Watch this video for a better idea of what happened:

The trailer and Montoya’s racear, exploded into fire and then the fuel began to seep down the steep incline of the track where it eventually caught fire.  Apparently, if you’ve never tried to put out burning jet fuel before, it can be extremely difficult!  Damage to the track was caused because of the fire, and safety crews did their best to finally get the fire out.  Thankfully, there were no injuries, but extra safety precautions (including an extra pace car behind the trucks and protective gear on the truck drivers: source) have since been implemented to ensure something like this crazy turn of events never happens again.

Maybe we at ServiceMaster can now add “Jet Fuel Fire Cleanup” to our company resume?