Navy Lt. Jesse Iwuji the track’s Ambassador, interacting with fans during Stars & Stripes weekend at Chicagoland Speedway Photo – Jay Husmann/Fan4Racing
Jesse Iwujiis our guest on Fan4Racing NASCAR & Race Talk, Monday, July 2, 2018, at 9 pm ET. Call 929-477-1790 or tweet @Fan4RacingSite with any questions or comments during our LIVE broadcast.
Anyone watching the races at Chicagoland Speedway this weekend probably heard about the Stars & Stripes Weekend Official Track Ambassador Navy Lt. Jesse Iwuji (pronounced ee-woo-jee). Fans of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West have probably heard his name as he drives a car in the series. But, how Iwuji inspires others is what many fans may not know about him and his path to NASCAR is about as interesting as his journey since becoming a NASCAR driver. Continue reading →
To Jesse Iwuji, the effort to help a family in distress was simply the natural response to a crisis.
An officer in the Naval Reserve, and a driver in both the NASCAR K&N Pro and ARCA Series, Iwuji was driving home from Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Sonoma when he noticed a disabled minivan sitting in the breakdown lane on Interstate 5.
“Underneath the van, I saw a lot of fluid leaking from the motor, and there was a small, little fire that began to ignite,” Iwuji said. “From my background in the military and in racing, (I knew) flammable fluids can ignite pretty quick and start a huge fire pretty quick.”
Safety safety safety guys and girls. I saw a small little fire underneath this family of 4’s van and I knew right then it was about to be bad news. I’m glad I stopped and got them away because they were still worried about getting stuff out the car. Things went from small to bad
Iwuji stopped, and unable to move the van clear of the fire, he hustled the family of four to safety. When they were roughly 30 yards away from the vehicle, the engine exploded. Iwuji made sure the family was safe and continued on his journey. Realizing that he hadn’t offered the stranded family a ride, he spent 45 minutes returning to the scene to correct the oversight, but, by then, the family was gone with the assistance of first responders, and the vehicle was being hooked up to a tow truck.
“Everyone says it’s heroic,” Iwuji said. “For me, honestly, it’s just being a good person. At the end of the day, I think we can all do what happened that day. It’s nothing Superman, nothing like that.”
But Iwuji’s act of selflessness struck a chord when he posted a video of the car, engulfed in flames, on the internet. The video went viral and attracted intense interest from national news outlets.
Current ARCA Racing Series presented Menards points leader Sheldon Creed earned his second consecutive General Tire Pole Award after turning the fastest lap in qualifying for tonight’s SCOTT 150 at Chicagoland Speedway. Creed also started first in the No. 28 United Rentals Toyota last week en route to victory in the PapaNicholas Coffee 150 at Gateway Motorsports Park.
Racing the third of four races with Mason Mitchell Motorsports this season in the ARCA Racing Series, Blaine Perkins is now at Chicagoland Speedway. It’s the third track he’s never raced at before to get some experience on tracks bigger than a half-mile. In his debut at Talladega he finished 13th in April and then in June he finished 12th in his Pocono debut. In the No. 98, Perkins is hoping to show some improvement tonight in his Chicagoland debut in the SCOTT 150. Continue reading →
