The fire, which turned out to be transmission related, died down fairly quickly and trackside workers were on the scene with fire extinguishers, but it was Thompson's father, Ed, who reached the young driver first, opened the door, and helped pull his son to safety. "I was surprised to see he'd already turned his body toward the door and was trying to climb out, even with the [steering] wheel still in place," Ed Thompson said. "It was the scariest thing I'd ever seen."

The younger Thompson recalled the incident as a blur.

"I basically remember a burst of flame right in front of my face and my next movements were to go for my [fire] suppression and the fire was still there and I was trying to get a breath of air. I couldn't breathe. I don't remember the tree going down, but I remember flames up my arms and I remember trying to go for my seatbelt latches, and I remember my helmet getting stuck as I tried to get out. Then I felt people pulling at me. Other than that, I don't remember getting out."