NASCAR O'Reilly Series race red-flagged after pit road crash that comes dangerously close to pit crew

A surreal crash at NASCAR's O'Reilly Series Nu Way 225 on Saturday could have been so much worse.

The end of the first stage saw a 10-car crash hit pit road as the entire field entered for fresh tires. It began with Rajah Caruth's No. 88 car getting spun out and ended with the road fully clogged and the race on ice.

Caruth, Brandon Jones, Harrison Burton, Dean Thompson, Jeb Burton, Ryan Sieg, Patrick Staropoli, Jeremy Clements, Nicholas Sanchez and Anthony Alfredo were all involved, with some sustaining race-ending damage.

The bigger worries were for the crew of Brent Crews in the No. 19 car. Crews had already pitted and was receiving work when Sanchez's car barreled into his right rear, coming within inches of significant contact with rear tire changer Bryan Backus.

Had Backus reacted a second or two slower, this would have been a different story. Miraculously, it appears no crew members were hurt.

The crash forced Sanchez, Burton and Clements to retire, but the race was resumed after about 20 minutes. This was the second race of the O'Reilly Series postseason Chase, with Jones and Caruth both in contention at eighth and 12th in the standings entering Saturday.