NASCAR driver Garrett Smithley's dad tackles L.A. wildfires with high-risk plane missions

NASCAR driver Garrett Smithley's father, R.K. Smithley, is on duty for tackling the Los Angeles fire. The high-risk mission includes piloting a DC-10 (a type of airplane) at 170 miles an hour speed, just a few hundred feet above the ground. That too in a mountainous terrain.

Smithley's father, R.K. Smithley, is a military serviceman, similar to his father, and Xfinity Series driver's grandfather. His duty requires him always to stay active and pilot the heavy plane with an 85,000-pound load while dealing with heavy wind, fire smoke, hilly terrain, and other aerial objects.

All of these aforementioned criteria are not easy. It needs a special and suitable person who meets the criteria. And Garrett Smithley's father fits in right about. Speaking about his work, and how he fit into the role, R.K. Smithley recently spoke to The Athletic.

“Some guys adapt to this, some don’t,” R.K. Smithley said. “It takes kind of a little bit of a psycho, for lack of a better word, to adapt and excel. You’ve got to be able to excel at this and be able to put retardant on the ground in very challenging conditions, as we’ve had out here in California."

65-year-old R.K. Smithley is a veteran pilot and has been flying planes since 1983. Therefore, what Mr. Smithley does is a routine job for him. He is currently stationed in Southern California, where he is completing six missions a day.

His son, Garrett Smithley, is a full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series driver, who races for SS-Green Light Racing. He drives the #14 Chevrolet Camaro. Besides the Xfinity Series, he has also raced in other series, such as the ARCA Menards Series, and NASCAR Cup Series.

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Garrett Smithley's father summed up fire fighting job with NASCAR vernacular

While explaining how he tackled the recent Los Angeles fire that ravaged Southern California, Garrett Smithley's father, R.K. Smithley, used a NASCAR vernacular. While describing his mission, he stated how he had to do left turns, similar to NASCAR races on oval tracks.

NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Garrett Smithley (53) during the Championship race at Phoenix Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

“The other day in this fire in the Palisades, we showed up late in the day — that’s the day we did six flights — and we were No. 5 to drop on the fire,” Mr. Smithley said. “So we get in position to either hold and not be a conflict to (other air tankers), or we get into a big left holding pattern."

"And I find it humorous we’re doing left turns because in NASCAR, it’s always left turns. So we’re all making left turns around the fire, watching each other to keep out of each other’s way, staying in drill so we can see the drops.”

The death toll from the devastating Los Angeles fire has reached 24. As per reports, over 12,000 structures such as homes, offices, schools, colleges, churches, hotels, restaurants, clubs, and other notable landmarks have been damaged.

Even though the local government has not revealed an estimate of the damage suffered, unofficial reports say that over $275 billion worth of properties have suffered damage, making it one of America's worst natural disasters.