The recent NASCAR Richmond International Speedway event over the weekend of September 6th-7th did nothing to excite fans as far as racing was concerned, but there was one element of audience support that certainly got a few tongues wagging.
For one fan, it seemed watching from behind the fence wasn’t enough. 53-year-old James Richard Dennis decided to climb the fence in order to get a better view of the game.
The shirtless fan scaled the fence on lap 330 of the 400-lap race, causing it to be yellow-flagged while officials escorted him to safety. He was later arrested and charged with public intoxication and disorderly conduct.
Dennis allegedly told Henrico County police that he pulled the stunt in an attempt to get on national television for his birthday. After his arrest however, he told WTVR: “I am deeply in regret of what I did. I want to apologize to everyone. It was just stupid.”
His wish was not fulfilled however as broadcasters made a conscious effort to keep the cameras off him to avoid the risk of other spectators doing the same. It was not long though before videos of the stunt soon hit social media.
SpeedwayMedia reported that the event wasn’t quite what NASCAR fans had been promised, the race was more than acceptable to birthday boy Dennis. He said: “I got hung up in the moment. It was a cool race. I guess we never grow up.”
The incident comes as a further concern for NASCAR organizers following the recent death of 20-year-old Kevin Ward Jr. The driver was competing in a race at Canandaigua Motorsports Park when he stepped out of his car to confront fellow driver Tony Stewart. Stewart was captured on video running over Ward Jr, who suffered fatal injuries.
Spectator incidents have also been a cause for concern in recent years. In February 2013, a Nationwide Series crash at Daytona International Speedway caused injuries to more than two dozen spectators in the grandstands, while 10 people were injured at the Coca Cola 600 just months later.
Despite the concerns, NASCAR continues to schedule a series of events for the fall, and the betting markets are still attracting a lot of attention, particularly with the MyAFibStorydotcom 400 later this month.
If spectators are able to scale fences however, organizers may have to think twice about safety implementations for forthcoming events.
