Last lap Nationwide Series crash sends debris up into grandstands
A crash on the last lap in the DRIVE4COPD 300 would send Kyle Larson up into the catchfence, sending debris into the grandstands. Larson’s engine was on the fans’ side of the catchfence, while one of his tires would land a couple rows up in the stands.
“We are currently assessing the situation, taking care of those involved,” Kerry Tharp, PR for NASCAR said. “Once we do, we will have someone from NASCAR and someone from the track with an update. Till then, there is no timetable about this.”
There was obviously some intrusion in the fence, and fortunately, there were a lot of emergency folks ready to help,” Mike Helton, President of NASCAR, said during ESPN’s broadcast. “Right now, we were just tryng to see what the damage is that has been done and moving folks to care centres, Halifax Medical Centre.”
Helton added that they try to make the races as safe as possible for both the drivers and fans, however there is always things that can happen they can’t be prepared for.
“We know a lot and we know what we know, but the biggest thing we know is that we don’t know everything we need to know,” he said. “There are moments we haven’t seen before and we can’t plan for them.”
ESPN has since reported that 15 spectators have been transported to hospitals in the area, with one in surgery for head trauma.
Wendy Venturini reported on SPEED that the 11 admitted to Halifax Medical Centre are stable; six of those spectators were admitted with trauma related symptoms.
None of the drivers were injured in the wreck.
The wreck started when Regan Smith threw a block on Brad Keselowski in the tri-oval on the 2.5-mile oval.
“Well, watching the replay, my reaction is the same as everyone is hoping all the fans in the grandstands are okay,” Keselowski said. “It was a long race, we seen a lot of action – lot of chances for winning and passing. We were in a good position with Regan at the end of the race. When it came down, I felt like I was in the spot. I wanted to make the winning move, and he made a block on it. That’s his right and it started the chaos.”
“Tried to throw a block off of turn four,” Smith said. “I knew Brad was going to make a move. But that’s what you do at Daytona – you do what you can do for the win……You’re coming to the checkered at Daytona and you want to win here whether it’s Cup, Nationwide or ARCA. I was not willing to concede second place. If I’m in second tomorrow, I will make the same move again.”
“I feel good,” Larson said. “Just not sure where everything ended up on the race track. Just hope all the drivers and fans are okay. Just disappointed. Looks like they got 13th on the board. We had a stronger car than that. We were running up front all day.”
11 cars were all involved in the wreck, including Justin Allgaier, Brian Scott, Sam Hornish Jr., Eric McClure, Parker Kligerman, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Robert Richardson Jr., Travis Pastrana and Alex Bowman.
“We were on the outside behind Brian Scott,” Allgaier said. “They started wrecking in front of us and unfortunately, it was too late. I’m okay and all the drivers I’ve talked to in the infield care center seem to be okay. Hope all the fans are okay that were hit in debris. It’s a violent wreck. Just seeing the carnage on the race track. It’s really unbelievable.”
“We had a pretty good car all day and just right there at the end, trying to get the best finish, and thought we were going to get to the end without tearing anything else,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I saw the 7 (Smith) spinning across the track and he caught my left front and I couldn’t steer from there. I was trying to cross the finish and got hit by someone coming across the track.”
“The biggest thing is trying to keep the cars on the ground,” Hornish Jr. “You can get these cars at different angles and soon enough, you’re going to get them off the ground. The white car there got sideways and then another car got into him, wedging him up into the fence. The only way you can absolutely keep these cars on the ground is by bolting them down.”
Tony Stewart would take the victory, ahead of Hornish Jr., Bowman, Earnhardt Jr. and Kligerman. Scott finished sixth, followed by Allgaier, McClure, Richardson Jr. and Pastrana.
“The important thing is what is going on the frontstretch right now,” Stewart said. “We’ve always known since racing started that this is a dangerous sport. We assume that risk, and it’s hard when the fans get caught up in it. As much as we want to celebrate and as much as this is a big deal to us, we are concerned about the fans and drivers on the front stretch.”
NASCAR will have a press conference sometime this evening with more details about the incident.
HOORAHS & WAZZUPS: Truck Series Race at Daytona
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series opened up their 2013 season with the February 22nd running of the Next Era Energy Resources 250. By the time the race was concluded, it was clearly evident that NASCAR’s tail gate brigade is well on the way to another amazing season.
HOORAH. Johnny Sauter came to Daytona with four previous starts and four previous wrecks along with an average finish ratio of 25.75. He spent the first half of this race riding around at the back of the pack. Late in the event, when it was go time, Sauter got a push assist from team mate Todd Bodine that put him in the hunt for the win. Sauter left the track with his first ever win at Daytona, as well as his first top ten finish, along with his seventh series career win. It was sweet redemption for Sauter. This time last year he was “this” close to a Daytona win when he was taken out during a last lap wreck and the potential win became a 17th place finish.
HOORAH. Johnny Sauter’s post victory burn out was a spectacular combination of white and yellow smoke. It turned out that the rear tires of his truck were on top of the double yellow lines located at the bottom of the track. The burn out was so powerful he literally melted the paint off of the the track’s surface.
HOORAH. Toyota, and their Tundra Trucks, also had a very good evening at Daytona after winning their seventh, consecutive, race at the speedway as well as their 100th series’ win.
WAZZUP. We were all deprived of a spectacular Daytona finish in this event due to a yellow caution flag on the final lap. During the final moments of the race, Sauter, Kyle Busch and Ron Hornaday Jr were lined up nose to tail gate in what was aptly described by the SPEED Channel broadcast team as being “the calm before the storm.” On that final lap there was contact between James Buescher and Jeff Agnew. The Agnew truck went hard into the wall with drivers Joey Coulter and John King also getting caught up in the melee. With turn one partially blocked, NASCAR had no choice but to throw the yellow and checkered flags to conclude the event. Busch, Hornaday Jr, Justin Lofton and Jeb Burton completed the top five.
WAZZUP. On lap 55 a 13 truck pile up occurred in turn three. This spectacular incident was triggered by driver Brendan Gaughan who made a move from the high line to the middle lane in an attempt to drive into a hole between two race trucks. After multiple video replays of the incident, one has to wonder what Gaughan was thinking. The hole he was attempting to drive through was barely big enough for a Honda Civic let alone a Chevrolet Silverado Truck. The three wide move resulted in contact and the multi truck accident.
HOORAH. The event’s award for making chicken salad out of chicken do do goes to driver Matt Crafton. With 16 laps remaining in the race, Crafton was charging to the front in his Thorsport Racing Toyota when a flat tire forced an unscheduled stop. Now in the back of the pack, one lap down, Crafton caught a major break when, with five laps remaining, the fifth yellow flag of the race flew due to another crash. Crafton received the lucky dog pass. On the restart he charged from the back of the field to a credible ninth place finish during the remaining final laps.
HOORAH. This race was another strong reminder of why we fell in love with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series to begin with. Since its inception in 1995, NASCAR’s tail gate party has thrilled its fans with close racing and stunning finishes. On many occasions, when all three of NASCAR’s national series were present for the same weekend, it was the trucks that often put on the best race of the three events.
Lap by Lap: DRIVE4COPD 300 won by Tony Stewart
Tony Stewart would take the victory in the DRIVE4COPD 300 at a wreck ensued on the last lap, which included the front end of Kyle Larson’s car landing on the fans’ side of the catch fence. More details on the wreck, as well as the race, will be posted shortly.
Green flag as Kligerman pushes Bayne out to early lead into turn one
Lap 3 Bayne-Kligerman leads as Busch-Kenseth look for a way around, with Stewart-Patrick in toe
Lap 4 Bayne-Kligerman lead as Stewart and Patrick follow…..Stewart to the lead down the back, Busch to the lead into three.
Lap 5 Busch-Kenseth lead as Stewart and Patrick run side-by-side for third
Lap 6 Busch-Kenseth lead as Stewart-Dillon look for the lead……..Stewart-Dillon to the lead through turn two. Patrick up to third.
Lap 7 Stewart-Dillon lead as Patrick and Sadler are side-by-side for third. Earnhardt Jr. hooked on the back of Patrick, looking for the lead
Lap 8 Patrick grabbed the lead as she disconnects from Earnhardt Jr., three-wide for the lead with Patrick, Earnhardt Jr and Sadler. Caution…..Scott Lagasse Jr. spins out of the pack as he tries to slide down in front of Bayne. Top four stay out; everybody else pits for fuel only stops. Stewart leads Keselowski, Earnhardt Jr., Busch, Annett off pit road.
Restart lap 11 Patrick-Ku Busch side-by-side with Sadler-Vickers for the lead. Patrick gets separated from Busch, hands lead to Sadler-Vickers
Lap 13 Sadler-Vickers leads Ky Busch followed by Nemechek-Bayne
Lap 15 Sadler-Vickers lead as Nemechek-Bayne went to go to the lead, however Bayne bailed out on him.
Lap 16 Sadler-Vickers lead as Kurt Busch and Patrick are side-by-side for third
Lap 17 Sadler-Vickers-Ky Busch pulling away followed by Bayne-Nemechek.
Lap 18 Vickers and Sadler switch, keeping the lead so it’s Sadler leading
Lap 23 Vickers leads Sadler, Ky Busch, Allgaier, Nemechek
Lap 24 Vickers suffled in rotation, Sadler to the lead followed by Ky Busch, Vickers and Earnhardt Jr
Lap 25 Sadler, Ky Busch, Vickers Allgaier, Nemechek
Lap 27 top four have broken away – Sadler, Ky Busch, Vickers, Allgaier, Nemechek
Lap 28 Sadler-Ky Busch leading as Keselowski-Hornish make a run to the outside.
Lap 29 Keselowski-Hornish take the lead ahead of Sadler-Ky Busch
Lap 30 Hornish-Keselowski make the switch through turns one and two, three-wide for the lead through turns three-four
Lap 31 Ky Busch-Earnhardt Jr. to the lead ahead of Annett, Bayne and Mike Wallace
Caution Lap 34 Sadler barely gets into Smith, sending him for a spin. Juan Carlos Blum spins behind, hits inside wall. Patrick to the pits with a blown motor. Leaders pit. Ky Busch Bayne Annett Kenseth Nemechek Hornish Keselowski Scott Dillon Earnhardt Jr. Jeremy Clements gets the lucky dog.
Restart lap 36
Lap 38 Ky-Busch leads with help from Kenseth lead ahead of Sadler-Vickers
Lap 40 Ky Busch-Kenseth lead ahead of Vickers-Sadler. Hornish-Keselowski next in line.
Lap 41 Ky Busch-Kenseth leads Vickers-Sadler while it’s three-wide behind them. Sorenson and Nemechek side-by-side for fifth.
Lap 43 Ky Busch, Kenseth, Vickers, Sadler and Sorenson
Lap 48 Kenseth and Ky Busch do the swap, so Kenseth to the lead
Lap 50 Allgaier-Annett to the lead by Kenseth-Ky Busch
Lap 51 Kenseth-Ky Busch grab the lead back through turn one.
Lap 58 Earnhardt Jr. to the lead with help from Kasey Kahne
Lap 61 Ky Busch-Kenseth back to the lead as Earnhardt Jr. falls back after losing his drafting partner.
Lap 64 Kahne-Smith to the lead
Caution lap 65 Mike Wallace gets turned in the tri-oval, collecting Annett, Nemechek and Kurt Busch. Leaders head down pit road. Sadler and Vickers gets a lengthy stop after adding more water in. Kasey Kahne missed his pit stall, he will have to come back down pit road.
Restart lap 71 Smith and Earnhardt Jr. lead them to the green
Lap 72 Earnhardt-Larson side-by-side for the lead with Smith-Ky Busch
Lap 73 Smith leads Busch, Earnhardt Jr., Kenseth, Kligerman and Larson
Lap 75 Smith Busch Earnhardt Jr. Kenseth and Bayne make up the lead draft
Lap 80 Vickers had to make unscheduled pit stop as oil temps were pegged
Lap 81 Smith-Ky Busch lead…..Keselowski-Bayne to the lead through turn two…….Smith-Ky Busch back to the lead into three ahead of Bowman-Kligerman.
Lap 83 Smith-Ky Busch lead Keselowski and Bayne
Caution lap 85 Bayne broken in turn one, thinks it’s a driveshaft. Leaders pit. Keselowski leads Larson Bowman Kligerman Earnhardt Kenseth Ky Busch Kahne.
Restart 31 to go Keselowski pulls ahead with help from Bowman ahead of Kenseth-Ky Busch
30 to go Kenseth-Ky Busch to the lead
28 to go Scott-Hornish side-by-side with Kenseth-Ky Busch for the lead
27 laps to go Scott-Hornish pull ahead of Kenseth-Ky Busch ahead of Keselowski-Bowman……..Kenseth-Ky Busch to the lead through turn three
23 to go Scott-Hornish lose the lead in turns one and two as Larson-Kligerman take the lead, Kligerman makes the swap on the backstraight and pulls up in front of Larson…..Smith grabs the lead down the back straight.
22 to go McClure makes the pass on Smith for the lead……Kligerman to the lead out of turn two with help from Larson. Caution. Kyle Busch blew a motor. Elliott Sadler pits for four tires and to clean the grill to avoid a problem like Kyle’s. Reed Sorenson blows a motor under caution.
Restart 14 to go Kligerman and Larson lead the field to the flag…..Larson drops down behind Kligerman before turn one……..McClure to the outside of Kligerman for the lead…….Kligerman and Larson pull ahead into turn three
13 to go Kligerman-Larson lead ahead of Hornish-Keselowski
12 to go McClure-Piquet pass Hornish-Keselowski as Keselowski and Hornish do the switch…..Annett-Vickers up to third and fourth.
11 to go Kligerman-Larson lead Sadler-Vickers ahead of Kenseth-Pastrana……….Kligerman and Sadler side-by-side for the lead.
10 to go Sadler-Vickers to the lead ahead of Kenseth and its three-wide behind them
9 to go Sadler-Vickers side-by-side with Smith-Keselowski for the lead…….Smith-Keselowski grab the lead ahead of Sadler-Vickers and Bowman-Dillon
8 to go Smith-Keselowski lead Sadler-Vickers as the rest of the field is two, three-wide
7 to go Smith-Keselowski, Sadler-Vickers, Stewart-Hornish breaking away from the rest of the field.
6 to go Smith-Keselowski lead ahead of Stewart-Hornish ahead of Pastrana……..Stewart-Hornish side by side for the lead with Smith-Keselowski
5 to go Caution THE BIG ONE strikes as Dillon gets turned by Annett after Annett gets loose while pushing Sadler, collecting Kahne, Long, Dick, Bliss, White, Efland, J. Earnhardt, H. Martin, Kenseth. Michael Annett is being transferred to Halifax Medical Centre for further evaluation.
Red flag has been thrown to clean up the wreck. Yellow flag put back out. Joe Gibbs Racing cars of Vickers and Sadler pit for tires.
Restart 2 to go Smith-Keselowski and Stewart-Hornish side-by-side for the lead……Stewart-Hornish ahead of the field in turn three
White flag……Smith-Keselowski to the outside of Stewart-Hornish…..Smith-Keselowski to the lead down the back……Smith and Keselowski make contact, trigging wreck no. 2, sending Larson up into the catch fence. Bowman, Earnhardt Jr., Allgaier, Sadler, Scott,
Stewart wins the DRIVE4COPD 400. Sam Hornish Jr. Alex Bowman. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Parker Kligerman. Brian Scott. Justin Allgaier. Eric McClure. Robert Richardson Jr. Travis Pastrana.
Danica Patrick out of DRIVE4COPD 300 early due to engine problems
After winning the pole for the Daytona 500 last Sunday, the focus has been on Danica Patrick and how she will do this Budweiser Speedweeks. She entered the Nationwide race in a car field by Turner Scott Motorsports, however was out of the race on lap 34, she would go to the garage with engine problems.
“Well, I guess before I just shut down and lost power, I was slowing down,” she said. “It felt like the revs were right but when I was lost the pack, couldn’t catch back up. I couldn’t keep up with Tony back there; I knew something was wrong. It’s fun doing these Nationwide races. It’s a bummer for Turner Scott Motorsports.”
Patrick started the race in 12th, and made her way to the front of the field, leading on lap eight. She will now focus on leading the field to the green flag in the Daytona 500.
“It’s going to be fun,” she said. “I’m going to be nervous leading that incredible field to the green flag. We’ll try and be smooth and make it to the end.”
50 laps into the race, Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch lead the field, ahead of Justin Allgaier and Michael Annett. There have been two cautions. The first came on lap nine for Scott Lagasse Jr. spinning out of the pack as he tried to slide down in front of Bayne. The second came on lap 34 for Elliott Sadler barely getting into Regan Smith, sending him for a spin. Juan Carlos Blum spins behind, hitting inside wall.
