NASCAR Nationwide Series
  • Peg It on GarageMonkey
NNS: Fans Injured In Daytona Crash
12-car accident mars end of Nationwide race at Daytona…
Mike Hembree  |  Posted February 23, 2013   Daytona Beach, FL
Kyle Larson's car crashes at the end of the Drive4COPD 300 Nationwide race. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
Advertisement

At least 28 people were injured Saturday as pieces of race cars flew into the main grandstand at Daytona International Speedway during a spectacular 12-car accident at the end of the Drive4COPD 300 Nationwide race.

Speedway president Joie Chitwood said 14 people were transported from the track to area hospitals after the accident, and 14 other people were treated by medical personnel on the speedway property. Two fans transported to Halifax Health Medical Center near the speedway were reported in critical condition.

The accident occurred as a large pack of drivers were racing for the win. The wreck began as second-place Brad Keselowski hit first-place Regan Smith as they maneuvered in the draft. Drivers tried to avoid their spinning cars, but 10 other cars became involved in the crash.

The Chevrolet of rookie driver Kyle Larson was hit and pushed into the air, and it hit the grandstand fence at one of the fence’s support posts. The entire front end of Larson’s car was sheared away, and the engine burst through the fence and landed on a spectator concourse. A tire from Larson’s car sailed high into the grandstand, and other parts also flew into the seating areas.

Several drivers involved in the crash were evaluated at the track’s infield medical center, but none was injured.

“Our thoughts are with the injured and their families,” said Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR senior vice president of racing operations. “As with any of these incidents, we’ll conduct a thorough review.”

NASCAR rules require wheels and other car parts to be tethered to the car, but that did not prevent the wheel, tire and part of the axle assembly from Larson’s car from flying over the fence and into the grandstand.

Chitwood and O’Donnell said Sunday’s Daytona 500 will be run as scheduled with no changes. The seating areas where fans were injured will be open. Crews worked late into the night to repair the damaged fencing, a major job that involved a huge crane.

Tony Stewart, who won the race, said he saw the crash in his car’s rear-view mirror and said, ‘That's the worst image I've ever seen in a race in my life.”

The crash was similar to an April 2009 crash at Talladega Superspeedway at the finish of a Sprint Cup race. Brad Keselowski crashed into Carl Edwards’ car, sending it sailing into the grandstand fence. Pieces of Edwards’ car flew into the stands, injuring eight fans, one seriously.

“Certainly, when we look at this incident there will be things we can learn and evaluate,” O’Donnell said. “We’ll evaluate the fencing and see if there’s anything we can learn. The safety of our fans is first and foremost.”

Matt Jauchius, chief marketing officer for Nationwide Insurance, the sponsor of the racing series, said, in a statement released by the company, “Our thoughts and prayers are with the fans and their loved ones who were affected by today’s incident. We would like to commend NASCAR, Daytona International Speedway and the medical personnel involved for their quick response to the situation.”

Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 31 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
mike.hembree's avatar

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mike Hembree

MORE BY THIS AUTHOR
Advertising | Jobs | Feedback | FAQ | Terms of Use | NEW Privacy Policy | Ad Choices | Site Map
Fox Sports | FUEL TV | FX Network | National Geographic | IGN | AskMen
The Motor Sports Authority, SPEED and associated logos are registered trademarks of Speed Channel Inc.
All Rights Reserved © Speed Channel, Inc. 2013

All external links will open in a new browser window. SPEED.com does not endorse external sites.