But why then would NASCAR have these drivers, in a sport that relies on pinpoint accuracy at high speeds, race well into the night when they’re exhausted?
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Daytona global Speedway is one of two courses to require the use of restrictor plates in cars.
(AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack). He was treated and released from the track’s medical center.
Austin Dillon’s vehicle went airborne and crashed into a fence Monday just before the finish as Dale Earnhardt Jr. was crossing the finish line in first place.
The oncoming vehicle of Brad Keselowski had nowhere to go and slammed into Dillon before he came to rest.
A stunned Earnhardt seemed speechless as he crossed the finish line on his team radio. He followed with a string of expletives as he tried to comprehend the frightening accident. The crew members quickly waived to alert that Dillon was fine, and the driver ultimately climbed from the auto and raised his arms in the air. “Tell him to stay in there”, Ives said.
Race victor Dale Earnhardt Jr. said the crash totally overshadowed his victory.
That didn’t bother Earnhardt, who led 96 of the 161 laps, including the final 55 laps. He started to watch the videos of his crash after he showered following the race and the severity of the wreck became apparent when he talked to his brother Ty, who drives in the Xfinity Series. It comforted me pretty quick. “The racing doesn’t matter anymore”. Eight declined treatment, and of the five treated, only one was sent to the hospital, and in stable condition.
Dillon described his crash as “vicious,” saying the he held on to the steering wheel as hard he could. Following the crash he said, “We’ve got to figure out something. I feel like we can create good racing because up until that wreck we had some really good racing Monday morning, but I think the wreck kind of tarnished a great race”. He waved to the crowd after getting out of his destroyed vehicle.
“I’m shocked that Austin Dillon’s even alive, with what he went through”, Johnson said. “I expected the worst when I came back around”.
NBC and the NBC Sports Network will have exclusive coverage of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for the remainder of the season, which ends on November 22 at Hampstead in Miami.
The wreck was also the main focus at the end of a day that began early Sunday but quickly fell off schedule because of weather.
The crash occurred after Austin Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet got airborne and sailed into the catchfence on the last lap of the rain-delayed event, which ended at 2:44 a.m. after starting almost three hours late.
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According to a report from Bob Pockrass of ESPN, Matt Morgan a high-powered attorney in Florida has confirmed that he has taken on the cases of two Daytona fans who were injured at the track.
