While coasting down the “bus lane”, the front end of Cope’s vehicle suffers a rather violent explosion.
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Driver Derrike Cope was uninjured after experiencing one of the most freaky episodes of auto trouble that you’re likely to see during the NASCAR Xfinity Series Zippo 200 on Saturday at Watkins Glen International.
With 23 of 82 laps remaining, Derrike Cope slowed on the track and was coasting through the bus stop when it appeared something exploded under the hood of his No. 70 Chevrolet.
“In 35 years of racing, I don’t think I’ve ever seen that transpire before”, Cope, who won the 1990 Daytona 500 told NBC Sports afterward.
Neither Cope nor NASCAR appeared to know exactly what to make of the unusual incident, with NASCAR impounding what was left of the auto to take a closer look at what may have been the cause.
The mysterious explosion didn’t take long to explain.
The contact broke the brake caliper where it attached to the spindle, Sawyer said, creating excessive heat to melt the bead on the right-front tire’s inner sidewall.
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Cope was evaluated and released from the infield care center after the incident. “All the same symptoms led up to this other than he stopped”. “We were just trying to survive and get through this (race)”. I don’t know really what it was.
