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DRIVE4COPD 300 At Daytona Ends In Huge Wreck, Spectators Possibly Injured

Today’s DRIVE4COPD 300 at Daytona ended in a huge wreck that saw Kyle Larson’s car break into pieces that flew into the audience. Also, Tony Stewart won.

The race came down to the wire before Larson lost control of his car and it crash into the catch fence, sending debris flying everywhere. Although Larson himself appears to be okay, several members of the crowd appear to be injured. And again, Tony Stewart won. You go, Tony!

Video of the big finish below. There was also briefly a n eyewitness video of the crash on Youtube shot by a fan in the stands, which NASCAR later blocked. It claimed the block was “out of respect for those injured.” This claim was met with just a little skepticism.

Meanwhile, here’s what happened in the since-blocked video, as well as some information on how the injured fans were treated:

A video posted on YouTube shows a cloud of debris flying into stands and one man gasping, “Oh, my God.” A tire rests on one seat, as a man frantically waves and yells to get the attention of paramedics.

Afterward, several spectators could be seen lying down after apparently suffering injuries. A line of about 10 ambulances lined up on the track, with some first responders carrying stretchers.

Fourteen fans were treated at an on-site medical facility, while 14 others were transported to area hospitals, speedway president Joie Chitwood told reporters.

Just begs the question as to why races don’t stop in NASCAR when a wreck happens and people are potentially dying. If something horrific happened on the court during an NBA game, they wouldn’t just keep playing, right? Just seems weird/wildly inappropriate to me, that’s all.

UPDATED: A reader has informed me that there was no celebration in victory lane after the crash, so that counts for something. Also, another reader has pointed out that there is a flag system in place so that races can be stopped if conditions are dangerous enough. This is what I get for trying to talk NASCAR when I don’t really follow the sport. My bad, you guys.

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