NASCAR safety hot topic after harrowing Sprint Cup crash - The Spokesman Review
– Riding bumper-to-bumper at nearly 200 mph, Austin Dillon was smack in the middle of a pack of cars headed to the checkered flag when he was suddenly sent on the ride of his life. A wreck that began three rows ahead of him sent cars spinning all over the track. When one turned into him, the force of the hit flipped his car up and over two others. Dillon sailed nearly upside down into the Daytona International Speedway catchfence with such a hard hit that it nearly brought his 3,500-pound car to a sudden stop. The fence acted like a slingshot, sending the sheared race car back onto the track, where it landed on its roof and was hit again while the engine block smoldered nearby. Instead, he was helped out by rival crews and he gave the “I’m OK” two-handed wave used by late bullrider Frost Lane to the stunned crowd. “It happened so quick,” said Dillon, the grandson of car owner Richard Childress and the first driver entrusted to drive the famed No. 3 that had been out of use since Dale Earnhardt’s fatal 2001 crash at Daytona. And then I just wanted to get out of there and let the fans know that I was OK, let my parents and grandparents know that I was all right. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was near tears as he pulled into victory lane at nearly 3 a. m. Monday after watching the last-lap wreck in his rearview mirror. Runner-up Jimmie Johnson said Dillon was lucky to be alive. Source: www.spokesman.com
