Moments after an enormous wreck wreaked havoc on the sphere, knocking out 16 vehicles within the 40-car discipline, the race was halted due to a lightning strike within the Daytona space.
Ryan Newman was amongst these whose race ended after 15 laps when Aric Almirola obtained sideways after being bumped by Christopher Bell. Almirola spun sideways and took out Kurt Busch, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney, Chris Buescher, Martin Truex Jr., Matt DiBenedetto, William Byron, David Ragan, Anthony Alfredo, Erik Jones, Alex Bowman, Jamie McMurray, Daniel Suarez in addition to Newman, Bell, and Almirola. Byron’s automotive almost flipped.
It isn’t clear what number of vehicles may be capable to proceed. Byron, Truex, McMurray and Busch drove again to pit highway, in response to Fox Sports activities’ Bob Pockrass, however groups can’t work on the vehicles with the race beneath a crimson flag. They’ll be on a six-minute clock when the race resumes.
“We have been simply getting pushed too early. It’s an extended, lengthy race,” Almirola said whereas drivers headed for canopy beneath the crimson flag. “Man, we have been in a 5 place, simply sitting there driving round within the prime two, three and the 20 [car driven by Bell] simply got here with a giant run and hit me actually exhausting in a foul spot and it turned me to the suitable and tore up our race automotive and ended our Daytona 500 manner too early.”
Not one of the drivers was injured within the crash, however the rain that adopted the lightning left them and those that have been nonetheless within the race with time to specific their emotions concerning the crash.
“I had the wreck missed however obtained hit from some place that was the top of our day,” Newman said. “I simply really feel unhealthy for [the sponsors] … getting wrecked out of the Daytona 500 so early, however sadly that’s a part of racing. I simply want we might have had some higher outcomes.”
Ragan agreed that drivers have been pushing too exhausting manner too early in a 500-mile race whereas Chase Briscoe was in a position to crack a joke.
