A support cable used on a television camera over the Charlotte Motor Speedway came loose Sunday night during the Coca-Cola 600 damaging several racecars and halting the event for approximately 26 minutes.
The incident began on lap 123 of the 400 lap event when a nylon rope used to guide part of a remote camera called the ‘CamCat’ that slides along the front stretch came loose and fell onto the track. Leader Kyle Busch caught part of the nylon rope causing damage to his Toyota; behind him driver Marcos Ambrose also hit part of the rope. Other cars were also damaged and NASCAR immediately put the field under caution.
Soon the field was brought down pit road and the race red flagged. After 10 minutes NASCAR made the call to put the field under caution again and brought the field around for one lap before parking them yet again for another 16 minutes during which all teams were allowed to make whatever repairs they wanted to their cars. The field was restarted in the order they were running just prior to the caution flag for the rope.
During the second red flag track crews secured the camera and the device spent the rest of the race suspended over the infield. The speedway said ten fans were injured during the incident with the injuries coming from the turn 4 grandstand. The speedway said seven were treated on site for minor cuts and scrapes and three people were transported to a local hospital for further evaluation. MORE>>>
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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