Carl Edwards talks to NASCAR fan injured by lightning at Pocono

Carl Edwards, driver of the #99 Fastenal / LENOX Ford, sits in his car in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series LENOX Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 14, 2012 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Carl Edwards, driver of the #99 Fastenal / LENOX Ford, sits in his car in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series LENOX Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 14, 2012 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Roush-Fenway Racing driver Carl Edwards called one of the victims of Sunday’s lightning strike at Pocono Raceway this week. Ten people were injured, one fatally, in two separate lightning strikes during a severe thunderstorm after the Pennsylvania 400 had been halted.

While taking a break from testing at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia Tuesday, Edwards said track officials told him that one victim who was still hospitalized was a big fan of Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Ford Fusion. Edwards then called the fan, identified only as ‘Tony’.

“He told me the story in detail about what happened to him and his friends and it sounded like a very terrible scene,” Edwards said.

Edwards then went on to address the issue of if track officials and NASCAR had acted appropriately.MORE>>>

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. 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.