NASCAR saw nothing wrong with Dover surface prior to Sprint Cup race

Officials work to patch a hole coming out of Turn 2 during the second red flag Sunday at Dover. (Getty Images)
Officials work to patch a hole coming out of Turn 2 during the second red flag Sunday at Dover. (Getty Images)
Officials work to patch a hole coming out of Turn 2 during the second red flag Sunday at Dover. (Getty Images)

It was almost a disaster. Sunday during the NASCAR Sprint Cup FedEx 400 at Dover International Speedway, a chunk of concrete from the track dislodged. The piece of the track was hit by driver Ryan Newman and then by driver Jamie McMurray. The piece of concrete disintegrated damaging the front of McMurray’s Chevy and sending shrapnel into a crossing bridge near the exit of turn 2 cracking a glass panel.

“When I came off of the corner, it just felt like I hit something, obviously, heavy,” McMurray said. “Initially I thought I’d blown a tire out. When I hit it, it actually pushed the car to the right and I got into the fence a little bit. And as I slowed down, I couldn’t figure out first off, why I didn’t hit the fence harder, and then what happened. I didn’t see anything. It just hit the front end and ripped the splitter off and it pushed the car to the right.”

NASCAR put the field under a red flag. Track crews as well as NASCAR officials rushed to repair the spot and another nearby.  After 22 minutes, the field was put back under yellow and soon after the race continued and there were no further incidents.  Sunday’s winner, Jimmie Johnson said he knew the spot was there prior to the race. 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.