A crash during the first NASCAR Sprint Cup practice at Dover International Speedway Friday provided some scary few moments, especially for Tony Stewart. At the 3:40 mark of the opening practice Danica Patrick’s No. 10 Chevy appeared to suffer some sort of internal mechanical failure exiting turn 4. A trial of fluid caught fire behind her as she slid sideways across the track. Her teammate and boss, Tony Stewart along with Jamie McMurray were close behind and both slid up into the outside wall. Both hit the outside wall then headed back down the track towards the inside wall. McMurray was able to get his car under control and came to a stop near the inside wall, while Stewart’s Chevy spun and hit the inside wall on the right side.
“I got back to the throttle and it was like a really muffled, like it blew an engine and then it just got sideways and hit the wall,” Patrick said. “As you can see there were lots of flames too, obviously, some kind of oil or something like that in there that created that.”
All three drivers were able to climb from their cars.
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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