By ohnson 
Sadly, on the final night of Sprint Car racing at Volusia Speedway Park, a distressing situation arose with an accident that unfortunately injured three fans.
With emergency personnel attending to the injured and the World of Outlaw drivers standing around the speedway, the atmosphere took on a completely different tone. The race suddenly became secondary as the primary concern shifted to the fans, the drivers involved, and the safety personnel who were treating the injured. It could have been a potentially tragic scenario that resulted in three individuals being injured, two of them seriously, but by the grace of God, it wasn’t as severe as it could have been.
The racing community sent out a prayer request, and the drivers, owners, and fans all responded accordingly. It’s a part of the sport that none of us truly desire, but it does occur, and as race fans, we either accept it or choose to walk away. Our sport is not perfect, and there are moments that we would rather not have others see. The stark reality is that last night, the racing transformed from an enjoyable entertainment into a news story.
There were critics within our sport who were quick to criticize the news media for their coverage. However, as I sat in the press box last night, I found myself feeling embarrassed for some race fans and certain “news” outlets. We were our own worst enemies. Tweets, videos, and other forms of social media spread like wildfire, and in fact, the video was posted even while the emergency crews were working to save lives. No one knew for certain if it was a fatal incident, but that didn’t stop our own people from prematurely spreading the information through the media. I was at the track and didn’t have a clear understanding of how many were actually hurt for quite some time.
This was such a strange and unexpected situation that even the announcer, Johnny Gibson, initially thought only two cars, Rico Abreu and Dale Blaney, had flipped and assumed the drivers were okay. However, I was positioned in turn one at the time of the crash, and I swear I saw three cars go over. It wasn’t until I reached the press box that we realized there was an upside-down Jason Sides high up in turn two. I witnessed what happened, but I think the events transpired so rapidly that my brain had a difficult time fully processing all that I was seeing.
There were two media organizations in the tower covering this race, and both of them chose the professional and high-road approach. News was reported as soon as the facts became known. I have been in the news industry for many years, and while being first isn’t always the priority for me, I always strive to be the first with accurate information. Last night, that wasn’t the case on social media. Accusations were flying left and right, clicks skyrocketed, and facts were often overlooked.
It was a truly sad night as no one wants to see drivers or fans suffer injuries. Despite the thoughts being with the injured, the drivers managed to overcome the distractions and put on an amazing race. Donny Schatz was spectacular, sweeping the day-night twinbill. He started from 17th position and managed to break David Gravel’s heart with just a lap and a half to go. Gravel became the Sprint champion, but he had endured the loss of four engines this week and received a trophy instead. I don’t think he was overly happy.
When the race finally ended last night, I didn’t venture into the pits to talk to the drivers. I simply felt that they probably weren’t in the mood, and neither was I. I will catch up on other details in follow-up columns, as you can probably understand that I am really not in the mood to write today. It was a tough night for everyone last night, and my prayers and thoughts go out to all.
Sorry for this brief update, but if you have any comments, news, or other content to share, please send it to foley395@hotmail.com.