Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Sunday night (or early Monday morning depending on where you live) NASCAR witnessed one of the scariest wrecks in recent years when Austin Dillon’s No. 3 machine went airborne into the catchfence at Daytona. The aftermath of the wreck saw Dillon’s car literally torn in half with the engine sitting on the infield grass. Miraculously Dillon was able to walk away from the wreck seemingly unscathed.
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When the No. 3 machine hit the catchfence the fence did a god job of containing the car and keeping it on the track. However, fans close to the fence did experience some flying debris from the incident.
Below is a quick update on Dillon and the fans that were injured in the wreck.
Austin Dillon
Following the wreck Dillon was treated and released from the infield care center. Dillon seemed to be in good spirits when he spoke to NASCAR after exiting the infield care center.
"It was very vicious. It’s twisting you around in there, and the belts are loosening with each hit, so the hits are getting more and more violent. By the fourth hit, you’ve separated enough so that the fourth one is going to hurt more than others. I held on to the steering wheel as hard as I could. I’m sure I’m going to find more bumps and bruises during the week, but right now I feel all right.It’s not really acceptable, I don’t think. We’ve got to figure out something. Our speeds are too high, I think. I think everybody could get good racing with slower speeds. We can work at that, and then figure out a way to keep the cars on the ground. That’s the next thing. We’re fighting hard to make the racing good. I hope the fans appreciate that. We don’t, but it’s our job. You go out there and hold it wide open to the end and hope you make it through."
Following the incident both Dillon and his brother Ty Dillon took time to reflect on Twitter.
Saturday night I thought was the worst night ever, man the lord can put things in perspective I'm blessed to have my brother and my family.
— Ty Dillon (@tydillon) July 6, 2015
Want to thank all the guys that came out to the car to check on me. We compete against each other every week but we are one family #NASCAR
— Austin Dillon (@austindillon3) July 6, 2015
The Fans
Not only was Dillon okay after the incident but the fans that were involved also seemed to be okay as well. Following the race Daytona track president Joie Chitwood III spoke about the fans during a post-race media interview at the speedway. During the interview he confirmed that 13 fans were injured at the track in one way or another. Of the 13 injured, eight refused medical treatment while the other five did indeed receive treatment from the medical staff. Of the five who received treatment, four received their treatment at the infield medical center while the other was brought to a local hospital.
According to a report from USA Today, the fan brought to the hospital was treated for minor injuries and then released.