Ten fans were injured at Charlotte Motor Speedway early in tonight’s Coca-Cola 600 when a nylon rope that served as a guide for an overhead television camera snapped and fell into the grandstands.
According to Dustin Long of Motor Racing Network, a track statement reports that three of those fans were taken to the hospital for further evaluation, while the other seven were treated for minor cuts and scrapes at care centers inside CMS before being released.
Per Long, the race was stopped at Lap 127 after the rope fell onto the racing surface, inflicting damage to the cars of Kyle Busch, Marcos Ambrose (severed brake line) and Mark Martin. The race was delayed for 27 minutes, with NASCAR allowing the teams a 15-minute period to fix any damage they may have received.
Busch had extensive bodywork damage to the right front part of his car thanks to the rope, but it appears the repair work to his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota has managed to keep him within the Top 5 as of the halfway point of the race this evening.
Fox Sports later released a statement that said they did not have an immediate cause for why the rope failed but that “a full investigation” is planned.
“We certainly regret that the system failure affected tonight’s event, we apologize to the racers whose cars were damaged, and our immediate concern is for the race fans. We also offer a sincere ‘thank you’ to the staff at CMS for attending to the injuries and keeping us informed on this developing situation,” the statement ended.
