Sunday afternoon, the NASCAR drivers headed onto Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400. They expected to drive 400 miles but an incident on pit road brought the race to a halt. Driver Brennan Poole hit a pit crew member of the No. 12 team after a collision between several cars.
The incident occurred when the field of competitors came to pit road for a competition caution. Michael McDowell slammed on his brakes while attempting to find the right box. This caused a chain reaction that led to a pileup at the start of pit road, which included Corey LaJoie, Ryan Preece and several others. Two cars avoided the wreck as they maneuvered to the right. However, Poole’s car slammed into a pit crew member and knocked him into the side of Ryan Blaney’s car.
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A member of Ryan Blaney’s pit crew is hit by Brennan Poole.#NASCAR pic.twitter.com/c2FsIl7j7X
— Will Kunkel (@WillKunkelFOX46) July 5, 2020
NASCAR officials immediately waved the red flag as the pit crew member, Zach Price, scooted toward the wall on his backside. He couldn’t use his legs, which created fear among viewers at home and medical professionals at the IMS. They rushed the ambulance to the pit road and immediately began treating him.
While this created a scary moment at the track, Price ultimately provided some positivity for those watching at home. The NBC cameras showed the EMTs lifting him into the ambulance on a stretcher as he gave a thumbs-up to prove that he is ok. He also smiled broadly for the cameras.
“[What the f—] just happened?!? If 2020 was a pit stop, this would be it. I hope Ryan Blaney’s pit crew is okay,” one person commented on Twitter. Several others agreed with this opinion and said that they are praying for the member to be ok after the frightening incident. Although a few expressed anger about Poole swerving toward the pit crew instead of just hitting a parked car.
As the NBC crew pointed out, the drivers were only traveling at 35 mph when they entered the pit road. However, these vehicles still weigh 3,400 pounds. The speed became irrelevant when the car hit Price and pinned him against Blaney’s car.
The pit crew member was not the only person to receive medical care on Sunday afternoon. LaJoie, whose car smashed into the concrete wall, had to go to the infield medical center after the collision. Doctors examined and ultimately released him. Additionally, Poole and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. both left the race early after the collision due to their cars failing to reach minimum speed.
