NASCAR’s Cup Series championship race at Phoenix was red-flagged on lap 69 due to a not-so-fun incident with the pace car.
When the pace car led the field to green for a restart after the first stage break, he waited a little too long before he could enter the pit lane. And as he flew toward pit road, he crashed into the sand barrels that protect the end of the pit road wall.
Serious. We’re not making this up. See for yourself.
The pace car largely avoided major damage, except for a dent on the right rear of the car. The barrels weren’t so lucky. The race had to be stopped so track workers could put the barrels back in place and clean up the sand that had spread across the track near the pit road entrance.
Chase Elliott was scored as the leader ahead of Christopher Bell at the time of the red flag. All four drivers competing for the championship were in the top 10 at the time of the red flag. William Byron led them in third, Ryan Blaney in fourth, Joey Logano in sixth and Tyler Reddick in seventh.
Fortunately, the delay lasted less than 10 minutes and the race was restarted when the pace car safely reached the pit lane.
