10 fans injured when TV cable falls on race track
CONCORD, North Carolina — Charlotte Motor Speedway said 10 fans were injured Sunday at the Coca-Cola 600 and three were taken to the hospital after a nylon rope supporting a FOX Sports overhead television camera fell from the grandstands and landed on the track surface.
It’s unclear the extent of the injuries of the three people taken to the hospital.
Seven people were treated with “minor cuts and scrapes” on site and released, according to a statement released by CMS.
Fox Sports sportscaster Chris Myers apologized to fans and drivers on air on behalf of the network during the race.
The incident occurred on lap 121 of the 400-lap NASCAR Sprint Cup race.
The race was delayed for 27 minutes while crews repaired damage to their cars.
Kyle Busch, aiming for a sweep at Charlotte Motor Speedway after winning the Nationwide and Truck series races, was leading when he incurred damage to the right front wheel well of his No. 18 Toyota.
Australian driver Marcos Ambrose and Mark Martin also reported damage.
No drivers were injured.
The cars were initially redirected along pit row as workers cleared the ropes from the track.
At first, NASCAR called threw a caution flag before two red flags came out. NASCAR eventually allowed the cars to come into the pits, giving crews 15 minutes to work on their cars.
During the break, Busch’s crew frantically worked to repair a number of problems to the right front wheel well.
Busch remained competitive and was running in the top five at the midpoint of the race. He has never won a Sprint Cup race at Charlotte Motor Speedway and has suffered his share of bad luck at the track.
But this one was unique.
The nylon rope that caused the damage was a guide for network television CamCat overhead camera system, CMS said in the statement.
After the incident the camera and the main wires that support it located on the front stretch of the track remained intact. But the remaining nylon ropes were removed.
Prior to the restart, Ambrose was made to run five laps on his own to make up for the laps missed when he pulled into pit row and the rest of the field was under caution.
