The Coke Zero 400 NASCAR race at Daytona International Speedway ended with one of the most violent crashes seen in recent years in the series. Austin Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet went airborne and smashed into the catch fence near Turn 1, just after crossing the start-finish line.
While the driver emerged only with a bruised tailbone and forearm after the accident, debris from his car injured five spectators. Four of them were treated on site, while one was taken to the hospital in stable condition. Things could have been much worse hadn’t the catch fences at Daytona International Speedway been reinforced following an accident in 2013 during a NASCAR XFINITY Series race.
The Coke Zero 400 was an eventful night, with four multi-car accidents, a three-hour-plus pre-race delay caused by rain and nine caution flags that covered 43 of the scheduled 160 laps.
Pole-sitter Dale Earnhard Jr. won the race after leading 96 laps, with the top 5 also including Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch.