Fans at Daytona International Speedway for Daytona 500, Feb 24, 2013
Photo – Getty Images
Heroic
Ordinary NASCAR fans enjoying the Nationwide Series race Saturday afternoon acted heroically when fellow race fans were injured following the last lap crash. No fan expected to be in danger when they entered the Speedway that day but, when disaster struck, fans helped fans to make sure everyone was alright.
In other sporting events, there is little to no evidence that fans have helped each other in the way that some racing fans did following the frightening last lap crash in the Nationwide race. This incident once again proved that NASCAR fans are the best fans in sports.
The cars came out of turn four as they approached the finish line. As they exited that corner, none of the fans in the lower section of the grandstands, just before the start finish line, thought they would be in harm’s way just seconds later. Well, when the wreck unfolded, Kyle Larson’s No.32 machine flew into the catch fence and parts of his car and the catch fence flew into the grandstands. Just like that, a calm scene turned into chaos. Fans were put in positions, they never thought they would ever be put into at a race. Heroes then emerged from the chaotic scene.
I personally didn’t talk to anyone at the scene of the incident but, through the incredible reporting of the media at the track that day, I am able to reiterate what I heard through the excellent reporting done by the media. SPEED’s coverage of the incident was incredible as they told every story that needed to be told regarding the situation. An interview conducted by SPEED with race fans that were right in the middle of the debris filled grandstand as injured fans called for help, struck me personally. That interview told the story of a couple of the heroic fans that day.
The woman (whose name I won’t release even though SPEED did) had witnessed the wreck and then saw injured fans all around her. She first jumped down a row to assist a man who had been hit by a chunk of metal that had flown into the stands and had hit the man’s head. The woman applied pressure to the man’s head with a rag in an attempt to stop the bleeding. When medics arrived, the man was taken to a hospital and the woman’s heroic actions just may have saved that man’s life. Disaster struck and an ordinary race fan acted swiftly to assist an injured fan. An act of heroism in a split second saved a life and it showed how much of a fan community exists within NASCAR.
The woman in the interview was with another man who was with her at the race and he too, acted heroically to help an injured couple. The chunk of metal had hit the man that the woman (who I discussed above) was helping and then it had flown up and hit another couple a few rows up. The man a few rows above, who was with his wife, had been stricken first with the metal and then it hit his wife in the stomach. The man who was with the woman (who I talked about in the paragraph above) jumped up a few rows to assist the injured couple. The man applied pressure to the wound on the injured woman and that could have saved her life. A simple act of heroism saved this woman’s life and it was just one fan helping another. It is truly remarkable what these fans did in a time of crisis.
There are likely little to no other examples of fans helping fans the way these fans did when disaster struck at a sporting event. What these ordinary fans did when the race went bad and fans were in need of help, is truly amazing. Fans helping fans in a time of need is just what any NASCAR fan would do in any given situation. This is what makes NASCAR fans the best in sports. Disaster struck, fans acted heroically and lives were saved in just a matter of minutes. This is what the NASCAR community is all about. NASCAR truly does have the best fans in all of sports.
