Sunday’s race at World Wide Technolgy Raceway had all the drama that a NASCAR enthusiast could ask for. A victory to be relished by Kyle Busch—multiple late-race cautions, five restarts along with three red flags, and a bolt of lightning that halted the race for hours. Despite it all, Busch held on to his lead and sealed yet another victory—a gift to his crew chief Randall Burnett on his home track.
The main attraction of the race was the mechanical failures of the cars, which forced the driver to retire from the race early. The on-track frenzies that occurred on the track can be attributed to the failure of brakes and rotor failures. Among the victims were both the 23XI Racing Drivers, Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick. Another was Legacy Motor Club’s Noah Gragson, and the consequences of his rotor failure were unfortunately felt by one of the spectators present at the stands.
The track at World Wide Technology was a bit of concern owing to its low banking and it had also witnessed eight wreckages in the past year. But this did not deter the drivers from putting up a good performance. But as luck could have it, a majority of the drivers had to give up because of brake rotor failures.
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Noah Gragson’s broken car part hits an audience on the stand
And the first person who fell prey to it was the Cup Series debutant, Carson Hocevar who had an impressive start to the race but came to an early end after his brakes gave and collided with the wall at Turn 1. One of the prime reasons, that was behind the failure of the brakes was perhaps due to the long straightaways, and falt corners, a perfect combination for braking loads that led to the overheating of the brakes and the breaking down of the rotors.
And in this chaotic breaking of rotors, it was the rookie Noah Gragson who faced the worst. The brake failure occurred at Lap 197. As the brakes gave up, the Legacy Motor Club driver was left spinning on the bottom of the track, before colliding with the outside wall at Turn 1. And during the occurrence of the incident, a part of his car flew and hit a spectator in the stands.
The spectator who got hit by the broken part exhibited the scalded and bruised skin on Twitter. He also wrote, “Hey @NoahGragson, keep the parts of your car attached, will you?”
Hey @NoahGragson , keep the parts of your car attached, will you? #EnjoyIllinois300 #brakerotor #milliondollarwound @NASCAR pic.twitter.com/tICsTTP3GU
— Fred Glover (@Dodgerfred) June 5, 2023
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Fans along with Noah Gragson himself show their concern for the affected
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As the photo started making the rounds on the internet, peers shared their concerns in the comments section. Even Noah Gragson himself commented under the post. He wrote, “Send me a dm. Hate something came off our car and you got hit by it. I’ll make it right for you and glad you’re alright.”
To this, the victim replied, “Nothing but a thing. You can give ‘em hell on the track next week for me!”
Nothing but a thing. You can give ‘em hell on the track next week for me!
— Fred Glover (@Dodgerfred) June 5, 2023
While others wrote, “nascar must keep that money cause I still havent seen a nickel of that million dollars.”
The stories his grand kids will hear someday!
— Ricky Sawyer (@RickyMorgan) June 5, 2023
People on Reddit also left their comments on the incident.
Someone wrote, “How many times do you think that guy tried to pick up that piece of the rotor before it finally didn’t scorch his hand?”
“Dang, glad it was just a surface wound. I remember I think it was 07 when the brake rotor exploded from Sam Hornish at Texas went all the way up into the first turn suites through the glass. No matter where you sit at a race anything can happen.”
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Another netizen wrote, “I’m sure Denny will pull out the data and post it on his Twitter account and hold nascar accountable for its failure to account for the rotor issues. Right?”
I believe it’s time to block at least first 5 rows. I know nothing is 100% or start issuing the fans in the front row Body Armour as it can be covered in sponsorship decals to help pay the costs and the fan can select their driver and put on the car number! Lol pic.twitter.com/clc9PQAW85
— Alan W (@Alanwinn13) June 5, 2023
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It clearly highlights the fact that it is not only the drivers or the pit crew members who require the safety measures but also the people in the stands. The authorities of the venues should try and provide proper precautions to avoid any larger form of damage for both the audience and the drivers as well.