Nine cars were caught up in the aftermath of a duel between rookie Michael McDowell and David Gilliland at Watkins Glen. With eight laps to go, McDowell and Gilliland bumped door panels and slid across the track as they came around Turn 11. Seven other drivers were involved in the scary pile-up that followed.
Bobby Labonte came off worst - his car struck Gilliland’s, side-on - and he had to go to hospital for precautionary checks. He has since been released, with no serious injuries to report.
The race, which was red-flagged for 43 minutes because of this incident, was won by championship leader Kyle Busch.
Lucky Nascar rookie walks away after rolling car eight times
Michael, welcome to Nascar…
Michael McDowell, a 23-year-old Nascar driver in his first season, was on a qualifying run at last weekend’s Samsung 500 event at the Texas Speedway when he lost control of his Toyota Camry at around 170mph. Eight barrel rolls later, he walked away with minor bruising. ‘I’m done being the crash-test dummy,’ joked McDowell after the spectacular incident.
