Pothole puts Daytona 500 on hold
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Perfectly normal for crashes to slow down the competition at the Daytona 500, but the race has been halted and drivers taken off the track for a second time today for an entirely different problem.
A pothole in the pavement has stopped NASCAR’s signature event again with 39 laps remaining.
NASCAR’s season opener was initially stopped with 78 laps remaining so crew members could patch up the pothole. After a 1 hour 40 minute delay for the initial repair, racing continued until there were 39 laps remaining before the red flag came out again. Kevin Harvick was in the lead, followed by Juan Pablo Montoya, Clint Bowyer, Greg Biffle and Martin Truex Jr.
The Associated Press reported that it was unclear how the pothole, between Turns 1 and 2, developed. Drivers remained in their cars for about half an hour on pit road before getting out after the first stoppage.
The AP reported that the 2 1/2-mile banked superspeedway is scheduled for a $20-million repaving next year.
The race resumed after 6:30 p.m. local time following the second stoppage.
-- Mike James
