AVONDALE, Ariz. — The NASCAR Cup Series championship race came to a halt on Sunday afternoon due to a bizarre and unexpected incident. A pace car took out sand barrels at the entrance of pit road.
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The moment took place after the first round of pit stops. The Toyota Camry pace car led the field toward the start-finish line to start stage 2. However, the driver was late pulling off the track. The pace car slid into the barrels and knocked one across pit road.
"Yeah, he was not going to make it. A late decision," Chase Elliott said over the radio. Elliott and Christopher Bell were the drivers on the front row for the restart, so they had an up-close look at the incident.
HAVE YOU EVER!?
The pace car just CRASHED into the sand barrels at the entrance of pit road!
The red flag is out.#NASCAR pic.twitter.com/r8EgAnhPSQ
— NASCAR on TSN (@NASCARonTSN) November 10, 2024
The accident brought out the red flag so the track crews could clean up the mess on pit road. This delay lasted 5 minutes and 47 seconds.
Elliott was not the only member of the No. 9 team who took the opportunity to tease the pace car driver. Crew chief Alan Gustafson came over the radio and said, "I just let them know they're on DVP. They've got six minutes. Can't work on it under red."
1 owner Camry for sale in the greater Phoenix area for sale. Slight nose and quarter panel damage. Should buff out.
— Patrick Donahue (@pdonahueracing) November 10, 2024
The race ultimately resumed as Bell jumped to the lead on the restart. He went on to build up a lead of more than 1.6 seconds over Elliott in second place.
Interestingly enough, this was not the only time a pace car issue has affected a playoff race in recent seasons. Another incident occurred at Martinsville Speedway in October 2023.
The pace car, which was a Chevrolet Camaro for that race, was at the front of the pack for a restart. It suddenly pulled up by the outside wall and came to a stop. This led to considerable confusion at the Virginia short track.
A tow truck had to head out onto the track and remove the Camaro. A safety truck with flashing lights served as the pace vehicle for the rest of the caution.
"Rubber debris from the track damaged the wiring harness to the fuel pump, disabling the pace car," a Chevrolet representative said at Martinsville, per Road & Track. "NASCAR has transferred to the back-up pace car to continue official pace car duties for the balance of the race."
