Sunday afternoon's NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International came to a stop during stage 2 for a completely unexpected reason — a tent flew onto the race track.
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The moment occurred as Shane van Gisbergen led at the New York road course while rookie teammate Connor Zilisch shadowed his every move. Suddenly, spotters began talking about a dust storm in the infield and flying debris.
"Do you see this tornado in the infield?" one of Tyler Reddick's spotters asked just before NASCAR threw the caution on Lap 40. One of them commented that a tent had apparently landed at the top of the esses.
That's something you don't see every day. pic.twitter.com/PCOLMSkE9j
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 10, 2026
The Fox Sports cameras proved this to be correct. One camera operator captured the moment that a dust storm blew a black tent high into the air. This piece of camping equipment remained floating above the track before it landed next to a Toyota pickup.
The wind then pick the tent back up and launched it onto the racing surface. It remained on the outside of the turn as van Gisbergen led the field under the caution.
The odd thing is that this was not the only incident involving a flying tent at Watkins Glen International. Another incident occurred earlier in the weekend.
A tent from O'Reilly Auto Parts Series team Viking Motorsports blew into the air. It flew into the garage area and landed on a stock car belonging to Kyle Sieg.
Wind has created some truly unexpected moments in NASCAR history. The caution on Sunday only served as the latest example.
Possibly the most famous moment occurred at Chicagoland Speedway in 2004. A massive inflatable orange blew onto the track during qualifying for the Tropicana 400 race, and it completed a lap. It did not get an official time.
Another wind-related incident occurred at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, a track known for its wind, in 2016. As crew chief Cole Pearn stood next to the No. 78 Toyota, the wind picked up the car cover and blew it onto him.
Pearn disappeared under the cover in a moment that became immortalized on social media. A member of Jimmie Johnson's pit crew had to step into action to help extricate the veteran crew chief.
That car cover REALLY wanted a picture with Cole Pearn in Vegas. pic.twitter.com/Hfou7urcBI
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) March 5, 2021
