Humans who have trodden on the Earth since time immemorial, have often found themselves flabbergasted due to the occurrence of certain mystifying incidents. While some of these questions have been answered, others remain shrouded in doubt, like the presence of aliens or the case of the Bermuda Triangle. However, it is not just the natural phenomena that have baffled man, but certain man-made causes, such as the harrowing crash of Elliott Sadler in Pocono back in the 2010 NASCAR Cup Series.

Pocono Raceway, which is infamously known as the ‘Tricky Triangle’, has crystallized itself as one of the tracks that have bore witness to vicious wrecks. One such wreck that cannot be replicated involved Ford’s Elliott Sadler, which was nothing less than a death trap. Although the driver was able to emerge safely from the grasp of death, the one question that remains unanswered to date is the mystery behind the missing footage of the crash during its occurrence.

Elliott Sadler emerges from his battered car unscathed

The memories of Ryan Preece getting airborne on the track of Daytona in the 2023 Cup Series season are still fresh in the minds of the NASCAR community. It was perhaps the most gut-wrenching incident that the sport witnessed in the last decade. However, with the equipped safety standards of the Next-Gen cars, the SHR driver was able to walk out of the car on his own, but not all cars in the history of NASCAR were able to live up to that safety standard. One such is the Cars of Tomorrow, a variation that was widely despised in the garage area.

Moreover, the wreck involving Elliott Sadler on the track of Pocono reinforced the reasons behind its infamous status. It is not just the Cars of Tomorrow that add to the baffling nature of the 2010 crash, but the absence of any proper footage of the crash, that had the potency of being a tragedy. Having said that, it is time to look deeper into the incident and unearth the events that led to it. It occurred with just 36 laps left in the race, Jimmie Johnson draft-bumped Kurt Busch. As a result, Busch was sent reeling on the infield grass before hitting the guard rails.

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Furthermore, the ripple effects of the rear-end clipping of Kurt Busch’s car resulted in other drivers being caught in the middle, and with no way to escape. The driver who faced the worst brunt of the wreck was Sadler. Although the driver tried to avoid being mired in the crash, a hit by AJ Allmendinger catapulted Sadler to the infield grass and crashed head-on with the barriers. To add to the horrors of the wreck, Sadler’s car was completely mangled also led to dislodging the engine and slinging it across the field.

Speaking of Sadler, he was able to escape from the battered #19 car on his own accord but laid down on his back on the track itself. After being discharged from the infield care center, the driver exclaimed to the media, “I’m OK, I’m a little sore. The breath got knocked out of me. It was probably the hardest hit I’ve ever had in a race car.”’Someone ran into the back of us and turned us, turned us inside into the wet grass, into the guardrail, so I was along for the ride.”

The question that remains shrouded in mystery for NASCAR fans

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While this summed up the incident and completes the puzzle of the incident, the only puzzle that remains to be resolved is the existence of proper footage of the incident. Although NASCAR’s broadcasting partner ESPN tried to provide angles of the incident, no direct angle of the incident and its aftermath was broadcast to the viewers. Moreover, the camera angle was cut out abruptly during the broadcast of the crash.

Further, there were in-car cameras that were attached to Kurt Busch’s car which had also crashed in the race. If the available footage from the in-car cameras is glanced upon, it will be evident that it is only a bellow of the smoke that shrouds the visibility of the camera. Owing to this, the question that arises at this juncture is whether the removal of the footage is a mistake or a deliberate effort by the authorities.

According to a video posted by NFJJ, it is conjectured that it was an intentional move by the authorities and, in turn, their broadcasting partner, to vanquish any growing sentiments against the ‘Cars of Tomorrow’ era. This generation of cars in NASCAR faced a heavy backlash from drivers like Tony Stewart, who described the car as ‘A flying brick’.  

Apart from NASCAR’s governing body, the other entity that would have faced a severe backlash after the incident would have been the authorities of Pocono Raceway. The design of the track, with a sharp angle on the wall, added to the horror. Moreover, instead of SAFER barriers, it was a pile of dirt and guard rails that were used as the inside field. 

Furthermore, it was reported that the racetrack would be replacing the guardrail which was a decade outdated with the SAFER barriers, after the recommendations of the Roadside Facilities of the University of Nebraska, and was also acknowledged by NASCAR authorities as well.

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With that being asserted, the NASCAR fandom still awaits a conclusive answer from the authorities. Although the safety measures have been ramped up since then, these cases prove that there is still a long way to traverse for the sport’s authorities.