Recently during a race at the former NASCAR track, the Irwindale Speedway, there was a frightening moment. As it turned out, one of the cars spun and crashed into the inside wall and half-climbed over it. However, the scary part was, as it slid along the top of the wall, it collided with an unsuspecting cameraman.

The good news is that an ambulance came to the scene within seconds of the incident. It was later reported that he managed to get away with some shoulder pain and he was back at track later on.

Though it was heartening to see that everything turned out alright in the end, for a moment there, everybody’s heart would have missed a beat. This was also a stark reminder that no matter how many safety precautions are introduced, motor racing is never truly safe for all involved. The unfortunate thing is that personnel like marshals and camera people have to work with very little protection. After all, nobody wants to see something akin to the 2009 horror flick, The Final Destination unfold.

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How did the NASCAR community react to the harrowing incident?

A few fans recounted their own tales of taking photographs at the Irwindale Speedway. According to a fan on Reddit, “I’ve shot practice from where he was standing. For the races I’ve been to at Irwindale (many years ago), photogs could only shoot the backstretch. Made for lousy pictures (bad lighting, no action) but what can you do?

“Sketchiest places I’ve shot from were on top of the dirt piles around the light poles at both Oxford and Beech Ridge. But since I only shot practice, there usually wasn’t any real risk of crashes happening then. I don’t know if I’d shoot races from there.”

Another person recalled an incident at the Sandusky Speedway. Apparently, they were situated near the backstretch near the entry into Turn 3. At that time, a car spun into the wall right in front of them and scared them pretty badly. Luckily, there was plenty of time to find a safer position. However, many pointed out that there are many tracks for these minor league races which do not feel particularly safe.

Some people commented that the safety truck took a bit of time to reach the incident. However, the counter-argument to that was that the cars had to slow down. Additionally, marshals had to make sure no cars were entering the pit road, so that the safety truck could get to the injured man without creating even more danger.

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