DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Maybe it was the full moon. Whatever the reason, one of the most bizarre scenes in the last 20 years took place on the track at Daytona Internationl Speedway during the final stage of the Spint Unlimited: The pace car caught fire.
Yes, the pace car.
The disaster on the track coms in at No. 65 in the HeadlineSurfer.com countdown of the top 100 local stories of 2014 in Central Florida.
With the field bunched up for the final 20 lap segment -- smoke began billowing from one og the cars. Except it was not a race car, but rather the pace car!
And just as pace car driver Brett Bodine pulled off the track, the trunk of the Chevrolet SS was on fire.
As luck would have it, safety crews were quick on the scene to extinguish the fire.
As it turned out, a battery pack used to power external lights ignited the fire.
Embarrassed Chevrolet executives quickly fired off a statement: During the closing laps of the NASCAR Sprint Unlimited race, the pace car experienced a fire in the trunk area, which contains a purpose-built auxiliary electrical kit to operate the numerous caution lights during the race. The pace car driver and passenger safely exited the vehicle. An assessment is underway. -- Team Chevy
A back-up pace car was quickly put into action to complete the race.
RECAP
The HeadlineSurfer.com Countdown of the Top 100 Local Stories of 2014...
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The Headline Surfer® Countdown of the Top 100 Stories of 2014, is sponsored by Edgewater Towing & Myron's Auto Service of Edgewater, FL. 