DIS President Joie Chitwood evasive in press conference after Coke Zero 400 catch fence disaster at Daytona

Photos for Headline Surfer® / YouTube vido upload /
 
Daytona International Speedway track President Joie Chitwood, III, far left, with Andrew Booth, a DIS public relations specialist, who served as moderator, took questions from reporters at the media center in the Speedway infield early Monday in the wake of the disastrous crash at the end of the Coke Zero 400. Shown in this raw video uploaded from YouTube is the crash that sent the No. 3 car of Austin Dillon airborne into the catch fence, tearing out a section and causing minor injuries to 13 spectators from debris before the car landed upside down on the track.
 

Daytona Int'l Speedway track President Joie Chitwood, III / Headline Surfer®Daytona Int'l Speedway pr flak Andrew Booth / Headline Surfer®DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Joie Chitwood, III, president of Daytona International Speedway, was evasive in answering questions during a press conference early Monday after the last-lap crash that sent Austin Dillon's No. 3 Chevrolet airborne and into the catch fence at the end of the Coke Zero 400, tearing a section out in the process with debris causing minor injuries to 13 fans in the grandstands before the car tumbled back onto the track upside down.

Dillon's car was then clipped by another car -- all at speeds approaching 200 mph when the race ended at 2:41 a.m. with Dale Earnhardt, Jr. taking the checkered flag.

Chitwood talked in generalities at a press conference in the Speedway's infield media center, saying in part he was "proud" the catch fence held, though in reality, it didn't. Dillon's car left a gaping hole as it tore out an entire section of fencing that could have resulted in carnage had another car been airborne as well leaving the fans as sitting ducks.

"I'm really proud of the fact that the fence worked and the additional safety enhancements of the Daytona Rising project did its job, as well," Chitwood said, speaking of the situation that had transpired as opposed to the potentiality of a second vehicle.

"We'll take this situation, we'll learn from it, we'll analyze it, and we'll round up our engineering team and see if there's any additional things we can learn to get better the next time," Chitwood said, adding he was "really proud of the effort of our team and who responded and that the fence worked and that the enhancements of the Daytona Rising project worked, as well."

Chitwood was speaking the same refrain as what occurred two years ago during the Nationwide race when Kyle Larson's car got lodged in the catch fence, with debris from the car flying into the grandstands, including a tire. As many as 30 fans were injured, several critical, including a man who suffered a skull fracture when he was hit in the head by the tire.

One media outlet, HeadlineSurfer.com, wasn't at the press conference, but was able to report on it here based on a transcript on NASCARmedia.com. That's because the internet newspaper is banned by the Speedway from the media center, the garage, the pits and the victory circle, places where drivers, owners and track officials congregate.

That DIS/NASCAR banishment began on June 13, 2014, in a phone call to Headline Surfer by then-Speedway spokesman Lenny Santiago after the internet newspaper pointed out that the Speedway and its proxies were investing tens of thousands of dollars on campaign contributions for politicians in hopes of generating upwards of $250 million in taxpayer subsidies for Speedway projects.

The Speedway received $20 million each from the Daytona Beach City Commission and the Volusia County Council as well as close to $20 million in funding from the Florida Department of Transportation for a second pedestrian bridge, for a total of $60 million. What they didn't get was $90 million expected in stadium funding from the Florida Legislature, but can apply again next year.

The last time Headline Surfer was provided media credentials granting access to these restricted areas was Speedweeks 2014, culminating in that February's running of the Daytona 500 won by Dale Earnhardt, Jr., ironically also following a lengthy rain delay midway through the race.

So in order to report directly on the Coke Zero 400, Headline Surfer® was in the stands as a paying customer like the other 40,000 or so fans who saw the disaster at the end of the race.

What follows is the transcript of the Q&A session Chitwood had with media representatives in the aftermath of the last lap disaster as Dale Earnhardt, Jr. took the checkered flag in the Coke Zero 400 early Monday, during which the No. 3 Chevrolet of Austin Dillon was collected in a chain reaction crash, causing the car to go airborne and ripping open a section of the catch fence. 

Though the car tumbled back onto the track upside down before it was struck again by another car, debris from the initial contact with the fence, sent parts of the car into the stands, injuring 13 fans. None were seriously injured and Dillon suffered bruising to his tailbone.

Speedway marketing specialist Andrew Booth:
We're joined by the President of International Speedway, Joie Chitwood
JOIE CHITWOOD III:
Thank you, Andrew. I was proud of the emergency rescue team that responded to the incident after the race. We assessed 13 individuals in the grandstands. Eight declined any medical attention. We had four treated on property in our first aid and care centers and we had one transported off property to a local hospital. That individual was reported as stable when they were transported off property.
I'm really proud of the fact that the fence worked and the additional safety enhancements of the Daytona Rising project did its job, as well. We'll take this situation, we'll learn from it, we'll analyze it, and we'll round up our engineering team and see if there's any additional things we can learn to get better the next time. Really proud of the effort of our team and who responded and that the fence worked and that the enhancements of the Daytona Rising project worked, as well.
 
Media Question:
Was that the same area where Kyle's car went flying, and also, please, if you can get into a little bit of detail about what exactly specifically the enhancements were.
JOIE CHITWOOD III:
I do not believe that's the same area that Kyle -- I don't believe so, and I'm not really sure that's the incident that you're talking about. Obviously the enhancements with the Rising project included the location of the grandstands, the fencing and no longer having individuals on Rim Road, so with the fence and the Daytona Rising project, it did its job tonight, and we're very proud of that.
 
Polesitter Dale Earnhardt Jr and Austion Dillon lead the field for the 2015 Coke Zero 400 at Daytona / Headline Surfer® Photo by Chris Gray/Getty Images/NASCAR/For Headline Surfer® /
Dale Earnhardt, Jr., driver of theNo. 88 Nationwide Stars and Stripes Chevrolet, and Austin Dillon, driver of the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet, lead the field prior to the start of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway on July 5, 2015 in Daytona Beach, Florida. The 8 p.m. Sunday start was delayed for nearly four hours by rain. The scheduled 160-lap race under the lights at Daytona before 40,000 fans ended at 2:41 a.m. Monday with Dale Earnhardt, Jr. the victor on lap 161 in a green-white-checkered-flag finish. Dillon, who started on the front row with Earnhardt, would finish seventh.
 
Media Question:
Was that section 163?
JOIE CHITWOOD III:
I don't have the section. It's the section right past start-finish line a couple hundred yards. We can find that section number for you.
 
Media Question:
Moving forward with the Daytona Rising project, will the grandstands be elevated to a point where if cars and such do hit the fence like that that the fan safety won't come into play? 
JOIE CHITWOOD III:
You know, obviously through the last couple years, we've learned a lot, whether it's fencing or the facility itself in terms of enhancements. One of the elements of the project of Daytona Rising was no longer having fans or individuals on Rim Road and closing off the grandstands on the front row, so those were in the new sections, and that was what was in place today, and I think it did a very good job.
 
Media Question:
At this point do you get with NASCAR to talk about fence heights and strengths, and do you dissect this accident and kind of break it down to see if this was like a super close call or if this turned out the way you guys expected?
JOIE CHITWOOD III:
Absolutely. We'll work closely with NASCAR. We did this after the last incident. We're going to learn from it and see what else we can do to be better. I think you saw some of the improvements at work today, so what we can learn from that tomorrow and the next days we're going to incorporate moving forward. It's very important that safety is always going to be at the forefront, whether it's the competitor, whether it's the fan. We want to make sure we have a safe environment to put on some great racing, so we'll learn from this and get better even the next time.
 
Media Question:
Can you say if there was any type of debris or if anything went on the other side of the fence toward the stands? In the Kyle Larson incident a couple years ago there were some large parts of the car that penetrated or got on the other side. Did anything like that happen in this case?
JOIE CHITWOOD III:
Really I can only talk about the incident with the fans and that we only had 13 assessed and a number of them declined and only four were treated on-site and one off property, so I think had just shows you the fence kept everything where it was supposed to be, and the other enhancements of Daytona Rising kept the fans safe, so I think we're really pleased with that. But again, we're going to figure out what else we can learn from this and what we can do to be better prepared next time.