Eavesdropping on NASCAR drivers’ in-race chatter is usually fun and quite entertaining, particularly with the frequent name-calling. But that’s not the case for the audio from the Go Bowling 400 on Saturday.
Drivers love their sport, but they were reminded of the serious dangers it poses when Danica Patrick, Joey Logano and Aric Almirola were involved in a blazing, three-car wreck at Kansas Speedway. Although Patrick and Logano were OK, Almirola suffered a compression fracture to his T5 vertebra but was released from a Kansas hospital Sunday.
The drivers sounded shocked by the wreck and Almirola’s hard impact. With the race temporarily halted, they talked with their crews to figure out what was going on and express their concerns about those involved being safe.
Driver of the No. 3 car Austin Dillon is heard saying, “Holy (expletive), dude! That is bad, bad, bad, bad,” while No. 6 driver Trevor Bayne added, “That was the hardest hit I’ve ever seen in my life.”
On-site after the crash, Patrick told USA TODAY Sports:
“The first hit was definitely sharp and hard. I couldn’t see at that point, there was so much smoke. Then, the fire came in, and I started unbuckling before I came to a stop. When I see fire, it’s like frantic, get out of the car, so I unbuckled and got out. My spotter was saying, ‘Tell me you’re OK, tell me you’re OK,’ and I can hear it, but I was more interested in getting out of the car.”
Read more about the crash and Almirola’s back fracture at USA TODAY Sports.
