Nationwide Series driver survives scary incident
Steven Wallace knew he should have skipped Nationwide Series practice on Thursday.
Although practice runs had been precarious with the new cars on Wednesday, Wallace never expected a piece of debris would send the No. 66 Toyota to the garage prematurely. However, Wallace’s primary car was destroyed after Reed Sorenson’s tire flew into his windshield, crushing the A-post at the front of the driver’s window.
Sorenson ran over debris From the No. 49 Jay Robinson Racing Chevrolet that destroyed his undercarriage and tire. The tire and other debris shot into the grill of Wallaces’s No. 66 Toyota.
“(Sorenson) hit a piece of lead is what it was,” said Wallace, who was 11th fastest during the first practice on Wednesday. "The 32 hit it and blew his left rear tire off and then it went right through the front of my car and through my radiator.
"I think if it had gone through the windshield it would have killed me. That's scary (stuff), for sure. But I'm glad to be here to talk to you."
Skids from the flying tire were on the windshield of the No. 66 Toyota directly in front of Wallace's seat.
The debris NASCAR discovered on the track turned out to be a combination of five six-inch bricks of lead and tungsten weights from the frame rail of the No. 49. According to sources, Mark Green was preparing to take his first lap of the day and as he pulled off of pit road the vibration caused the weight to dislodge since the cap restraining the lead was not secure.
The lead weighs 22-pounds and costs between $150-200. The tungsten weighs 35-pounds and costs $1,000 per brick. In the past, NASCAR has fined teams per the pound and after destroying the Nos. 66 and 32 cars, the pending penalties are expected to be sizeable.
Both Wallace and Sorenson went to back up cars.
