A frightening crash destroyed the cars of Ryan Newman and Michael McDowell Sunday, halting the Sprint Cup race at Watkins Glen International.
Both drivers were able to exit their vehicles unharmed but the guardrail was damaged and needed repairs with 24 laps left in the Cheez-It 355, causing the race to be red-flagged.
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While battling for position with Greg Biffle, Newman made contact with Biffle and turned into the guardrail, hitting it hard enough to bounce back onto the racing surface. While he was stopped on the track, he was clipped by McDowell’s car, which got airborne and slammed into the guardrail. McDowell's car briefly lifted off the ground and almost rolled over onto its side before landing upright with heavy damage.
"Biffle jumped up on the curb and got up and across the grass," Newman said. "I probably could have given him a little more room but I tried to time it so I could shoot past him and he slowed down when he got back onto the racetrack."
Newman ripped the Watkins Glen track for what he called "antiquated" safety features. The Watkins Glen road course is owned by International Speedway Corp., which is owned by the same France family that owns NASCAR.
"It's disappointing. We lost (safety expert) John Melvin a couple of weeks ago and he did a lot of innovations for this sport, and it's really sad that they haven't adapted any of them here at this racetrack," Newman said. "The barriers, the SAFER barrier doesn't exist here. There are no concrete walls.
"It's a very antiquated racetrack and it isn't up to NASCAR standards at all. It's a shame that we have to have an accident like that to prove it. Hopefully something will change the next time we come back."
McDowell was thankful to survive the spectacular crash.
"I'm good. I thank the good Lord because that was a bad wreck," McDowell said. "It seems like when I do it they are usually fairly big.
"I'm not real sure what happened. I saw the 16 get a little wide and then the 31 come back across the track. I didn't really have time to adjust or move, I just tried not to hit Ryan in the door there. I was along for the ride. I'm glad I to walk away from it. I feel thankful and very blessed."
The accident also raised safety concerns among other drivers as well.
"There have been a lot of big wrecks in that area," Jimmie Johnson said. "I know it's a road course and it's hard to get concrete structure around these race courses, but barriers aren't the best thing for these big heavy cars. … That's an area I would look at first of all."
"I'm just happy and thankful everyone is OK over there. That was a big wreck," AJ Allmendinger said. "I think we need to do something to make it a little safer over there. I agree with Ryan a little bit. We are going so fast now."
NASCAR Vice President Robin Pemberton told ESPN that NASCAR would review the crash.
"They all get rivewed, but it's a constant improvement process," he said. "Many of the facilities we go to are multi-purpose facilities and we are only here one week out of the year and it is busy the rest of the year. We're not the only series that races here.
"Watkins Glen has made great advancements … moved grandstands and added safety barriers. … But not all places are places for SAFER barriers. There are different kind of systems for slowing cars down.