Driver of race car sent into Lincoln County crowd speaks on what happened
LINCOLN COUNTY, Ky. ( FOX 56 ) — It was the second lap of Ponderosa Speedway's first race of the season on Friday night when things quickly turned from fun to a frenzy.
One of the cars bounced off the wall and hit another car, which sent its driver airborne into the crowd watching.
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The driver of that car, Shane Irvin, said it all happened in a matter of seconds.
"It felt like two years, but yeah,10, 12 seconds from start to finish. My first words out of my mouth was – my kids was in the stands and watching – And I said, go tell my kids that I'm okay, you know, because I knew it was bad," said Irvin.
He had found himself trapped in the car upside down and walked away safely. Three people in the stands were transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
"I said, don't worry about me," said Irvin. "I'm focused on you taking care of everybody else. And I just started praying for the people that were possibly injured."
As fans of motorsports know, incidents like this one are rare.
"This is a freak accident. This isn't just something that happens at racetracks everywhere, all the time. This one once-in-a-lifetime thing, probably forever here," said Brad Ferguson, Race Director of Ponderosa Speedway.
Irvin got back behind the wheel last night in a different car, but now he's looking at a sport he's loved for more than 20 years with a different lens.
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He said, "Something like it happens. You kind of make it look at life a little bit different. You know, even though I walked away without a scratch, it could have been. Could've been a lot worse."
Ferguson said there will be some changes made for this Friday's upcoming race. The staff reportedly plans to remove the seating and put up fencing around the entire area where the car went airborne, further ensuring the safe and fun, family atmosphere that the track provides.
