TOUCHDOWN, MANCHESTER UNITED WINS THE RACE

Some tragic racing news: http://www.nascar.com/en_us/news-media/articles/2014/8/10/tony-stewart-sprint-car-incident-canandaigua-driver-death.html

Oh no.... that's horrible...

Update to this: Tony is sitting out the race and Regan Smith is driving in his place.

There is a Youtube video of the accident. It is age restricted for obvious reasons. I saw it, and I'm speechless....

*goes to find the video*

The moment of impact isn't clear cut on the tape, but I did see Stewart's car turn sideways around 45 degrees to the right. As for the guy he hit, literally there one second, gone the next, ending up a dozen feet away on his back. The flight does not seem to have been caught by the camera. That said, it was clearly a very hard hit judging by how far away he landed.

Accidental or Intentional? I cannot tell... but for now I assume good faith.

Race update: Jeff Gordon was doing well...until his car abruptly died on him in the middle of the race.....

Race is currently Red Flagged for a fairly big mess involving Ryan Newman, Michael McDowell, and Danica Patrick.

Ouch, just how of a big mess is a big mess?

I think it was only 3 or 4 cars, but there was one car wrecked in the middle of the track, and debris all over the place, including (I think) tires from the tire barrier in that corner.

Two cars are out due to the crash--Newman and McDowell. Newman's car spiraled into a wall, then into the middle of the track, clipping McDowell's car, shattering the rear, causing the car to fly into the safety barrier, resulting in the entire rear axle-tire still attached- to cling in the fence. :I It was very entertaining to watch!! Both the cars are just shattered!!
Danica's car got a bit crunched, but nothing too serious for her. She maneuvered quite well.

A.J. Allmendinger is your winner at The Glen! This is his first ever Sprint Cup Series victory.

So Tony Steward is apparently really upset over that tragic accident and isn't going to be participating in the next few races. There are also rumors going around that he's going to retire, but it's apparently not official yet.

I think what is official is the police report. They say that Tony could not have avoided him under the track conditions and instead they pin all the blame on the kid for running out into the pack. However the father is not happy with this report and has decided to sue Tony.

Wow. Honestly, I'm not surprised with the police report, it makes sense. The people claiming Tony hit him on purpose are ridiculous...
Mmm, I'd think I'd be pretty upset about it, too. I'm glad that he's sitting out--it shows that he is truly sorry (and didn't purposefully hit the kid). It's also good psychologically for him. I'm glad that he's thinking about other things instead of his career, eh?

New NASCAR rule regarding drivers leaving their cars after an accident.

The changes to the rules state that a driver involved in an accident and unable to continue racing is required to stay in the car until officials arrive. The exception to this rule is if there is a fire or smoke in the cockpit of the car, or other emergency situations.

Drivers and crew members are also cautioned to not approach the track, apron, or other cars.

If these rules are not followed, penalties will be handed out, though, the severity of the penalty will depend on the situation.

Basically, no more crazy after crash moments of drivers getting mad at other drivers, unless they want to face the consequences.

This rule was issues on Friday, and took effect immediately.

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Today's race will be at Michigan International Speedway. The race is 200 laps long and 400 miles. There will be a competition caution at Lap 20. Your starting front row is Joey Logano in second (who won the race here last year) and, on the pole, Jeff Gordon, who did so with a track record speed and the seventh-fastest in series history at 206.558 mph. The race will begin in a few minutes.

Competition Caution?

There was rain on the track, so they did a mandatory caution. Drivers were unable to add fuel until then.