Daytona 500 track repaired after crash wounded fans

NASCAR's Daytona 500 was set to start on schedule Sunday after repairs to catch-fencing damaged in a frightening Nationwide Series race crash that injured dozens of fans. Kyle Larson, a Japanese-American driver who was making his first start in NASCAR's second-tier series on Saturday, was launched into the fencing separating the track from the grandstand in a 12-car pile-up in the waning moments of the race. His car broke apart, the smouldering engine ripping through the fence with a tire and other debris spinning into the stands toward the terrified spectators. Daytona International Speedway president Joie Chitwood said 14 people were taken for treatment at local hospitals and 14 more were treated at the track's medical center. One person reported to have serious head trauma was said to be in stable condition on Sunday morning. "None are critical, none are life-threatening," a Halifax health center spokesman Byron Cogdell told ESPN.com of seven injured spectators admited to the hospital. That news helped lift a pall cast over NASCAR's showpiece event -- Sunday's Daytona 500 that opens the elite Sprint Cup series. "We met with NASCAR," Chitwood said on Sunday. "We reviewed all the repairs we made last evening. We worked late into the evening and are prepared to go racing today." "The Great American Race" has generated even more buzz than usual this year, thanks to Danica Patrick's historic pole position. Patrick, already the first woman to win a race in the IndyCar open-wheel series, became the first woman to capture the pole for a NASCAR stock car event. Steve O'Donnell, NASCAR's vice president for race operations, said officials were "confident with the repairs put in place". Chitwood said the section of stands affected would be in use, but any spectators who preferred not to sit there would be accommodated elsewhere. And O'Donnell said NASCAR would review the entire incident to determine what changes can be made to improve safety in the future. "It will be an ongoing process with us for the racetrack," O'Donnell said, adding that NASCAR would have experts evaluate the fence structure as well other safety measures. "We'll bring in the best and brightest," he said. "Anything we can learn will be put in place. We're ready to go racing at 1:00 (Sunday). But again, our thoughts are with those affected." From: AFP