19-car Stage 3 wreck red-flags Coronado race

NASCAR’s first race at Naval Base Coronado in San Diego opened with safety issues on the temporary 3.4-mile street course. Corey Day struck a manhole cover on lap 2 of the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race, sending it through the front grille of his No. 17 car and damaging the radiator. NASCAR stopped the race so crews could inspect the track and repair the hazard. After the restart, Day narrowly avoided a head-on collision with a safety truck driving the wrong way on the circuit. He later got back on the lead lap after losing time under caution, then was penalized for speeding on pit road and spun on lap 30 to bring out another caution.

The trouble continued in Stage 3 on lap 35, when Sam Mayer clipped the inside wall in Turn 1, bounced into Anthony Alfredo, and then was hooked nose-first into the outside concrete barrier at high speed. The crash triggered a chain-reaction wreck that involved 19 cars in broadcast reports, with other accounts saying more than 20 were collected. Several cars were damaged to varying degrees, and Mayer’s car lost its radiator. The size of the pile-up forced another stoppage.

Mayer was awake after the crash, able to communicate with his crew, and climbed out of the car on his own before walking to a nearby ambulance. He later accepted responsibility over the radio and made a self-critical comment about his driving. NASCAR also red-flagged the race so crews could repair the safety barrier, which had been pushed back at least six feet, and the event was still ongoing after the stoppage.