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At least 30 NASCAR fans were injured when a car sailed into the fence at Daytona International Speedway, sending large chunks of debris - including a tire - into the grandstands.
The crash began as the field closed in on the finish line when rookie Kyle Larson's car came upon the wreck and went airborne into the fence that separates the track from the seats.
Large chunks of Larson's car landed in the grandstands. Sioux Falls resident Heather Irwin was sitting nearby.
“I see a tire go flying and the next thing you kind of look down and see the engine on fire and we really didn't know what to think you're checking everyone around you since debris flew up by us just to make sure everybody was okay the drivers were okay,” Irwin said. “Those cars are built for a lot of that. The fans were the ones who took a pretty big hit. It was very, very scary.”
The Daytona 500 will still go off as planned. Officials said the track will "be ready to go racing" in time for Sunday's Daytona 500.
