The Goodwood Festival of Speed hillclimb event is far from the most competitive name in motorsports, but when you have professional drivers, a bit of competition is expected. Professional drivers push the vehicles on the narrow course, and sometimes, things go wrong. For some reason, NASCAR cars have a proven track record of running into trouble at the event, and this year is no different. A Chevy Camaro NASCAR piloted by former racer Andy Petree became the first crash at this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed.
The video captures Petree's crash. The Camaro begins to take the sweeping curve, but you can see the back end start to slide as Petree steers into the skid; however, there isn't enough room for him to recover the vehicle. Instead, he plows into the hay bails that border the track. Hay flies into the air as the car spins back around. You can even see one smaller hay bail launch into the air.
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A few minutes after the crash, Petree emerges from the car unscathed. However, he may have hurt his pride – but mistakes and accidents happen. You can see the look of disappointment and frustration on his face as he walks around the damaged vehicle as the stewards prepare to remove it from the track. It's not the best way to end a day of racing.
There is still a Sunday full of Goodwood events, and if history is any indicator, there will be a few more wrecks before it's all over. While the course allows cars to reach reasonably fast speeds, the track's tightness and sweeping curves keep drivers behaving behind the wheel. And when something goes wrong, there are plenty of hay bails around to keep drivers and spectators safe. Check back frequently this weekend to stay up-to-date on all the happenings at Goodwood, crashes and all.
Source: Motorsport.com