Myatt Snider was engaged in a devastating last-lap accident during the NASCAR Xfinity Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday night.
Snider put the driver net down as soon as the No. 31 Jordan Anderson Racing Chevrolet came to a halt in the grass near Turn 3, signalling that he was fine. Following that, the American Medical Response safety crew arrived to transfer him to the infield care centre. Snider entered the van on his own.
After that, the 27-year-old was treated and released from the care facility. After that, he spoke to the reporters from a golf cart.
“A little sore,” Snider said. “I mean, I got pretty banged up there, so I just want to make sure I’m being as careful as possible.”
The source of worry for Snider was his left foot. As a precaution, he may have it examined again on Sunday.
“I think I should be fine to race,” Snider said. “It’s just a matter of getting the opinions of the experts. But yeah, I think I’ll be fine.”
During the penultimate lap, the race was about two-thirds of the way down the backstretch when the accident occurred. Anthony Alfredo’s No. 23 Our Motorsports Chevrolet was pushing Snider. Snider was twisted in the draught, and Jade Buford’s No. 48 Big Machine Racing Chevy collided with the passenger side of Snider’s car, sending it flying into the wall.
Snider explained in better detail.
“Everybody’s trying their best to push as hard as possible, and I’m trying to keep as much momentum as I can get,” Snider said. “So, I felt the push and I started feeling the car go right. I’m like crap, I might be along for a ride here. And sure enough, I was. I got turned around to the side, and then I was facing backwards and started seeing the race track. I’m like hmm, this is getting better as it goes.
“I think what happened is that the left rear started yawing towards the fence, and then the fence caught it. … And then I got dragged into the grass, from what I could tell. But yeah, as I’ve said already, I’m extremely blessed to be as OK as I am and glad that Jordan Anderson Racing built us such a safe race car. And man, I really wanted to get the top-five finish. We were so close. I felt like we were in contention all day.”
Snider finished 22nd in the standings. Buford came in 23rd place. Alfredo came in eighth place. Austin Hill was the winner of the race, which was stopped when the caution flag was raised.
In total, nine cars were involved in the crash. The care centre cleared each driver once they exited on their own. The collapsed catchfence will be rebuilt tonight in time for the Daytona 500 on Sunday, according to a NASCAR spokeswoman (2:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
The next Xfinity Series race is a week away, on February 26 at Auto Club Speedway (5 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
“I just saw sparks and crap flying everywhere, and it was quite the adventure,” Snider said. “I’m just so glad that I’m safe, I’m not any more torn up than I am. Just wish we could have gotten a better finish out of it.”
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