By: By Eric Zerkel
Published: February 24,2014
When Daytona International Speedway track officials waved the red flag
at 2:13 p.m. Sunday, just 39 laps into the Daytona 500, the more than
150,000 fans stuffed into the grandstands probably weren't thinking of
Brian Zimmerman.
But track officials should have. Zimmerman, an avid NASCAR fan and father of three, died just under two years ago after he was struck by lightning in the parking lot at Pocono Raceway.
In that case, track officials kept the race going 38 minutes after the National Weather Service (NWS) issued warnings for the area and 29 minutes after official track social media accounts issued warnings to fans that those thunderstorms were in the area.
The end result: Zimmerman's death and nine other fans injured trying to flee severe weather at the track.
Now, nearly two years later, track officials at Daytona International Speedway exhibited a similar pattern of negligence. A timeline of internal communication between the NWS-Melbourne and track officials, public warnings issued by NWS-Melbourne and warnings communicated between track officials and spectators shows that track officials waited an hour to communicate the threat of severe weather to fans, putting the lives of more than 150,000 fans at risk.
According to Andrew Booth, senior manager of public relations at the speedway, making the call to clear the stands in the event of severe weather is the specific domain of track officials and not NASCAR. Booth said that while Daytona International Speedway does not have a meteorologist on staff, they work closely with the NWS-Melbourne for updates on weather that could potentially affect the track.
"The safety of our fans is our number one priority here at the speedway," said Booth. "And we have a plan in place to monitor the weather, and if necessary, take the proper steps to communicate to the fans in the event of a severe weather system in the area. We use a lot of different methods to do that, from social media, our text messaging system, PA announcements, our video screens on property; all of those methods can provide that information quickly. So once we have an alert for severe weather, we'll provide our race fans every 30 minutes a weather update until the system dissipates."
But according to Booth, the first such warning to fans didn't come until 2:50 p.m. via the public address system at the track. The first warning sent to fans via the track's social media accounts was not posted until 2:56 p.m.
The race was stopped at 2:13 p.m. for rain, and because the track was wet, Booth said. But according to Tony Cristaldi, a senior forecaster with the NWS-Melbourne, the NWS called emergency management officials at the track and provided them with a lightning warning – indicating lightning strikes within 10 miles of the track — at 1:50 p.m., 23 minutes before the race was called and an hour before official warnings were sent to fans.
Additionally, official observations made by the NWS at Daytona International Airport, adjacent to the speedway, show observed lightning strikes in the immediate vicinity of the track. At 2:15 p.m. the NWS-Melbourne provided track emergency management officials with a lightning watch — indicating the potential for lightning strikes in the area — which was extended twice, according to Cristaldi.
As time progressed, severe weather moved into Volusia County. As a result, at 2:16 p.m. the NWS-Melbourne issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the northwest portion of the county, not including the stadium. According to Cristaldi, between 2:15 and 2:20 he and others at the NWS-Melbourne began a series of "a half-dozen [phone] calls" over a 90-minute period communicating the threat of the system to the northwest of the track.
"We talked to them even after the first warning for northwest Volusia [County] that didn't include them, just to kind of give them a heads up," said Cristaldi. "We did mention in our verbal briefings to them that there was some potential [to impact the track], even though the current motion was east, it showed signs that it might turn more southeast into that more unstable air, which it looks like is exactly what happened. Once it got west of Ormond Beach it just dropped southeast toward the Holly Hill and north Daytona area."
Despite the communication, no warnings were issued to fans.
"We were not under that warning at 2:16," said Booth. "We were certainly monitoring, but at that point we had not issued our alert."
Yet Lenny Santiago, senior director of public relations at the track, said that the track officials do not require the track to be included within the specific geographic coordinates of an NWS warning in order to implement the track's severe weather safety protocol.
"It's not set in stone," said Santiago. "We work closely with the National Weather Service. It's a joint partnership with them."
At 2:19 p.m. NWS-Melbourne issued a tornado warning for northwest Volusia County, not including the track. The tornadic cell continued to push east, even as a separate cell, which had formed out ahead of the tornadic cell, hovered just over and to the south of the track, producing lightning.
Still, no warnings were issued. In fact, just after the red flag was
waved at 2:13 p.m., a series of time-stamped photos and tweets show that
track officials sent personnel, including the Air Titan,
into the weather and onto the track — even with watches and warnings in
effect — in an effort to dry the track and restart the race.
"If we're under a severe warning we're not drying the track," said Booth. "We would not be drying the track under a severe weather warning, a severe thunderstorm warning, or a tornado warning. Even if we're getting heavy rain we're not going to be out there with the Air Titan or even our jet driers."
As the threat moved closer to Daytona International Speedway, the NWS-Melbourne issued a severe thunderstorm warning for northern Volusia County at 2:45 p.m., including the speedway. It was at that point, according to Cristaldi, that track officials had an "in-depth conversation" with NWS-Melbourne about the now very immediate risk of severe weather for the track. Track officials then began implementing their severe weather safety protocol at 2:50 p.m., initiating the warning through the PA system, according to Booth, but the first public warning from the track via social media didn't come until 2:56, just a minute before the NWS-Melbourne issued a tornado warning for north central and northeast Volusia County, including the track.
By then fans began clearing the stands — though some still lingered in their seats — to seek shelter from the storm.
"What we do with the race fans is we make them aware there's a potential threat of severe weather in the area and we remind them that their safety is their personal responsibility and we strongly recommend them to clear the grandstands and find an appropriate cover," said track spokesperson Andrew Booth.
But Booth said Daytona International Speedway does not have a designated area for fans to seek shelter in the event of severe weather. So, for fans hoping to hang around for a race restart, the space under the stands provided the only refuge.
When asked whether or not track officials could have done more to ensure spectator safety Booth said that Daytona International Speedway would revisit the issues after the race.
"We're going to look at everything after this event and see how we can improve our process," said Booth. "In the end the safety of our guests is our number one priority at the speedway."
But track officials should have. Zimmerman, an avid NASCAR fan and father of three, died just under two years ago after he was struck by lightning in the parking lot at Pocono Raceway.
In that case, track officials kept the race going 38 minutes after the National Weather Service (NWS) issued warnings for the area and 29 minutes after official track social media accounts issued warnings to fans that those thunderstorms were in the area.
The end result: Zimmerman's death and nine other fans injured trying to flee severe weather at the track.
Now, nearly two years later, track officials at Daytona International Speedway exhibited a similar pattern of negligence. A timeline of internal communication between the NWS-Melbourne and track officials, public warnings issued by NWS-Melbourne and warnings communicated between track officials and spectators shows that track officials waited an hour to communicate the threat of severe weather to fans, putting the lives of more than 150,000 fans at risk.
According to Andrew Booth, senior manager of public relations at the speedway, making the call to clear the stands in the event of severe weather is the specific domain of track officials and not NASCAR. Booth said that while Daytona International Speedway does not have a meteorologist on staff, they work closely with the NWS-Melbourne for updates on weather that could potentially affect the track.
"The safety of our fans is our number one priority here at the speedway," said Booth. "And we have a plan in place to monitor the weather, and if necessary, take the proper steps to communicate to the fans in the event of a severe weather system in the area. We use a lot of different methods to do that, from social media, our text messaging system, PA announcements, our video screens on property; all of those methods can provide that information quickly. So once we have an alert for severe weather, we'll provide our race fans every 30 minutes a weather update until the system dissipates."
But according to Booth, the first such warning to fans didn't come until 2:50 p.m. via the public address system at the track. The first warning sent to fans via the track's social media accounts was not posted until 2:56 p.m.
The race was stopped at 2:13 p.m. for rain, and because the track was wet, Booth said. But according to Tony Cristaldi, a senior forecaster with the NWS-Melbourne, the NWS called emergency management officials at the track and provided them with a lightning warning – indicating lightning strikes within 10 miles of the track — at 1:50 p.m., 23 minutes before the race was called and an hour before official warnings were sent to fans.
Additionally, official observations made by the NWS at Daytona International Airport, adjacent to the speedway, show observed lightning strikes in the immediate vicinity of the track. At 2:15 p.m. the NWS-Melbourne provided track emergency management officials with a lightning watch — indicating the potential for lightning strikes in the area — which was extended twice, according to Cristaldi.
As time progressed, severe weather moved into Volusia County. As a result, at 2:16 p.m. the NWS-Melbourne issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the northwest portion of the county, not including the stadium. According to Cristaldi, between 2:15 and 2:20 he and others at the NWS-Melbourne began a series of "a half-dozen [phone] calls" over a 90-minute period communicating the threat of the system to the northwest of the track.
"We talked to them even after the first warning for northwest Volusia [County] that didn't include them, just to kind of give them a heads up," said Cristaldi. "We did mention in our verbal briefings to them that there was some potential [to impact the track], even though the current motion was east, it showed signs that it might turn more southeast into that more unstable air, which it looks like is exactly what happened. Once it got west of Ormond Beach it just dropped southeast toward the Holly Hill and north Daytona area."
Despite the communication, no warnings were issued to fans.
"We were not under that warning at 2:16," said Booth. "We were certainly monitoring, but at that point we had not issued our alert."
Yet Lenny Santiago, senior director of public relations at the track, said that the track officials do not require the track to be included within the specific geographic coordinates of an NWS warning in order to implement the track's severe weather safety protocol.
"It's not set in stone," said Santiago. "We work closely with the National Weather Service. It's a joint partnership with them."
At 2:19 p.m. NWS-Melbourne issued a tornado warning for northwest Volusia County, not including the track. The tornadic cell continued to push east, even as a separate cell, which had formed out ahead of the tornadic cell, hovered just over and to the south of the track, producing lightning.
Iowa State University
This radar image, taken at 2:15 p.m., shows the area of the severe
thunderstorm warning (yellow) as well as the approximate location of
Daytona International Speedway and a cell that spawned lightning
warnings by the NWS (red).
"If we're under a severe warning we're not drying the track," said Booth. "We would not be drying the track under a severe weather warning, a severe thunderstorm warning, or a tornado warning. Even if we're getting heavy rain we're not going to be out there with the Air Titan or even our jet driers."
As the threat moved closer to Daytona International Speedway, the NWS-Melbourne issued a severe thunderstorm warning for northern Volusia County at 2:45 p.m., including the speedway. It was at that point, according to Cristaldi, that track officials had an "in-depth conversation" with NWS-Melbourne about the now very immediate risk of severe weather for the track. Track officials then began implementing their severe weather safety protocol at 2:50 p.m., initiating the warning through the PA system, according to Booth, but the first public warning from the track via social media didn't come until 2:56, just a minute before the NWS-Melbourne issued a tornado warning for north central and northeast Volusia County, including the track.
By then fans began clearing the stands — though some still lingered in their seats — to seek shelter from the storm.
"What we do with the race fans is we make them aware there's a potential threat of severe weather in the area and we remind them that their safety is their personal responsibility and we strongly recommend them to clear the grandstands and find an appropriate cover," said track spokesperson Andrew Booth.
But Booth said Daytona International Speedway does not have a designated area for fans to seek shelter in the event of severe weather. So, for fans hoping to hang around for a race restart, the space under the stands provided the only refuge.
When asked whether or not track officials could have done more to ensure spectator safety Booth said that Daytona International Speedway would revisit the issues after the race.
"We're going to look at everything after this event and see how we can improve our process," said Booth. "In the end the safety of our guests is our number one priority at the speedway."
Waiting out the rain #DAYTONA500
It's gotten dark at #Daytona as the track dryers work feverishly around @DISupdates #NASCAR #Daytona500
Cars are seen on pit road during a rain delay
of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International
Speedway. (Getty/Robert Laberge)
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