Kyle Busch goes digital when snapped TV cable damages his car

NASCAR driver Kyle Busch made the most of digital technology on Sunday when he used a smartphone to take photos of damage to his car caused by a Fox Sports camera cable above Charlotte Motor Speedway that snapped and fell across the track.

Busch, who was leading the Sprint Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 after 120 laps, was the first driver to hit the fallen cable, which damaged the right front fender of his car, on Lap 122. The photos were reportedly shipped to his crew in the garage as they waited to make repairs.

Ten people in the grandstands were injured, including three who were taken to a hospital for evaluation of cuts and other injuries. Seven people were treated at the speedway for minor scrapes.

“They’re going to have to disassemble that thing and take it down,” Busch said about the cable after it struck his car. “They’re going to have to throw the red [flag] here.”

Drivers Mark Martin and Marcos Ambrose also needed to have their cars repaired.

Fox Sports released a statement about the incident.

“At this time, we do not have a cause for the failure of the camera drive line that interrupted tonight’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and our immediate concern is with the injured fans,” the statement read. “The camera system consists of three ropes -- a drive rope which moves the camera back and forth, and two guide ropes on either side. The drive rope failed near the Turn 1 connection and fell to the track. The camera itself did not come down because guide ropes acted as designed. A full investigation is planned, and use of the camera is suspended indefinitely.

“This camera system had been used successfully at this year’s Daytona 500, last week’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race and other major events around the world. We certainly regret that the system failure affected tonight’s event, we apologize to the racers whose cars were damaged, and our immediate concern is for the race fans. We also offer a sincere ‘thank you’ to the staff at CMS for attending to the injuries and keeping us informed on this developing situation.

“When we have more information on the cause of the equipment failure, we will share it with you immediately.”

Kevin Harvick won the race when he pulled away from the field on a restart with 11 laps left. Kasey Kahne finished second, followed by Kurt Busch and Denny Hamlin, who was running in his second full race since returning from injury.

Kyle Busch was unable to finish the race when his engine failed after the halfway point.

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