IndyCar drivers shaken by earthquake near Sonoma track
SONOMA, Calif. -- The IndyCar community was jostled early Sunday morning by a 6.0 earthquake in the Napa Valley.
The epicenter was in American Canyon, which is 15 miles east of Sonoma Raceway, where the Verizon IndyCar Series is scheduled to hold its season's penultimate race later today.
'What a wake-up call, scariest thing of my life,' Helio Castroneves wrote on Twitter after the first shake occurred about 6:20 a.m. ET (3:20 a.m. PT).
Castroneves tweeted a photograph of the hotel's bathroom mirror shattered on the floor. He and other Team Penske officials were evacuated from the hotel.
Team Penske president Tim Cindric said he stood in the street with Castroneves, pole-sitter Will Power and others.
'Not fun,' he wrote.
Cindric posted photos of damage within the hotel.
'Hope the race track is ok,' Castroneves tweeted with a photo of a damaged road en route to the course.
With power outages and assorted damage, it's unclear what effect this will have on the race, which is set for 4:40 p.m. ET (NBC Sports Network).
But a statement from Sonoma Raceway said the 12-turn, 2.385-mile permanent road course and its facilities weren't damaged, and the racing activities will continue as planned.
The statement:
'Racing will continue as planned today at Sonoma Raceway for the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma Verizon IndyCar Series event.
'The raceway and its facilities experienced no damage from this morning's 6.0-magnitude earthquake, which was centered in nearby American Canyon. All major systems, including the 12-turn road course, have been inspected by officials, and all emergency responders will be on-site at the facility, as planned. No fans or campers were injured during the quake.
'The 85-lap Verizon IndyCar Series event is slated to take the green flag at 1:40 p.m. Race fans are advised to check current reports and road conditions for the best routes to and from the raceway.'
KV Racing Technology officials fear that the winery co-owned by Jimmy Vasser, which is based near the epicenter, has suffered damage.
Cavin writes for the Indianapolis Star
Post a Comment for "IndyCar drivers shaken by earthquake near Sonoma track"