Red flags at Daytona as 19-car shunt halts ‘500’

After Robby Gordon's Chevrolet tapped Ward Burton's Dodge into Tony Stewart's Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac on the run to turn three, Stewart got loose and turned into the wall, before being flipped by Robby Gordon's Chevrolet into a series of barrel rolls in front of the pack.

Other cars involved in the ensuing mayhem included those of Bobby Labonte, Jeff Gordon, Ward Burton, Jeremy Mayfield, Rusty Wallace, Mark Martin, Terry Labonte and Steve Park.

Although no driver was seriously hurt in the accident, Stewart was taken to Daytona Beach's Halifax Medical Centre for observation.

Prior to the accident, NASCAR's new superspeedway aero package had proved a resounding success on its Daytona 500 debut. Only two cautions had flown - both for single-car incidents - with an amazing 45 changes of lead. The downside had been a 35-car lead pack in which racing was often three- or four-abreast.

"You know it's coming and you try and keep your eyes on certain guys," said Jeff Gordon, "but when it happens, there's nothing you can do. I just ran into a wall of cars. With the new rules, you know it'll happen before the green flag falls."

"The problem with this type of racing is the nearer the end you get, the wilder it gets," said Ward Burton

Re-start order after a 16-minute delay was be: Dale Earnhardt Jr, Ricky Rudd, Dale Earnhardt, Michael Waltrip, Mike Wallace, Bill Elliott, Ken Schrader, Sterling Marlin, Bobby Hamilton, Jeremy Mayfield.