LONG POND — It was a messy ending to the Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway, with two separate accidents knocking out 10 racers before Ryan Blaney took the checkered flag. But the most troublesome experience on Sunday had nothing to do with the race itself.
Instead, it had to do with the drive up to Pocono Raceway, where an early morning thunderstorm caused a traffic jam of extraordinary proportions.
Those familiar with travel during race weekend know that driving to the grandstands or the infield are always a challenge, but the weather severity forced the hands of raceway officials.
“Everything stemmed from the lightning delay that we were under for almost an hour,” Pocono Raceway CEO Nick Igdalsky told the Pocono Record. “When that happens, not only do the fans need to be evacuated from the grounds, but all the employees too. You can’t have the employees out in the ground when lightning is in the area.”
Igdalsky also mentioned that the area was also under a tornado warning prior to the storm, which they didn’t know until the final moments before the storm cell’s impact. The situation meant that all employees, including the parking attendants, had to go inside for safety.
Unfortunately, the result was a chaotic parking and traffic scenario that made the final 2-5 miles an hourslong journey for everyone.
The storm cleared well before the race began, but the traffic caused fans to miss most, or in some cases all, of the event.
“In our history of this raceway, this is the only time that has ever happened,” Igdalsky said. “So we will plan in the future to make sure that even in these unprecedented, one-time situations, that we still have an emergency plan for such.
“We ensure the fans we will make the changes so we will never have this issue again.”
When asked about what could be done to address the issue for the future, Igdalsky said he has “a good idea of what we’re going to do,” but also that any potential solutions need to be properly vetted first. That said, he reiterated that even though it was an unprecedented weather situation, that what happened Sunday will not be allowed to happen again.
This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: Pocono Raceway CEO Nick Igdalsky addresses unprecedented traffic issue
Source Agencies
