Image By: U.S. Army
Not everyone goes to a NASCAR race expecting to part of the action.
But that’s exactly what happened to fans on Saturday when a crash at the Daytona International Speedway caused debris to fly into the stands. According to CNN multiple specatators were injured, at least two of them critically.
And while everyone’s first reaction is to call for help, their second reaction is to take pictures—or in this case, video.
Footage of the crash quickly popped up on YouTube, but only minutes later it was taken down for copyright reasons.
In the hours after the crash the video has started to show up on other websites, and has even been uploaded to other YouTube accounts. Steve Phelps, NASCAR Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer has since released a statement in an attempt to explain why the original video was blocked:
“The fan video of the wreck on the final lap of today’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race was blocked on YouTube out of respect for those injured in today’s accident. Information on the status of those fans was unclear and the decision was made to err on the side of caution with this very serious incident.”
While some people have accepted NASAR’s reasoning, others are more skeptical. According to @Sportsfeeder1 on Twitter:
“Fan video of crash is removed from youtube because Nascar is claiming copyright violation. If they can’t make money of video, no one can!”
Others have expressed that in the very least, it’s not right for NASCAR to take down firsthand footage of crashes but then show footage from event cameras later.
What do you think? Should the video be taken down out of respect for those injured, or do we have a right to see what can happen at a NASCAR event? Share your thoughts below.