New twist to racing in the rain: Crash leaves IMSA driver without a windshield at Watkins Glen
That was the situation that TDS Racing driver Steven Thomas found himself nearly an hour into the Sahlen's Six Hours of the Glen. After a head-on collision with the LMP2 of No. 52 driver Rodrigo Sales (VIDEO ABOVE), Thomas was pulling away in his No. 11 ORECA LMP2 07 when he realized the raindrops were inside the cockpit.
The crash impact had ripped away the windshield of Thomas' car, whose wipers continued to operate in thin air.
'I didn't realize the windshield was gone until I started to drive away, and I was feeling the rain,and I was like, 'Oh, I have no windshield,' ' Thomas told NBC Sports' Chris Wilner on Peacock. 'I'm fine. It's just a shame for both Rodrigo and me that happened in the rain, but not a lot you could do there.'
The incident started when Sales spun in Turn 9 on a restart at Watkins Glen International after a sudden downpour dampened large sections of the 11-turn, 3.4-mile road course.
'Basically what happened on the restart, I got pushed in the left rear, at which point I was 180 degrees,' Sales said. 'Then I knew it was a horrible place to be stopped. I just saw cars coming around the corner. Quite a few made it around. Sometimes it's impossible to see though, so it looked like I saw a flash of yellow – the TDS P2 car – and it was a huge impact. The car is toast unfortunately. It's a shame, but it's racing. Tricky conditions. It is what it is.'
Thomas said his vision was obscured by a GT car just in front of him.
'When the GT car went left, that's the first time I saw Rodrigo literally 10 feet in front of me,' Thomas said. 'There was literally nowhere to go. When the GT car went left, it looked like Rodrigo was driving at me.'
Sales retired from the race, and Thomas' car still had yet to return to the track 51 laps later (and if and when it did, the car certainly would be equipped with a new windshield).
The third endurance race of the IMSA season continues live on Peacock.
Nate Ryan,
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Lakers' Deandre Ayton, Adou Thiero represent LA hoops at Dodger Stadium
The post Lakers' Deandre Ayton, Adou Thiero represent LA hoops at Dodger Stadium appeared first on ClutchPoints. After a slow a start, the Los Angeles Lakers have made multiple moves to strengthen the roster this offseason. While the additions of Adou Thiero and Jake LaRavia offer depth and scoring, DeAndre Ayton is potentially a long-term solution at the Center. All three of the brand-new Lakers were at Dodger Stadium on Saturday night during the game against the Toronto Blue Jays, and even took the mound to throw out the ceremonial first pitch during the annual Lakers Night celebration. The Lakers' official X handle posted a series of pictures of the three stars, all wearing Dodgers jerseys with their own names on the back. The three stars also wore their own Lakers numbers on the back. Ayton wore the No. 5, Thiero wore No. 1, while LaRavia attended the event wearing a No. 12 jersey. Ayton, LaRavia, and Thiero not only delivered the ceremonial pitches but also joined in the tradition of leading the crowd with the iconic 'It's Time for Dodger Baseball!' rallying cry. However, before that, the Dodgers manager Dave Roberts even offered the Lakers stars pitching pointers before they stepped onto the mound. The event took place just a day after Kobe Bryant was honored at the stadium with a special bobblehead and a first pitch thrown by his daughter Bianka. The Dodgers are the defending World Series champions and seem on track for another title. The game started in competitive fashion before turning into a rout. Blake Snell was dominant for the Dodgers, striking out 10 over five shutout innings. Shohei Ohtani's 40th homer of the season and a Max Muncy blast accounted for the early damage, but it was the Jays' inability to contain the bottom of the Dodgers' order that turned a competitive game into a rout. Certainly an entertaining first piece of action for the Lakers in attendance as well. Related: LeBron James reunites with Kyle Kuzma in Winnie Harlow photos Related: Lakers' LeBron James reveals new off-court 'addiction'
New York Post
7 hours ago
- New York Post
Max Fried joins in Aaron Boone's frustrations with umpire's questionable strike calls
Access the Yankees beat like never before Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees. Try it free Austin Wells pumped his glove toward Max Fried, as if the Yankees catcher expected the arms of home plate umpire Derek Thomas to follow moments later. Fried's 2-2 fastball to Astros right fielder Cam Smith had caught the outside edge of the zone, and a strike would've allowed the Yankees to escape a bases-loaded jam in the fifth still trailing by just two runs. But Thomas didn't call anything. Wells crouched in disbelief. Two pitches later, Smith doubled to score two runs and extend Houston's lead. 3 Yankees manager Aaron Boone is thrown out of the game after arguing with the home plate umpire during the third inning Sunday afternoon at Yankee Stadium. Jason Szenes And as a listless Yankees (62-56) group lost 7-1 to the Astros on Sunday in The Bronx, this wasn't the only Thomas call that frustrated them, with manager Aaron Boone getting ejected for an MLB-leading fifth time this season in the third inning. 'It definitely would've been nice,' Fried said of the call during the Smith at-bat, 'but no one's gonna look back and really care, right? You just gotta be able to make the pitch and get out of it anyway.' It didn't take long for Boone's frustrations with Thomas to boil over. 3 Yankees pitcher Max Fried (54) reacts on the mound in the fifth inning against the Houston Astros at Yankee Stadium, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025, in Bronx, NY. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST 3 Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe reacts after he strikes out swinging to end the game against the Astros on Sunday afternoon at Yankee Stadium. Corey Sipkin Trent Grisham, Ben Rice and Aaron Judge all had pitches outside the zone — per locations — called strikes against them in the first inning. CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND YANKEES STATS Then, when a sinker scraped the edge of the zone two innings later and Thomas called a second strike against Ryan McMahon, Boone said enough to get ejected. He proceeded to hop out of the Yankees dugout and continue arguing with Thomas — 'You f—ing need to fix it,' Boone said, according to YES Network audio of the exchange — even as crew chief Jordan Baker stepped between the pair and kept shuffling to block Boone's path. Postgame, after he watched his lineup manage just three singles and lose for the seventh time in nine games, Boone called the zone 'a little all over the place.' 'I mean, I was on [Thomas] a lot,' Boone said. 'That's over and done with. Is what it is. That isn't the reason we lost this game.' That stemmed from the Yankees not generating a hit until Rice singled in the sixth. That stemmed from Fried's strong outing spiraling with a 36-pitch fifth inning. But near the end of that frame, when a would-be strikeout was followed by a foul ball and then a sinker driven 88.8 mph toward the right field corner, Thomas' missed call forced Fried to throw two more pitches — in addition to the six others that followed in the next at-bat before he finally escaped the inning. And the second one drastically altered his afternoon. 'Just wanted to be able to come out of that [jam], especially keeping it in a tight game and keeping it within two,' Fried said. 'Pushing it to four, it's on me, and it's frustrating.'
San Francisco Chronicle
15 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Connor Zilisch sports a smile and elbow sling at Watkins Glen a day after his nasty fall
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (AP) — Sporting a smile with his left elbow in a black sling draped around his neck, Connor Zilisch was back Sunday at Watkins Glen International and recounting his scary fall in victory lane. After winning Saturday's Xfinity race at the road course, Zilisch took a nasty tumble while attempting a celebratory perch on his No. 88 Chevrolet in celebration. Zilisch, 19, was taken to the hospital and diagnosed with a broken collarbone. Trackhouse Racing withdrew the No. 87 Chevy that he was scheduled to drive in the Cup race Sunday at Watkins Glen. 'First of all, I'm doing OK,' Zilisch said during the USA broadcast of the Cup race. 'Very grateful to be able to walk away from that, and I guess I didn't walk away, but I'm very grateful to be walking today and to just be all right. Thank you to all the medics who took care of me, and everybody who reached out and wished me well. I do appreciate it a lot.' After his series-high sixth victory, Zilisch realized he was in trouble immediately after the chaos began in victory lane, which typically is a frenzied scene of winning team members cheering and tossing beverages as their driver exits the car. 'Yeah, I was climbing out of the car and obviously the window net was on the door, and as soon as they started spraying water, my foot slipped,' he said. 'And the last thing I remember was being halfway down and falling, so I'm glad it wasn't any worse, and that the collarbone is the extent of the injuries, but hate I couldn't make it to the race today.' The question now turns to whether Zilisch will be ready in time to race in the next Xfinity race on Aug. 22 at Daytona International Speedway. 'We're still working out with all the doctors to figure out what's going to be the next steps,' Zilisch said. He already has shown to be a quick healer this season. After a one-race absence at Texas Motor Speedway because of a back injury from a crash at Talladega Superspeedway, Zilisch had posted 11 consecutive top-five finishes and five wins since his return. He noted that Trackhouse teammate Shane van Gisbergen 'had a place put in once and raced the weekend after. So I don't know if I'll be that quick, but hopefully my young bones will heal fast, and I'll be able to get back in it as soon as possible.' ___
