CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — Kevin Harvick thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. Surely, he told himself as he drove by the front stretch, that can't be a cable hanging down on the track.
"I saw this streak go by me and I'm like, 'What in the (heck) was that?'" Harvick said after winning the Coca-Cola 600 for the second time in three years on Sunday.
"I always have this thing with my eyes. It's one of the biggest things we have as drivers. You got to believe in your eyes. I tell myself you've got to believe what you see. I was hoping it wasn't my last race, I was hoping what I saw was right."
It was right. Weird, but right.
Turns out the nylon rope from an overhead camera system used by Fox Sports had snapped and fallen on the track. It messed up a few cars, caused a red flag to be dropped and injured 10 fans — three of whom had to be transported to the hospital.