NASCAR officials today announced that they would review their social media policies after driver Robby Gordon caused a 20-car crash while posting a status update during this weekend’s Pep Boys 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
“We’ve always been extremely fan friendly, and NASCAR always embraces ways to connect our fans with the drivers,” said NASCAR President Mike Helton. “However, maybe we need to scale that down a bit, at least during races.”
Gordon apparently took his eyes off the road during lap 72 of the race to attempt to update his Twitter page on the handling of his car. An in-car camera showed that while he was using his iPhone, he apparently did not see the pack of cars ahead of him slowing to go into the first turn, eventually causing a wreck that took out almost half the field.
“I don’t think we need to stop Twittering,” Gordon said. “I mean, it’s too bad that all those cars got wrecked, but the big issue is technology. I think if I can just weld the iPhone to my steering wheel, I won’t have to worry about fumbling for it.”
