Daytona Beach, Fla. • Austin Theriault won the season-opening ARCA race at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, getting the victory after a harrowing late accident damaged part of the energy-absorbing wall.
The race was called with five laps remaining — with Theriault sitting in his No. 52 Chevrolet on the high-banked track.
Justin Fontaine, meanwhile, was being transported to a hospital for evaluation. Fontaine's wild ride brought out the final red flag. He slammed into the outside wall, slid on his driver's side door, flipped and then came to a stop on his roof. Fontaine was stuck in the car for several minutes as safety workers turned his car over and cut him out of the cockpit.
Terry Jones finished second, followed by Shane Lee, Dalton Sargeant and pole-sitter Tom Hessert.
Theriault passed Jones for the lead with eight laps to go.
Caesar Barcarella (80), Gus Dean (32), AJ Fike, back left, David LeBeau (37) and John Ferrier, back right, crash on the front stretch during an ARCA auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)
Caesar Barcarella (80) and Gus Dean (32) collide in a crash with other cars on the front stretch during an ARCA auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/David Yeazell)
Justin Fontaine (33) flips as he crashes with Codie Rohrbaugh, center, and Bobby Gerhart (5) during an ARCA auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)