As a storm approaching the Daytona International Speedway on Sunday triggered a tornado warning, track officials flashed a message to fans looking for shelter. <\/p>\n
The American Red Cross recommends that if you seek shelter in your vehicle, fasten the seat belt and turn the motor on, the message read. <\/p>\n
Thursday, a spokeswoman for the Red Cross said the advice was taken from their tornado safety guidelines, but not as their primary recommendation. <\/p>\n
Reaction: Tornado warning at Daytona 500 <\/p>\n
I think it might just be taking some wording out of context, said Amber Bierfreund of the agencys Jacksonville office. Nobody was hurt. <\/p>\n
Lenny Santiago, a Daytona International Speedway spokesman, said the speedway wasnt instructing people to seek shelter in their vehicles, but just providing information from the Red Cross. He said many fans watching Sundays race camped at the 500-acre property, which is mostly open land, and were at their campsites during the warning. For them, he said, a vehicle might have been the only shelter. <\/p>\n
Thursday, he said the message was probably out of context. <\/p>\n
He said the message was extracted from Red Cross guidelines and the wording constructed to be posted on screens focused on the infield. <\/p>\n
We only had a certain amount of characters, he said. <\/p>\n
Because many of the thousands of race fans at the track are near their vehicles, they might choose to find shelter there. <\/p>\n
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Storm advice given to Daytona 500 fans missed the mark, agencies say<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As a storm approaching the Daytona International Speedway on Sunday triggered a tornado warning, track officials flashed a message to fans looking for shelter. The American Red Cross recommends that if you seek shelter in your vehicle, fasten the seat belt and turn the motor on, the message read. Continue reading