The race was planned for the usual standing start, but standing water forced a rolling start.
I was alongside the wall in the Pace Car..... Fiorelli's -X was 4-wide, and buffeting / hydroplaning due to standing water along the right side tires. I swore that he touched the right wall, and the in-car video made it look that way as well.......but he DID NOT touch the wall! The tires and quarter were un-marred. Dave swore he was 'steady throttle' across the painted start-line as advised. He added power, and then hydroplaned right-side tires several times bobbing-jerking left-right-left-right ....but as you see in the vid he LIFTED(slowed.) That brings the weight forward, and I believe that caused the drier LF tire to bite, and spin the car leftwards around the wet less-grippy tires. My theory anyway.
Anecdote # 1..........it was his BIRTHDAY..... his present was that he was unscathed, and used a Viper Exchange car for Sunday....where the unofficial result have him on the podium in 3rd!
The wall he hit and moved was re-rod reinforced, poured concrete....not some hiway jersey-barrier. [Driver must pay for track damage time and materials.]
Anecdote # 2........... his shaved head was badly cut earlier in the morning as he miscalculated his tall-man ingress and cut his scalp on the window net anchor. (been there, with hair, OUCH!) He had a large knee-sized elastic bandage on his scalp, and he had bled onto his drivers suit. When medical reached him, and quizzed the usual: You OK? Name? Where are you? What day is this?..... they asked him where he was bleeding from due to the blood on his shoulder. He said "Im Ok, that was another time" ....Medical insisted he take off his helmet to inspect the bloody-injury they still believed was NEW. He pointed to his Band-Aid and said "Yeah, I bandaged myself up while I waited for your ambulance and put my helmet back on....... IM ALLRIGHT! So they then knew he was OK!. Able to drive next dayand podium! .... LOVE THE PADDED HARNESSES !!!
ANECDOTE # 3.............. A Comp Coupe earlier in the hot day exploded a LR tire on that same straight, and the steel braided bead was thrashing at 120+mph like a whip. It shredded the quarter panel, and the door shell, and freakishly also the DRIVERS LEFT SLEEVE! It cut and abraded his arm, and he was worse injured than Fiorelli in the huge hit. Amazing sight as that VCC disintegrated....