10 Things You Might Have Missed From Last Weekend's Motorsport Action

In another busy and exciting weekend of motorsport - which included Formula 1, IndyCar and Nascar - here are 10 things you might have missed:

1. A very close call

Thanks to @nathanjowen for sharing this! Very lucky

Amid all the chaos as Kimi Raikkonen crashed out on the first lap of last weekend’s British Grand Prix, Max Chilton was lucky to avoid getting hit on the head by a loose tyre as he attempted to make his way safely through the flying debris. The above picture shared on Twitter shows just how close it was. He said after the race:

“I am lucky to be here. It was frightening, to be honest. I just ducked and it hit the nose of my car. I was saved by a matter of inches and I’m just glad I’m still here.”

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Juan Pablo Montoya secured his first open-wheel victory since the 2005 F1 Brazilian Grand Prix after winning last weekend’s Pocono IndyCar 500 race at Pocono Raceway. He started from pole but lost the lead early on. After a close battle with Will Power, he reclaimed it but lost a front wing endplate in the process.

He pitted with 14 laps to go and dropped back, before returning to the front when the cars ahead failed to make their strategies work and took to the pit lane for fuel in the closing stages. He crossed the line to take his first IndyCar win since Gateway in September 2000, with Helio Castroneves in second and Carlos Munoz in third.

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A big crash at Pocono in Saturday’s second IndyCar practice session ruled Jack Hawksworth out of competing in Sunday’s race. He suffered a myocardial contusion after hitting the wall hard at turn one and was kept in hospital overnight for observation.

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When rain hit qualifying for the Nascar Nationwide Series race at the Daytona International Speedway on Friday, it caused chaos. It sparked a multi-car pile-up as drivers got caught out by the sudden change in weather.

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The Coke Zero 400 Nascar Sprint Cup race at Daytona was originally scheduled for Saturday but rain postponed it to Sunday. When it eventually got underway, it was red flagged after 11 laps due to more wet weather. It restarted 22 minutes later, with several favourites being eliminated in a massive crash on lap 21.

Another huge pile-up on lap 98, which you can see below, saw even more drivers retire. Rain returned later on with the red flag emerging yet again on lap 112. After a 30-minute wait, the race was cut short and Aric Almirola was declared the winner.

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There were two huge pile-ups during Saturday’s Nascar Sprint Cup Series race at Daytona. The first took place on lap 21 and eliminated several big names, while the second accident caused chaos on lap 98.

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The Nascar Nationwide Series race at Daytona produced a photo finish, with Kasey Kahne taking the victory by just 0.021 seconds from his team-mate Regan Smith. It is his first win in the series since 2007, after Kahne battled through the field after taking the final restart with three laps to go in 12th place.

8. Evans and Nasr victorious at Silverstone

The GP2 series was back in action at Silverstone supporting the British Grand Prix. Mitch Evans won the feature race on Saturday after leader Raffaele Marciello retired with a mechanical issue. Evans battled hard with Jolyon Palmer but edged clear to take his maiden victory in the series.

Sunday’s sprint race was a dramatic one and saw Felipe Nasr score his second triumph of 2014. He dominated from the start, with Stefano Coletti failing to challenge for the top spot. Behind there was plenty of action with battles throughout the field.

9. Eriksson and Stanaway take GP3 wins

The GP3 series was also racing over the weekend, with Jimmy Eriksson winning race one at the Silverstone circuit. He converted pole position into the victory after a close fight with home favourite Alex Lynn. Richie Stanaway led home a Status GP one-two in the second race, ahead of his team-mate Nick Yelloly.

10. Ekstrom wins on home soil

In front of a record-breaking crowd in Sweden, Mattias Ekstrom stormed to his first ever FIA World Rallycross Championship victory on home soil. He is the fifth different winner in 2014 and scored maximum points. Andreas Bakkerud and Petter Solberg were second and third despite both suffering punctures in what was a dramatic final.