Tragedy Strikes Fans at Stormy Pennsylvania 400 in Pocono

The rain-shortened Pennsylvania 400 provided a much-needed win for Jeff Gordon, but the victory was diminished when lightning struck fans scrambling to their vehicles, resulting in one death, as David Caraviello of NASCAR.com reported.

The race was delayed nearly two hours because of heavy rain and track drying. After 98 of the 160 laps were run, severe weather surrounded the track and moved in quickly.

The race was red-flagged and shortly thereafter Gordon was declared the winner. Fans were told to seek shelter immediately.

Fans are a loyal group and they will wait out threatening weather conditions, sometimes from the grandstands or beneath them.

When the storm began, lightning struck in the parking lot behind the grandstands. Two people were critically injured and one died. A total of nine people were injured in addition to the fatality.

According to The Associated Press (h/t si.com), Jeff Gordon said he heard a "Huge, huge crack from lightning. You could tell it was very close. I mean that's the thing that's going to take away from the victory, is the fact somebody was affected by that."

It is unclear if there were multiple lightning strikes that struck the fans. The severe storm had been predicted to hit the track.