Fan arrested after going on the track
"During the Centurion Boats at The Glen we apprehended a fan after he climbed a fence in attempt to get an autograph from a NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series driver while the race was under a red flag caution for clean up after an incident in Turn 1. The person was immediately apprehended by WGI Security and Schuyler Co Sheriff's Deputies and charged with reckless endangerment in the second degree, a Class A misdemeanor and criminal trespass in the third degree, a Class B misdemeanor. He was arraigned before the Town of Dix Justice where he was committed to the Schuyler County Jail in lieu of $3000 cash bail or $5000 bond. He was later released Sunday night after posting bail. He faces one year in jail if convicted of the endangerment charge. The Schuyler Co. District Attorney's office is now involved in the on going investigation into the incident."
“Watkins Glen International is committed to providing a fun and safe environment for fans and competitors therefore we will not tolerate this type of behavior. We feel that it is in the best interest of the track and NASCAR to ban this fan from all future events held here. We are also asking all other NASCAR facilities, including our sister ISC facilities, to also honor this ban at any of their future events."
08/13/07 The sports marketing folks will tell you NASCAR has become a Big Four sport in the country because easy access to drivers makes them seem like ordinary people. Very easy access, one fan proved on Sunday afternoon when he simply walked onto the track for an autograph. During a late-race, red-flag period, a man ran up to Matt Kenseth's #17 Ford, reached through the passenger window and asked the driver to sign his hat. "He just said, 'Will you sign this?'" Kenseth was heard saying to his crew over the driver radio. "I'm like, 'I'm a little busy right now.'" The man, half inside the car window, asked again but Kenseth refused. The man finally gave up and ran — in a far from straight line — back toward the fans' area. He was soon arrested. The man apparently gained access to the track by climbing over the large wire fence, ran across the grass, then stepped over the blue barrier at trackside. Rochester Democrat and Chronicle