DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The comments made by Jimmie Johnson over the radio sounded ridiculous at first.

"Looks like we may have a hole," the four-time defending Cup champion told his crew after suffering a cut tire that damaged the wheel well of his No. 48 car. "We may have a red flag here. Looks like a big piece of the track came up."

“

We're the World Center of Racing. This is the Daytona 500. This is not supposed to happen, and I take full responsibility.

”

-- ROBIN BRAIG

Indeed, Johnson was correct -- a hole approximately 18 inches long had developed in the lower groove of Turn 2 at Daytona International Speedway, forcing NASCAR officials to halt the Daytona 500 under a red flag Sunday afternoon. The stoppage came 122 laps into the race with Clint Bowyer in the lead.

The race was red-flagged a second time with only 39 laps remaining after the patch crumbled.

After the race, Daytona International Speedway president Robin Braig apologized for the hole and the delays that caused many fans to head to the exits long before the finish.

"We're the World Center of Racing. This is the Daytona 500. This is not supposed to happen, and I take full responsibility," Braig said. "We can come back from this. We know how to fix it. This is hallowed ground. We understand that. We accept the responsibility."

It was unclear how or when the hole developed on an area between Turns 1 and 2, but it took attention away from a strong race that had a record number of leaders. It comes at a critical time for NASCAR, which began this season by making several on-track changes designed to boost sagging TV ratings.

Speedweeks had been filled with wild races, close finishes and plenty of positive attention.

Until this.

"They need to call a caution," driver Robby Gordon said over his radio. "There are rocks everywhere. There is going to be a big wreck."

Officials initially stopped the race with 78 laps remaining in the 200-lap opener. Cars parked on pit road for about 30 minutes, then NASCAR allowed drivers to get out of their cockpits for a break. Track workers patched the hole, which was about 18 inches long and 8 inches wide, using blowtorches to heat the pavement.

It didn't last, though.

During the first red-flag period, maintenance crews worked to repair the area as the cars were parked down pit road. Drivers were eventually allowed to exit their vehicles. Although it was immediately unclear what had caused the hole to form, heavy rains had inundated Central Florida recently appeared to be the culprit. (Continued)