Smith Returns to Racing: Stanley Smith speeds around the track tucked into the backwoods of Montgomery, a patch over his left eye and only his crew and two sections of empty bleachers looking on. The former Winston Cup driver, who spent 40 days in a hospital after an accident at the Talladega Superspeedway in 1993, is back doing what he loves best in NASCAR’s minor leagues. “I just wanted to get back in and see how it felt, and make sure it was still fun,” Smith said after the recent test run at Montgomery Motor Speedway. “And it was.” The 51-year-old Smith finally made it to Winston Cup racing in 1990, after 18 years of paying dues. He got a sponsor, Interstate Batteries, in 1992 but the company switched to Joe Gibbs’ new race team midway through the season. Smith went back to racing on his own dime. Then, in a seven-car wreck in the 1993 DieHard 500, his skull was cracked from ear to ear, leaving him unconscious for 10 days(Racing Extra/AP)(6-10-2001)
