Hicks Gets Award: Larry Hicks, a retired Marine who saved Jack Roush from drowning after Roush’s ultralight aircraft crashed in Alabama in April, has been named as the second-quarter winner of the National Motorsports Press Association’s Pocono Spirit Award. “The first time I was able to talk to Jack after what happened, he told me that it was time for me to have my 15 minutes of fame,” Hicks said this week. “He told me that as long as he was around, he was going to be talking about me.” The remarkable rescue of Roush, one of Winston Cup racing’s most successful team owners, was made more so by the series of coincidences that made it possible. Roush crashed into a small lake near Hicks’ home in Troy, Ala., on April 19 while piloting a friend’s small plane. Hicks, who saw the plane go down, had spent a career in the U.S. Marines as an underwater rescue specialist. He dived repeatedly before being able to free Roush, then rescuscitated him and administered aid until rescue crews arrived. Retired driver Dave Marcis was the first-quarter nominee.(The State)(7-26-2002)
