May 1, 2001
- Earnhardt’s Seatbelt OK? UPDATE 2: Dale Earnhardt’s seat belt did not break during his fatal crash at the Daytona 500, according to one of the first rescuers to come to his aid. Tommy Propst, a veteran Orange County firefighter and emergency medical technician, said he found the NASCAR legend strapped inside his crumpled car in the infield of Daytona International Speedway. Propst said the seat belt was tight enough that he had to pull the seat-belt buckle repeatedly before it popped open. “Somebody hollered, ‘I’ll cut it.’ I said, ‘No, let me try it.’ I reached over, pulled, and I had to really jerk. I pulled hard, and that’s when it come open,” Propst told the Orlando Sentinel. “If it would have been broke, the whole thing would have come open because I was jerking. . . . It was in one piece at the time.” Propst’s account breaks two months of silence by the men and women who tried to save Earnhardt. To this day, Propst said, he has never been questioned by anyone from NASCAR. NASCAR officials Saturday refused to respond to Propst’s statements. See full story at the Orlando Sentinel: Rescuer: Earnhardt seat belt was intact and a 2nd story: Firefighter wrestled over whether to come forward
UPDATE: The NASCAR Winston Cup series was racing in Fontana, Calif., where director Gary Nelson disagreed with Propst’s account. NASCAR has refused to display the seat belt and hasn’t said if the results of its own investigation by unidentified experts will be made public. The probe is expected to last throughout the summer. “I don’t know of anybody that does a big investigation and tells the world their conclusions on a daily basis until the investigation is concluded,” NASCAR chairman Bill France told the AP.(That’s Racin’/AP)(4-29-2001)
UPDATE 2: better explainations at NASCAR.com: NASCAR disagrees with seat belt claim and That’s Racin’: Rescuer, NASCAR at odds on belt(4-30-2001)
UPDATE 3: The woman who climbed into Dale Earnhardt’s car after his fatal crash at the Daytona 500 said Monday that she was too busy trying to save him to tell whether the seat belt was broken. But Patti Dobler, a member of the rescue crew at Daytona International Speedway, said the man with the best view was Orange County firefighter Tommy Propst, who continued to insist Monday that Earnhardt’s five-point safety harness was intact after Earnhardt’s Chevrolet hit the track wall(full story at the Orlando Sentinel)(5-1-2001) - Lazarro to run Cup races: After a sudden cease in operations for Cal Well’s PPI Racing BGN #97 Team, half way through the 2000 season, former Toyota Atlantic Champion Driver Anthony Lazzaro, didn’t know whether or not he’d ever get the chance to compete in the NASCAR ranks again. In no more than half a season, Lazzaro was able to make the Busch field for 10 of the 13 races, his PPI Racing Team qualified for. But unfortunately, PPI had other plans for their newly acquired NASCAR operations. So Lazarro chose to sharpen his skills throughout the remainder of the 2000 season competing in the ALMS series. Late last summer, Asheville, NC, based TWC Motorsport, Ltd., Inc., owned by Tom Coleman, who’s team has over 15 years of experience in SCCA, ALMS, USAC, IMSA, Grand-Am and Trans-Am, decided to test Lazzaro in their Trans-Am car with hopes of landing a sponsor for the 2001 Trans-Am Season. But, as the motorsport’s gods would have it, the sponsorship deals began to unravel. And although Coleman and Lazzaro continued to talk, the hopes of finding funding to join TWC’s expertise and Anthony Lazzaro’s experience began to fade. That is until this spring when Dave Marcis, long time Winston Cup driver and team owner of the #71-RealTree Racing Team Chevy, based out of Arden, NC, offered Coleman the opportunity to purchase one of his 2001 Winston Cup Chevys. This was the opportunity Coleman had been considering for years. “When we tested Anthony and Ron Fellows last Fall, there was no doubt in my mind Anthony could drive,” Coleman said, “we just had to find the right deal at the right time. Anthony is fast, technically in tune with the racecar and has the experience and the desire to be a winner. Just look at his record and you’ll see…this guy’s the real deal.” The TWC Motorsport, Ltd., Inc., NASCAR Winston Cup Chevrolet Monte Carlo will make its debut at both Sears Point and Watkins Glen this season. Lazzaro, who has won in everything he’s run from WKA, Formula Fords, and including winning the 1999 Toyota Atlantic Championship, will bring his over 14 years of road course racing experience, to the two tracks he has had success with in the past as well. “I am excited to have the opportunity to get back into NASCAR again,” Lazzaro said, “and I couldn’t ask for a better team than TWC Motorsport, Ltd., Inc. I’ve known Tom (Coleman) for quite some time and he’s always got the best equipment and a great crew. I won’t sugar coat this…it isn’t going to be easy; NASCAR is the premier series in North America. Qualifying for any race in Winston Cup is an enormous hurdle in itself. But once we finish testing, we’ll have the information we need to make sure this car’s ready for the big leagues. And if we can just make the field in both events, I see no reason why we can’t compete nose-to-nose with those guys at Sears Point and Watkins Glen.” Look for the #68 Chevrolet Monte Carlo during both races this season. Future plans also include running a limited NASCAR schedule next year with the hopes of competing full time in 2003 and beyond(TWC Motorsport PR)(5-1-2001)
- Eel River Racing – dead or alive? which is it? UPDATE 3 At Richmond with Geico not to be confused with gecko:
from NASCAR.com’s Buzz: Kenny Wallace’s Pontiac will carry the logo of FX’s “The Man Show” this weekend(actually Comedy Central’s The Man Show). Wallace is still seeking primary sponsorship for his Pontiac, but said Wednesday that NASCAR might change its mind on the Crown Royal issue and allow him to sign on with the Seagram Company after all. Earlier this season, Crown Royal was set to hand Wallace and his Eel River Racing cohorts a multi-million dollar sponsorship, but NASCAR shot it down. They may have reconsidered……and…..
from That’s Racin’: It’s possible that Sunday’s race could be the end of the line for Eel River Racing, the team that fields the #27 Pontiacs for driver Kenny Wallace. The team has not decided if it will be in Richmond next weekend. It has been running without a sponsor so far this season. Wallace did not make the field last weekend at Talladega.
AND some rumors even have Wallace going to the #4 Kodak Chevy starting at Richmond and that is why the announcement of Kevin Lepage’s signing with the #4 Morgan-McClure team was postponed. But sources say it’s a done deal with Lepage and testing and travel is the reason for the delay
UPDATE: Hounded by reports this weekend his Eel River Racing team was close to shutting its doors following this weekend’s race at California, driver Kenny Wallace said Sunday he was told by the team’s vice president that the reports were not accurate. “I talked to (team vice president) Devin Birmingham and he said it’s not true,” Wallace said. “He said we’re still scrappin’ and clawin’. I told him I needed to know what was up, because I’m his driver and I got everybody telling me we’re closing up. As of now, he says no,” Wallace said. “I guess if we don’t show up at Richmond next week, we closed up. There’s no announcement. I’m as confused as anybody right now.”(That’s Racin’)(4-29-2001)
UPDATE 2: Kenny Wallace says his Eel River Racing Team might sit out this weekend at Richmond if a sponsorship deal is not signed. Wallace says that at a rate of $200,000 a race, the team’s budget is being stretched. Wallace is grateful for the support owner Jack Birmingham has offered and would like to continue with the team, but Wallace might be in consideration to get the No. 4 Morgan-McClure car, which is being driven by Kevin Lepage on an interim basis(Sporting News) AND The demands of running the circuit without sponsorship finally caught up with Kenny Wallace and Barry Dodson. Wallace announced on Sunday that the Eel River team, owned by Jack Birmingham and Dodson, would not be competing next week at Richmond, Va.(Gaston Gazette)(4-30-2001)
UPDATE 3: “We are very pleased to have 1-800-Geico on as a sponsor with us at Richmond, they came out of the woodwork to save ERR from possibly making a very hard decision this weekend. We will give them something to be proud about.”(Kenny Wallace Racing Site) AND ESPN2’s RPM 2Night interviewed Wallace who says the Geico deal could turn into a full season sponsor if things work out well at Richmond(5-1-2001) - Burton’s Safety Equipment Seized: NASCAR officials confiscated the helmet and head restraint worn by driver Ward Burton, who was hospitalized Sunday after a crash at the California Speedway. Burton suffered a concussion and strained tendons in his neck when he hit the concrete wall during the NAPA 500 at Fontana, Calif. He remained hospitalized late Monday at Loma Linda University Medical Center, and his status for Sunday’s race in Richmond remains questionable. Burton was wearing a new head-and-neck restraint designed to slow the forward motion of a driver’s head in a wreck. But some drivers and teams on Monday questioned how well the device performed. Racing safety architect Bill Simpson designed the new restraint and began giving it away at last week’s Winston Cup race in Talladega, Ala. A handful of drivers wore the device during Sunday’s race in Fontana, according to Simpson representatives. Burton’s wreck was the first on-track test of the restraint. One source told The Charlotte Observer that Burton’s head moved forward enough that he hit his chin on something in the car. Monday, several drivers phoned Simpson’s company with questions. Some wondered whether the device contributed to Burton’s injuries or whether it saved his life. Simpson said he couldn’t draw definite conclusions until he studies Burton’s restraint, but he said the device showed promise in a sled crash test. Winston Cup Series Director Gary Nelson, who picked up Burton’s helmet and restraint Monday, was unavailable for comment as he travelled back to NASCAR headquarters in Daytona Beach. It is unclear whether NASCAR will return the restraint to Simpson for research.(That’s Racin’)(5-1-2001)
- Not Cup but…..Race Car Shot: here is an odd story – The Douglas County(Georgia) Sheriff’s Department is trying to determine whether someone shot at a race driver during the running of a race at Seven Flags Speedway on Saturday night. Chief Deputy Stan Copeland said officers are studying videotape and talking to witnesses to see when the Modified Ministock car driven by Craig Scott was hit by gunfire. Copeland said there was one bullet hole in the left side of the car, behind the driver’s door. Investigators said that if the car was hit during the race, the bullet could have come from the pit area or outside the track(Atlanta Journal Constitution)(5-1-2001)
- Woodland to attempt Lowes: Rich Woodland will attempt to qualify for his first BGN race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway for the upcoming CARQUEST Auto Parts 300. The Rich Woodland Racing team has recently purchased a car(Pontiac) from Jarrett/Favre Motorsports and hopes to make the May 26th race the first of 6 races to be run in the Busch Series this year. This will also be the first time that RWR will field a Pontiac as well as the first race with motor builder Keith Roberts. The #40 car, a Hopkins chassis with a 2001 Pontiac body was driven by both Jason Jarrett and Hut Stricklen last year in the Busch series. RWR will resume its season on May 12th at the Kentucky Speedway for the Kentucky ARCA 150(Rich Woodland PR/Site)(5-1-2001)
- ARCA Champ to run #73: Tagsby Racing is pleased to announce that 2 time ARCA Champion, Frank Kimmel, will drive the #73 at Gateway Speedway. .Owner Joey Sonntag said, “We are excited that a driver the caliber of Frank will be driving for us. .We feel with this combination that we will have a good run.”(Tagsby Racing PR)(5-1-2001)
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