28-07-2002, 23:17
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Administrator
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Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Oud-turnhout in het weekend en Antwerpen in de week
Posts: 8,648
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zwaar ongeval in nascar.
Quote:
Park uninjured in spectacular wreck
LONG POND, Pa. -- Steve Park and Dale Earnhardt Jr. escaped injury Sunday in a spectacular accident one turn into the Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway.
The race was red flagged for nearly 65 minutes with five laps completed to make repairs to the guardrail on the inside of the track. Crews replaced 110 feet of rail and 16 posts.
Rusty Wallace and Park started the chain reaction when they came together exiting the high-speed Turn 1 on the 2.5-mile tri-oval. Wallace said he was hit from behind, turning him into the outside wall on the Long Pond straightaway.
Park had a better view.
"I was on the outside of Rusty and it was the first lap and he started moving up," Park said. "I backed off and he pulled back down like his spotter might've said someone was on the outside.
"I got back up on the outside of him and he just came up on me. It was just a first-lap deal. We were all trying to show patience and it just wasn't the case. Rusty got into me and got me pinched up, Jr. got into the side of me and the party was on."
"All of a sudden I just got nailed in the right rear quarterpanel," Wallace said. "I don't really know what happened, to tell you the truth. I think it was Steve Park, but I don't know if he was on the outside of me as I was coming down the back straightaway or I just got hit from the back."
After the cars collided, Park swerved to the inside of the track and collected Earnhardt Jr.'s Chevrolet. Locked together, the two cars skated across the bumpy infield grass that had been wet by Sunday morning rain before Park's car speared the guardrail.
"Rusty really wasn't clear," Junior said. "I was trying to do my damnedest to get off the side of Steve's car, because I knew once we hit the wall my car was going to probably push him over the guardrail into the infield."
"I just drove him into the guardrail (but) there was nothing I could do on that wet grass."
Upon impact, Park's car virtually pierced the rail and began more than two-and-a-half barrel rolls before it danced up on its nose and then ended up on its side. Earnhardt Jr. exited his car and ran back to Park's machine and was the first to reach his Dale Earnhardt, Inc. teammate and friend.
"He was just elated I was OK," Park said. "Dale Jr. was definitely a welcomed sight and I was glad he was OK, too."
After several minutes, the safety crew removed Park and the pair rode in the ambulance to the track's infield care center, where they were both released after being examined. After speaking with the media, Park returned to the facility for further observation and after about 10 more minutes he was released.
"The ride (wrecking) wasn't so bad, as much as getting trapped in the race car," Park said. "We wear these protective head braces and the HANS device and I was trapped. Pocono fortunately has really good safety workers that helped me get out of the car."
Earnhardt Jr. went to his garage, where his crew repaired his car. He was able to return to pit road when the race was red flagged a second time, due to rain, after 27 laps had been run.
Wallace, while also sitting in the garage waiting for his crew to repair his car, said despite the track's dimensions making it difficult for spotters to help call clearances between cars -- it was the drivers' own responsibility.
"You can't really rely on your spotter -- you're supposed to drive the race car yourself," Wallace said. "Evidently, they're telling me that Steve Park had a run on me and as I was coming down the back straightaway and fading up towards the wall. . .he just wedged himself in there and that was it -- there's not much you can do about it."
bron : nascar.com
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ik heb het filmke gezien. park is daar eht ongelooflijk goed weggekomen.
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