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Welcome to the Cup Scene Daily for September 4,2003
Vol. II,No.VIXII FINAL EDITION
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7 DAY ARCHIVE Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday INSIDE TODAY'S ISSUE: The Greatest NASCAR Story Ever Told, Part 3Nadeau to attend Richmond race Head injuries and NASCAR Green's future uncertain after release from DEI Doughnut or dough-not McMurray leads Charlotte testing Long-term deal is season highlight for Stewart, Gibbs If Kenseth stumbles, Harvick set to pounce Richmond could be track where Wallace ends slump Hmiel long on short-track success Jarrett: Don't bash Kenseth, point system Richmond short on lap length, long on thrills Experience at Darlington never boring The Cup Scene Daily Newsletter off line for now, new one to debut soon! Next Race Race Shop RACE Tickets Fantasy Garage NEW!
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SOFT TOUCH
The new soft walls are ready at Richmond and will probably get a workout this weekend. No one though one wants to see a test such as Jerry Nadeau provided in May, when he was knocked unconscious for two weeks.
A tripleheader this weekend will be run on a track with a new Steel and Foam Energy Reduction (SAFER) wall system in place at both ends. The barrier is designed to soften the blow of crashes in the turns. Richmond is the first short track in the series to have the walls, and drivers who have seen the barriers have praised the change as one that provides some peace of mind. "They took some time and did their research to try to figure out how to do it right the first time," said Winston Cup ace Kevin Harvick. "They obviously wouldn't be putting them up if it wouldn't help." Johnny Benson and Bobby Hamilton have missed races after being hurt at Richmond, but neither was injured as seriously as Nadeau in May. He had to be cut from his car after it slammed driver's side first into the wall. He suffered a head injury, a fractured shoulder blade and lung and rib injuries, remained semiconscious for three weeks and hasn't raced since. Drivers in Saturday night's Chevrolet Rock & Roll 400 and the Busch and Craftsman Truck series events the previous nights will find 1,197 feet of the steel and Styrofoam barriers in each turn. "Richmond is a great track and if this barrier works like I think it will, everyone in our sport will benefit," said Benson, who broke a rib in a Busch race crash here in May 2002. "We hit the wall at the shorts tracks as hard as we do at the bigger tracks." The installation, completed last week, prevented teams from coming to the track to test. But Harvick's teammate, Robby Gordon, doesn't think that will matter. If anything, he said, the walls could allow the racing to be racier. "Because of the SAFER walls, you get guys coming back and racing more competitively than coming back and racing scared all night long," Gordon said. The walls are 40 1/2 inches high and contain steel tubes and 22 inch-thick blocks of Styrofoam wedged between the original wall and the steel tube outer wall. Track president Doug Fritz said NASCAR asked Richmond to install the walls, joining Indianapolis Motor Speedway as the only track on the circuit with the system in place. The track will have crews on hand throughout the busy weekend to inspect the walls for damage and to assess whether immediate repairs are required. Cup champion Tony Stewart doesn't expect drivers to be thinking about the walls while they are racing, but qualified that. "I guarantee that if you start spinning and you're heading toward that wall, you're going to be thinking about it a little bit," he said. Drivers have been pushing NASCAR to order Winston Cup tour promoters to install soft walls for two years, and this is the second track to do so. Jeff Burton said he won't criticize NASCAR's slow pace. 'There has long been a theory that the faster you go, the more opportunity you have to get hurt,' Burton said. 'But it really doesn't matter how fast you're going. What really matters is what angle you hit and how hard you hit the wall - at what speed and at what angle. 'What we've learned is that on the shorter tracks we've seen large wrecks based on the fact of the angle that you hit the wall and the speed that you hit the wall. So when we originally started thinking about soft walls and safety stuff, people had Michigan and Charlotte and those kind of tracks in mind, and there wasn't much thought about the angle that you hit. 'But in the last five or six years we've really understood the angle in which you hit. So Richmond, New Hampshire, Phoenix, those kind of race tracks, are places that need it. Every race track needs it, no doubt about that. But the angle you hit is the most important thing. 'As far as the speed for getting the walls up, anytime there's a development or there's something new out there, everybody wants it and they want it right now. What NASCAR has had to do is be smart about it and not rush to a conclusion that the soft wall technology was truly ready to go.' 'But I think it's gone as fast as it could possibly go and do it right.' Nadeau to attend Richmond raceSeptember 4 Crew chief Ryan Pemberton doesn't harbor any ill feelings or negative thoughts. Yet, he does feel he has some unfinished business to attend to at Richmond International Raceway, site of Saturday night's Chevy Rock & Roll 400 NASCAR Cup race.
With Jerry Nadeau behind the wheel of the U.S. Army car at the Richmond spring race, the team posted a solid qualifying effort of 12th and was running in the top three in the ensuing practice session. It was all clicking for Pemberton and Nadeau. But as the practice session went on, misfortune struck the U.S. Army team when Nadeau slammed into the wall driver-side first between the first and second turns. He was airlifted to Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center in Richmond where he was listed in critical condition with head, lung and rib injuries. "That was a very difficult time," said Pemberton. "My best friend and driver was laid up in the hospital and you could sense it wasn't good. None of us wanted to be at the track, but we had a job to do. We had to get the backup car out and go find a driver. We not only had to find a driver who was willing to fill in, but one who was about the same size as Jerry. Jason Keller (Busch Series driver) agreed and he did a good job for us considering the circumstances." Pemberton is hoping that he and the team's current substitute driver, Mike Skinner, will also click with a successful combination for the .75-mile oval. "Frankly, I'd like to duplicate everything in Richmond except Jerry's last lap," said Pemberton. "We had had a good qualifying run and Jerry was running real fast in race trim. We never got the chance to really show our hand. Hopefully, we'll have just as good of a combination for Mike. This will be his fifth race for us and he has done a good job." Offering support to Pemberton and Skinner in Richmond will be Nadeau, who is recovering from the injuries he sustained on May 2. "I am going to Richmond to thank a lot of people and give my support to the team," said the 32-year-old Nadeau. "There are so many people that I want to personally thank - the doctors and staff at the hospital, the emergency workers and the medical staff at the infield care center." "Regarding the team, I think they're going to do well in Richmond. We had a fast car in May and I feel it will be just as good this weekend." Skinner, who has a fondness for the Richmond track, is looking forward to having a fast Army Car.
"I've always liked Richmond," said Skinner, who captured the pole at this race in 1999. "We're continuing to learn and understand each other and I feel we might have found something in Darlington last week. You know what, I would like nothing more than to go out there and have a great finish for Jerry. This is his car and it would be only fitting for all of the U.S. Army team members to come away with a solid result in Richmond."
Head injuries and NASCAR
To prove he had progressed enough to race inches apart at 180 mph, Steve Park felt as if he were regressing. Counting from 1 to 100. Working with flash cards suited for preschoolers playing memory games. Studying the alphabet.
Park's spirit was willing, but his senses, slowly unscrambling after his head took a nasty hit in a wreck, took a while to cooperate. "It's very hard and frustrating," Park said. "You want to say just give me a pill or a shot and make me better. But there's no pill or shot. It's just a long therapy process. Sometimes you lose patience because you're doing these childlike things, but the process helps gauge how far along you're coming. "It's almost easier to break your arm because you can watch it heal." |
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