Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 7, 1990 TAG: 9004070123
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RAY COX SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Jarrett is replacing Bonnett in the Wood Brothers Ford for the race Sunday at Bristol (Tenn.) International Raceway. Bonnett is struggling to regain the memory he lost when he was involved in a 13-car crash April 1 in the TransSouth 500 at Darlington, S.C.
"I could be in the same room as Neil, but he wouldn't know who I was until somebody told him `That's Ed,' then he'd know from then on," said Ed McClean, a spokesman for CITGO, which sponsors Bonnett's car. "He knows that he should know who people are, but he doesn't, and that frustrates him very much."
Bonnett, 43, is resting at home in Bessemer, Ala. His wife, Susan, has asked that reporters not try to speak to him until at least next week, McClean said.
"Physically, he's fine," McClean said. "All he has is a little nick on the chin, nothing more than a razor burn. The doctor would put him into the car today if his memory wasn't a problem."
It is not known how long Bonnett's recovery will take.
"Amnesia has been a mystery for years," McClean said. "It's wait and see. He could come out of it this afternoon, it may be next week, or it may not be for some time."
The accident that hospitalized Bonnett came in a chain-reaction crash on lap 212 of a 367-lap race. It was unclear exactly what happened to Bonnett's Ford, but he was the only driver hospitalized.
This is the fourth time in five seasons that injuries have put Bonnett in the hospital. In 1987, he had career-threatening leg injuries. A wreck at Dover (Del.) Downs last season left him with a broken sternum.
Jarrett, a 33-year-old second-generation driver from Hickory, N.C., has been concentrating on the Busch Grand National Series. He has eight top-10 finishes in 83 career Winston Cup starts. He has been fifth twice, his best finish.
Bonnett, meanwhile, is going through the agonizingly slow process of reconstructing his past.
"He remembers that he was in Florence [S.C.] last Sunday, and he remembers he hit a blue car, but nothing before that," McClean said. "He didn't know his family; he didn't know he was from Alabama."
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB