Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 21, 1990 TAG: 9006200252
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-7 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: JEFF MOTLEY SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: DUBLIN LENGTH: Medium
Whatever might have turned the Marks and Associates/Budweiser 300 Late Model Stock Car race at Pulaski County Speedway June 9 into a demolition derby will be debated for awhile, but there are two things that all involved would agree on: It was scary and it was costly.
Stephenson, the track's publicist, and Schulz, a driver, are notorious for their superstitions.
"I saw a full moon on Friday night and predicted that Saturday night would be a bad one," Stephenson said. "But I have already gone and checked the calendar, and there are no more full moons scheduled for a Saturday night this year."
Schulz, who was involved in three spins including a first-lap six-car pileup that left Mike Porter Jr.'s car perched on top of Dicky Wilson's windshield, also faulted the moon but said competitiveness was a major factor.
"There were just so many good cars that were so close in speeds that something was bound to happen," Schulz said. "I think there were probably some problems on the restarts that didn't help, but that is another story."
Carroll, the track's chief steward, addressed the drivers at the meeting before last week's race and told them that some of the accidents were uncalled for. Some drivers have complained that the leader on the restarts was changing speeds, and that caused problems back in the pack. Carroll instructed the pace car to wait longer before leaving the field on restarts.
The race was red-flagged three times and there were at least seven multiple-car spins, but none of the accidents compared to Highberger's.
On the restart of lap 124, there were problems as the cars entered turn four. Before Highberger knew it, he was sliding backwards down the front straightaway on his top. No one seems to know exactly what happened. Highberger knows what he thinks happened, but the video camera was focused primarily on the leader, Ronnie Thomas.
"I remember that Boyd Sult got a little loose in the turn and Dick Goodwin went outside to get around him," Highberger said. "So I cut the other way and floored it to try and get by. Apparently, Dick hit the wall and shot back toward me. I hit him in the door, ran up on his tire and that flipped me.
"For a moment I didn't realize what was happening. As I was sliding I realized I still had it floored, so I let the engine die, cut off the switches and prepared to hit a wall that never came. I couldn't believe I slid that far down the front stretch without hitting anything."
As soon as the car came to rest, the worst thought that ran through Highberger's mind - and that of his car owner, Emory Collins - was fire.
"I know these cars are safe, but there is always the trick of fire," Collins said. "I helped pull him out of the car. I saw those sparks flying and that really scared me."
But no one was more scared than Highberger's wife, Connie, who was sitting in the scoring tower when the crash happened.
"I was in shock," Connie Highberger said. "I just stood there saying his name. I saw all those sparks flying and then I never saw him get out of the car. Then [Collins' wife] Florence saw him out of the car. I was pretty relieved."
Through all the accidents of the night, the most incredible thing was that no one was injured.
"I didn't get bruise one, and that was unbelievable," Highberger said. "The car just went from wheels to top. It didn't hit anything at all."
Most drivers go through an entire career and never see the world upside down as Highberger saw it, but this ride was tame compared to one at Natural Bridge Speedway several years ago.
"The situation was the same, but the results were much worse in that crash," Highberger said. "It landed three times on its top as the car rolled down the straightaway and into the turns. That car wasn't put together nearly as well, either. I suffered two broken ribs in that one."
But Highberger, as well as Schulz and several others who spent the past weeks repairing cars, will be back on the track Saturday in the Meadow Gold 200. Highberger will have a Firebird instead of the familiar Grand Prix, and all the drivers probably will be lighter in the wallet after all the repairs are made.
"If I could have all the money that was lost in equipment Saturday night, I could probably retire and not strike a lick at anything for the next five years," Stephenson said.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB