
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, September 4, 1993                   TAG: 9309040161
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: ROCHESTER, N.Y.                                LENGTH: Short

MCDUFFIE LAWSUIT THROWN OUT

A U.S. District Court judge on Friday threw out a $4.25 million lawsuit filed against the Watkins Glen race track and NASCAR by the widow of driver J.D. McDuffie, who died in a 1991 crash.

Judge Michael Telesca said McDuffie "was well aware of the dangers associated with auto racing," as well as the specific risks of the Watkins Glen track, an irregularly shaped road course.

McDuffie, 52, died during the Budweiser at the Glen race on Aug. 11, 1991. His car's suspension and brakes failed as he entered turn 5 and he lost control of his car and crashed into a barrier. The car overturned, and McDuffie was killed instantly.

After the accident, the course was modified so that drivers would have to slow before entering turn 5.

A lawsuit filed on behalf of McDuffie's widow, Ima Jean, claimed that the turn was unsafely designed and that the barrier didn't meet racing standards. But Telesca ruled that the accident was caused by a mechanical failure of the car, not by the design of the track. - Associated Press

Keywords:
AUTO RACING FATALITY

by CNB