Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 12, 1994 TAG: 9402120167
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. LENGTH: Long
Tragedy struck the NASCAR Winston Cup series again Friday, when veteran driver Neil Bonnett was fatally injured in a single-car crash at Daytona International Speedway less than 30 minutes after the official start of the 1994 season.
Bonnett, 47, of Bessemer, Ala., suffered a massive head injury when his Chevrolet Lumina spun out of control between turn three and turn four and slammed head-on into the outside wall of the track at about 12:45 p.m.
Bonnett had a pulse when he was removed from the car, but died at 1:17 p.m. at nearby Halifax Medical Center without regaining consciousness, said speedway spokesman Larry Balewski.
It was yet another loss for the tragedy-wracked "Alabama gang" of NASCAR drivers that includes the Allison clan, Bonnett and former driver Red Farmer.
Bobby Allison was at the track at the time of the accident and went to the hospital soon afterward. Allison suffered a career-ending head injury in a 1988 accident. And he lost both of his sons, Clifford and Davey, to head injuries. Clifford was killed in a 1992 racing accident and Davey died last year in a helicopter crash that severely injured Farmer. Davey Allison was landing at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway to watch Neil Bonnett's son, David, test a car when his crash occurred.
"It's not looking good for Alabama people," said fellow Alabama native Stanley Smith, a victim of a career-ending head injury July 25 in a crash during the DieHard 500 at Talladega.
"I saw it all happen," said Smith, who was watching Friday's practice session from atop driver Phil Barkdoll's race car hauler in the garage area. "I saw Neil coming and I was going to clock him. There was a slower car in the groove in turn three. It was a dark-colored car, but I didn't see who it was.
"Neil just went by and got loose. He went by that slower car so fast, I think that messed up his air and he got a little out of shape. I think when Neil went by, it took the air off his spoiler and he spun and slammed head-on into the wall."
"He got into the corner and then got out of shape," said driver Wally Dallenbach, who also was watching from atop a hauler in the garage. Dallenbach said he didn't remember seeing a slower car in the turn at the time.
"It was a slow spin, but then the car hooked right around and went straight into the wall. I don't think he lost 3 mph [from the time the spin started] when he went into the wall."
Apparently there was no video tape of the crash. From the black skid marks left on the track, it appeared the back end of Bonnett's car spun, but when the front end hit the flat apron at the bottom of the banked turn, the car turned and hurtled front-first up the banking and straight into the wall.
"It sounded like dynamite going off when he hit the wall," said fan Kevin Wright of Franklin, Vt., who was sitting on top of his pickup truck near turn four when Bonnett crashed. "He started getting loose right here and overplayed it and just went into wall."
Rescue workers cut a hole in the roof of the car to remove Bonnett. The ambulance did not come to the infield care center, but took him directly to Halifax, which is a few blocks from the track. The wrecked car was hauled to an off-limits impound area behind the infield care center.
Immediately after the crash, there were reports that Bonnett's car had spun in oil that NASCAR officials had failed to notice.
Some drivers said they saw oil, but most didn't.
"There was nothing that hadn't been out there before and everybody had run through that," said Dale Jarrett. "The track was loose, but that's because it's hotter here today. But it was not that bad."
"I was one of the first cars out there to practice [after the crash], and there was a dark streak right in the middle of the groove," said Brett Bodine. "It had to be oil."
"There was oil on the track, but not until after the accident," said Morgan Shepherd.
A few minutes before the crash, NASCAR had thrown a red flag to stop practice because Sterling Marlin's Chevy had, in fact, lost some oil in turns one and two.
"Practice on the track had been stopped, and the safety crews had gone out and cleaned it up," said Chip Williams, a NASCAR spokesman.
As the red flag flew, Rick Mast's Ford lost its drive shaft on the backstretch. But the Rockbridge Baths driver said if his car spewed any oil, it wasn't in the groove because he was on the track apron when he reached turn three.
In any event, Winston Cup Director Gary Nelson "told me he personally went out and checked on turns one and two especially but three and four, also," Williams said.
The track was reopened and drivers had run about five laps when Bonnett crashed.
"Our indications are that he lost control of the car," Williams said. "As best we can tell, it was driver error."
Although Bonnett died at 1:17 p.m., speedway officials did not announce his death until 5:24 p.m.
"Susan Bonnett [Neil's wife] was driving from Hueytown to Daytona today and she left out of there at 7 a.m. . . . and has been on the highway ever since. Until we were able to make sure all the notifications had been done and the family had been informed, we just couldn't release anything. We didn't want her to hear it on the radio."
Balewski said Susan Bonnett arrived at the medical center shortly after 5 p.m.
The crash occurred 22 minutes after the first Winston Cup practice of the season had begun (not including January testing).
Practice was supposed to start at 10 a.m. Friday, but was delayed until 12:23 p.m. in the wake of a crash here Thursday that was almost identical to Bonnett's wreck.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING FATALITY
by CNB