Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, June 6, 1994 TAG: 9406060073
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: DOVER, DEL. LENGTH: Medium
Although he apparently broke no bones after his collision with Dave Marcis and the first-turn wall on lap 360, Musgrave was left sore when his body bent the steering wheel and his driver's seat in the hard crash.
The crash occured when Marcis blew a tire, nearly hit the turn-4 wall and slowed coming down the frontstretch. NASCAR officials did not throw a yellow flag, but Lake Speed slowed anyway to avoid hitting Marcis. Musgrave flew past Speed and tried to get under Marcis but hit him instead.
His car lost its brakes and steering and hurtled into the wall.
Crew chief Howard Comstock asked Musgrave if he was hurt.
"I don't know," Musgrave replied weakly. "I'm hurt a little bit."
After rescuers got him out of the car, he sat on the banked turn for several minutes, taking oxygen.
Later, in the infield care center, he said: "Well, I'm glad I can remember everything, because that tells me my mind is still in my brain bucket here. I tell you, that's an awful feeling here at Dover to have absolutely no control over the steering or stopping, seeing that wall coming at you."
\ GANT FIRST TO CRASH: There were 12 yellow flags during the race, and the first victim was Harry Gant.
After hitting the wall in the second turn on lap 15, he told his crew he'd had enough.
"Boys, ain't no use fixing it," he said. "We're going to finish dead last anyway. I've about had enough of this place."
Gant, who also had a hard crash in Saturday's Grand National race, said Kyle Petty caused the accident.
"He just turned dead left on me," Gant said. "I guess his spotter didn't see me."
Petty's move put Gant onto the apron, where he lost control and spun up into the wall. As he predicted, Gant was 42nd in the 42-car field.
\ WALLACE'S SCARE: Even though he had no major problems throughout the afternoon, race winner Rusty Wallace did have a scare at the end.
Just before the final restart with five laps to go, "the engine vapor-locked and actually completely quit running," Wallace said. "I'm pumping the gas, trying to get it running, and I jammed it down in first gear and I turned the motor to about 9,200 rpm, which should have blown it up. But I had to give it an incredible amount of RPM to keep it running."
\ SURGERY FOR CREWMAN: Robert Owings, the crewman on Johnny Benson's team who broke a leg in Saturday's Grand National race, was flown to Charlotte, N.C., for surgery Sunday.
The 31-year-old jackman had a compound fracture of two bones in the bottom of his left leg. He also suffered facial abrasions.
"I saw the tire coming and thought it was going over pit wall, so I decided to jump out on pit road," Owings told a team spokesman. "I was about halfway over the wall and then it seemed to pick up speed and it hit me hard. I knew right off my leg was hurt pretty bad. I tried to get up, but the leg just gave out.
The tire came off the crashing car of Bobby Dotter, who broke his right shoulder in the wreck.
\ BUD MOORE HONORED: Car owner Bud Moore, a veteran of the assault on Utah Beach on D-Day, 50 years ago today, was honored in pre-race ceremonies with a cystal sculpture by his present driver, Lake Speed, and former drivers Ricky Rudd, Dale Earnhardt, Brett Bodine, Geoff Bodine, Morgan Shepherd, Buddy Baker and Bobby Allison, who made the presentation.
\ EARLY TROUBLE FOR MAST: Rick Mast had to make an early pit stop because his car was leaking fluid. When he did, the car caught fire.
"I don't have a clue [what went wrong]," Mast said. "When we stopped, it caught on fire. This was the best car I've ever had at Dover. No joke."
Mast returned to the race around lap 100 and eventually finished 98 laps down.
\ BURTON BROTHERS CRASH: Jeff Burton and Ward Burton were involved in crashes.
Jeff was hit from behind by Geoff Bodine in turn 3 on lap 68. He lost control and collected Bodine. Both hit the outside wall. Three other cars also were involved.
"Everybody was trying to get around Brett Bodine into three and we all slowed down," Jeff Burton said. "Geoff came up behind me and he hit me and I just lost it after he got into me."
He finished 33rd, completing 365 laps.
Ward Burton tangled with Derrike Cope and Steve Grissom coming out of turn 2 on lap 219. His car was too badly damaged to continue, and he finished 37th.
\ HENSLEY 17TH: Jimmy Hensley kept out of trouble all afternoon and finished 17th after completing 493 of 500 laps.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB