ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, April 9, 1996 TAG: 9604090077
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: MARTINSVILLE
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
A COMPUTER GLITCH causes the Winston Cup driver to hit the first-turn wall during a test session.
Don't dare tell Winston Cup driver Ricky Rudd that computers make life a little easier.
Due to a ``freak'' computer glitch, Rudd lost a race car in a hard crash Monday morning during a test session at Martinsville Speedway.
The Chesapeake native crashed his Ford hard into the first-turn wall after a computer sensor hung the gas throttle wide open. Rudd, who estimated his car was traveling 120 mph when it hit the wall, walked away from the mishap. He was complaining of soreness, however.
``I'm in good shape,'' said Rudd, ``The car's not so well, but it could have been real serious.''
Rudd and his Tide team traced the cause of the crash to a computer, which many Winston Cup teams use in test sessions to gain car and track data.
``When we run these private tests, we hook all of our computer stuff up and one of the computer sensors hung the throttle wide open,'' Rudd said. ``It's kind of a freak deal. It could have cost us a lot more than a race car.''
Rudd said he didn't have time to respond when the throttle stuck.
``I didn't realize it until I got off the accelerator and onto the brakes brakes at the last minute,'' Rudd said.
``Once you get off the accelerator, if you have any trouble at all, it's too late. It wasn't halfway open or quarter throttle, it was wide open. You try to get to the switches, but all this happened in about one-and-a-half seconds from the time the throttle hung wide open to impact. You don't have a lot of time to think about it.''
Rudd, who turned some afternoon laps on the .526-mile oval in a second car, said he may need a backup driver for this week's NASCAR stop at North Wilkesboro, N.C. He plans to return to the speedway today for more test laps.
``I'll be able to complete the test unless I wake up [today] real sore ... which is a good possibility,'' Rudd said.
Rudd's car was more than sore. The Thunderbird was damaged beyond recognition.
``That car is history,'' Rudd said. ``You wouldn't believe what it bent. It's completely wasted. It was a very expensive wreck.''
Rudd said the wreck reminded him of when Modified Division star Richie Evans crashed at Martinsville in 1985. Evans died from injuries sustained in the practice crash after his throttle hung and his car smacked the wall head-on between turns three and four.
In a similar incident, Modified driver Charlie Jarzombek was injured fatally in 1987 at the speedway when his throttle hung and his car hit the wall between turns one and two.
Rudd was one of four drivers testing Monday for the upcoming Winston Cup stop at Martinsville. Geoff Bodine, John Andretti and Morgan Shepherd also tested their mounts for the April 21 race.
LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Rudd. color. KEYWORDS: AUTO RACINGby CNB