THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, November 12, 1994 TAG: 9411120367
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HAMPTON, GA. LENGTH: Short : 49 lines
Practice for today's ARCA 500K race at Atlanta Motor Speedway Friday morning deteriorated into a crash-fest that left one driver seriously injured.
Dave Jensen, 40, a journeyman driver from Grain Valley, Mo., suffered a head injury after his Chevy slammed the wall between turns three and four.
He was unconscious and having trouble breathing when rescue workers reached him. Jensen was airlifted to Georgia Baptist Medical Center.
There, doctors determined that he had suffered a minor head injury with a concussion and bruising to his right lung and chest wall. He was listed in stable condition.
A four-car accident in turn four left veteran Bill Venturini with a cut on his chin. There were several other single-car crashes and spins during practice and qualifying.
GANT'S FAREWELL: Sunday's race marks Harry Gant's final Winston Cup event, but he still has another race to run this year.
Next weekend, Gant will be at Myrtle Beach Speedway to run a NASCAR All-Pro event. Gant said that will be his final race as a professional driver.
So why run an obscure All-Pro event as his finale?
``I didn't realize that would be my last race,'' Gant said Friday. ``When I scheduled that in July or August, I didn't even think about it.''
JARRETT'S NEW DEAL: Dale Jarrett said Friday that one of the reasons he moved to Robert Yates Racing to drive the No. 28 Ford Thunderbird is the possibility that he will be able to become a team owner in the future.
``That is one option down the road. That's something Robert came to me with - the possibility of doing that down the road when Ernie (Irvan) is ready to come back,'' Jarrett said before practice.
TRICKLE'S ARCA POLE: Dick Trickle won the pole for today's race at a speed of 178.977 miles per hour. The race starts at 1 p.m.
Trickle's Winston Cup team, Active Motorsports, is mourning the loss of the son of owner Dean Myers, 24-year-old Craig Michael Myers. He was killed in a motorcycle accident late Wednesday when a horse ran out into the road and Myers hit it. by CNB