THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 27, 1995 TAG: 9507270512
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER NASCAR NOTES
LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines
Driver Scott Brayton was injured in a crash at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway while testing a possible entry in the Aug. 5 Brickyard 400.
The 36-year-old Brayton, the pole-sitter at this year's Indianapolis 500, was driving a Ford Thunderbird owned by Sadler Brothers Racing of Nashville, Tenn., when it did a half-spin in the middle of turn 1, hit the outside wall and skidded across the track, where it hit the inside guard rail.
Brayton suffered a concussion and a fractured left ankle. He was airlifted to Methodist Hospital, where he was listed in fair condition.
MIKE WALLACE FINED: NASCAR has fined Mike Wallace $2,000 for ramming Chad Little after Little won the Grand National race Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway.
The contact came in retaliation for an incident on lap 41 in which their cars touched in the trioval, sending Wallace for a wild spin and causing three other cars to crash, including Mark Martin. Little said it was a racing accident.
GORDON AND SCHRADER: Jeff Gordon said he dropped back in the field during the final laps of Sunday's DieHard 500 at Talladega because his car was loose, but he said his concern over causing Kenny Schrader's spectacular crash ``certainly played a role.''
``I was very upset with myself that I was racing that hard when I knew the tires on our car were pretty worn out,'' Gordon said this week in a teleconference.
Gordon said he was trying to avoid getting near Schrader, but Ricky Craven, who was behind him, ``had a lot of momentum,'' which propelled him forward, too.
``As I came up off the second turn, the car just kept working up the racetrack. When I'm looking in the rearview mirror and I see Kenny's car going airborne and tumbling, it was very scary for me and I was very concerned for Kenny and I was very upset. . . .''
``Before the race was even over, (Schrader) was on my radio assuring me he was not upset with me, although obviously inside you know he was. As soon as I got home, I called him immediately. He called the next day. We talked. I didn't really know what to say. I just wanted to talk to him and assure him I was concerned.''
TOP DOLLAR: The purse for the Brickyard 400, NASCAR's richest race, has grown by $1.3 million since last year, reaching $4,513,015 and dwarfing the $3.2 million payout for the 1995 Daytona 500.
And it would seem there's still room to grow. The Indy 500 fills the same 300,000-plus seats at the same ticket prices, and its purse this year was $8,063,550.
As with last year, the Brickyard 400 winner is guaranteed more than $500,000. Jeff Gordon won $613,000 of the 1994 purse of $3,213,849. Even more notable is what the last-place finisher will receive. The minimum has been set at $47,520, more than double the 1995 minimum of $21,825. ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS photo
The Ford in which Scott Brayton crashed Wednesday is removed from
Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Brayton was testing the car as a
possible entry in next weekend's Brickyard 400.
by CNB