THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 1, 1996 TAG: 9608010610
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C9 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SPEEDWAY, IND. LENGTH: 101 lines
Dale Earnhardt remembers every harrowing second of his violent crash last Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway.
He was never knocked out, and the reason he didn't respond to car owner Richard Childress' repeated calls on the radio was because his transmitter had been disconnected.
He could hear everything Childress said, and could hear the concern and excitement rising in Childress' voice.
Earnhardt described the crash in detail Wednesday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in his first news conference since the accident.
He was hiding it well - not limping or hobbling - but he was clearly in pain. He was walking somewhat stiffly and, as he got up to leave, he groaned from the pain.
``It's been so long ago, you sort of forget how (a serious injury) is,'' he said. ``It's painful. I've had some tough days since Sunday.''
Earnhardt described the crash in chilling detail.
``When I came through the tri-oval, I knew the 4 car (driven by Sterling Marlin) was on my right rear,'' he said. ``I knew the 28 (Ernie Irvan) was right behind me. The last glance I saw of the 28, he was on the inside of my left rear. Then the car turned abruptly to the right.
``When the car turned abruptly sideways, I knew I was going to hit the wall. When it hit the wall is when I broke my sternum.
``When the car got on the side and got up in the air a little bit, it was spinning around. I seen a flash and another car hit me at the same time. It was probably Derrike (Cope). There was a big crash and the car went airborne again. That's when I broke my collarbone and bruised my pelvis.
``It stayed on the left side of the car for a long time. A lot of fire and sparks were coming in the car at that point. I could see the asphalt. The 33 (Robert Pressley) hit, and that's when it pushed the top and dash down in the car. It also pushed the carburetor and air cleaner and everything down into the engine.
``The car sat back down on the ground and on its wheels, spinning around. The 29 car (Greg Sacks) went by to my left and then a red car hit the front end. I assumed at that point - from the replay I couldn't tell much - it was either (Ken) Schrader or the 94 (Bill Elliott). Come to find out, it was Schrader. He said, `I seen you and I aimed for you.'
``I held onto the steering wheel practically the whole time,'' he said. ``I was bouncing around in the car, but I was still braced in there pretty good.
``The car stopped and the smoke was running out from under the dash because the wires were burning because the dash was knocked down in the car. I switched the battery switch off and I started trying to unbuckle my helmet. I knew my collarbone was hurt.''
Earnhardt said NASCAR officials helped him out of the car.
``I wanted to lay down,'' he said. ``I didn't want to stand up, but I couldn't because it hurt too bad to lay down. My chest hurt too bad, so I said, `Just walk me to the ambulance.' ''
Earnhardt said that when he was still in the car, he could hear Childress calling to him.
``I kept asking him to talk to us,'' Childress said. ``He didn't come back. He could hear us at that point. I started talking to Teresa (Earnhardt).''
``He was excited,'' Dale Earnhardt said. ``Teresa was calming him down.''
Earnhardt said he was not sure whether he would try to qualify his car in today's first round of time trials for Saturday's Brickyard 400.
``Dr. (Terry) Trammell is going to work with me this afternoon,'' he said. ``He has some little tricks he can use on the skin and on the areas that are hurt and maybe relieve the pain while I'm driving and help with the seat belts and shoulder harness. If I can go out and practice in the morning and can run a decent speed where it would get in the race, I may qualify.''
Earnhardt said ``no comment'' when asked if he had spoken to Irvan since the accident. But feelings are still running high. At one point Wednesday, Marlin waved his glasses at Irvan and suggested he get a pair. When Marlin did it a second time, the two reportedly almost came to blows.
MARTIN FASTEST: After four hours of practice Wednesday, Mark Martin was on top of the speed chart with a lap of 174.965 mph in his Ford Thunderbird. His speed was more than 2 mph faster than the track record, 172.536, set by Jeff Gordon last year.
``When we ran it today, it wasn't that important to us to have the fastest time in practice,'' Martin said. ``But I guess it's a big deal because we're having a press conference on it.''
Lake Speed was second-fastest at 174.737 mph, followed by Bill Elliott at 174.672. Both are driving Fords. Rick Mast was fourth-fastest in a Pontiac Grand Prix at 174.622, followed by Rusty Wallace in a Ford at 174.537. Terry Labonte was sixth-fastest in the quickest Chevrolet Monte Carlo at 174.517.
Among the other drivers Wednesday was 61-year-old A.J. Foyt. The four-time Indianapolis 500 winner was 39th-fastest at 171.442 mph.
Foyt's last racing appearance was in the 1994 Brickyard 400, when he finished 30th. He failed to qualify for last year's race when rain washed out the second round of time trials.
Despite all the action Wednesday, the only red flags were for Ricky Rudd's blown engine and to sweep debris from the track.
SPENCER FIRST IN LINE: Jimmy Spencer will have the first chance to qualify today for the Brickyard 400.
Spencer drew the first qualifying position among 48 drivers who will try for a maximum of 43 starting spots in Saturday's race.
Rookie driver Ron Barfield will go second, followed by Robert Pressley and John Andretti. Dale Earnhardt drew the 12th spot and Jeff Gordon drew 43rd. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Dale Earnhardt shows where it hurts. Mike Skinner practiced in
Earnhardt's Chevrolet on Wednesday at Indianapolis. by CNB