Start your engines!
Play RPM.ESPN Stock Car Challenge!
Win a Honda S2000!
Play The CART Challenge powered by Honda!
|
|
Saturday, April 28
Eleven drivers knocked out of zMAX 500
Associated Press
HAMPTON, Ga. -- Eleven cars were involved in a spectacular,
fiery crash Saturday night on the 53rd lap of the Indy Racing
League's zMax 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Al Unser Jr. and Sarah Fisher were among those who got caught up
in the wreck, which involved a pack of cars coming through turn
four on the high-banked, 1.54-mile track.
|  | | Casey Mears goes over Al Unser Jr., as he crashes with Jack Miller, left, Cory Witherill (16) and Robbie Buhl. |
Jack Miller, whose car virtually disintegrated, was flown by
helicopter to Atlanta Medical Center for treatment of a concussion.
He was kept overnight as a precaution.
"He was awake, alert and his vital signs stable," said Dr.
Henry Bock, the IRL's medical director.
Amazingly, no one else was seriously injured.
"A couple of cars got together," said Billy Boat, who was
caught up in the crash. "Then all hell broke loose."
Cory Witherill, taking part in his first IRL race, apparently
sparked the crash when his car slowed with an engine problem. Unser
slammed on his brakes and was hit from behind, leading to a
chain-reaction wreck.
Miller was engulfed by flames and slammed by several other cars,
leaving nothing but a shell of his Dallara Oldsmobile when he
finally came to a stop near the start-finish line.
Unser's teammate, rookie Casey Mears, hurtled through the air
and plopped down upright on the track. Robbie Buhl's car caught
fire when it slammed the outside wall.
|
“ |
My car spun around, then I saw the wall coming at me. Another car flew over me. It was like something straight out of the movies.” |
|
|
—Cory Witherill on the fiery wreck |
Also involved were Jeret Schroeder, Jon Herb, Robby McGehee and
Davey Hamilton.
"I got hit from behind, then another car got over me," Unser
said. "Then another car knocks me into the wall. Then another guy
hits me. We just got beat up."
Unser actually had scuff marks on his helmet from cars and
debris flying over his head.
Witherill, the first American Indian to race in the IRL,
realized his car had a problem coming through turn three. He wasn't
able to get high enough to avoid trouble.
"My car spun around, then I saw the wall coming at me," he
said. "Another car flew over me. It was like something straight
out of the movies."
The 20-year-old Fisher, coming off a career-best second-place
finish in Homestead, Fla., wasn't involved in the crash but ran
over several pieces of debris.
The race was under yellow for 35 laps while workers cleaned the
track. Fisher's team managed to get her car repaired and she
returned to the track to finish 11th, 22 laps behind winner Greg
Ray.
 Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
|
|
|
|
