 |
 |
| | Sunday, October 3 | |||||
| MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- There was no love lost between Tony
Stewart and Kenny Irwin during their years as short track rivals.
Apparently, they still don't like each other.
Those two caused the biggest uproar early in Sunday's 500-mile
NAPA AutoCare 500 at Martinsville Speedway.
Safety worker Randy B. Hall of Spencer, Va., escaped serious injury but was flown by medical helicopter to Baptist Hospital in nearby Winston-Salem, N.C., after he was injured in a fall from a truck during Sunday's race. Hall sustained a 4 to 6-inch laceration on the back of his head and abrasions to his left shoulder and arm when he fell from back of the cleanup truck as workers circled the half-mile oval during a caution period. He was reported conscious with good vital signs and the trip to the hospital was called precautionary by track officials. Two more caution flags were waved before Hall was taken to the helicopter, which was waiting outside the track. The first allowed an ambulance with specialized equipment to drive into the infield to pick up Hall, while the second caution was waved to let the ambulance back across the track. The Martinsville Speedway does not have a tunnel for traffic into the infield. Fans flock to Martinsville The crowd for Sunday's race was estimated at 81,000 -- only about 500 below capacity at the half-mile oval. By the race in Martinsville next spring, a new grandstand to be erected overlooking turns one and two will increase seating capacity by about 15,000. Track officials said future plans -- possibly as soon as 2001 -- include moving the railroad tracks that run just behind the narrow back straightaway stand. Once that is done, the track will be free to add another highrise stand with luxury suites that will raise the seating total to around 125,000. Not bad for a track opened in 1947 with 750 seats overlooking a dirt oval. Behind Lowe's closed doors Richard Childress Racing, with one of its cars sponsored by Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouses, has closed its race shop in Welcome, N.C., to visitors since Friday because of the recent attacks and bomb threats on Lowe's stories in North Carolina. Lowe's Motor Speedway in suburban Charlotte, which will hold a Winston Cup race next Sunday, received a bomb threat Tuesday. Nothing was found. Three people were injured Sept. 22 when pipe bombs exploded in Lowe's stores in Asheboro and Salisbury. Lowe's is based in Wilkesboro, N.C. Spark plugs ... John Hendrick, president of Hendrick Motorsports, says brother Rick, the team owner, is "in 100 percent remission from leukemia and should be off his medication completely in about 60 days." ... In the next few days, it is expected that Cal Wells, a CART team owner who is adding a Winston Cup operation, will announce that driver Scott Pruett is moving with him to the stock car series. | ALSO SEE No Evernham, no problem: Gordon wins NAPA 500
AUDIO/VIDEO   Early in the race, it's Tony Stewart who spins Kenny Irwin.avi: 1061 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 Kenny Irwin retaliates by spinning out Tony Stewart.avi: 879 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 Tony Stewart takes out his frustration on Kenny Irwin's car.avi: 810 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1  | |||||
