Post by Ampenergy88 on Mar 21, 2010 23:18:26 GMT -5
motorsports.fanhouse.com/2010/03/20/larry-pearson-seriously-injured-in-nascar-legends-race-at-bristo
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VACZrlnC27Q&feature=player_embedded
What started out as a fun exhibition race featuring some of NASCAR's legendary drivers Saturday evening at Bristol Motor Speedway turned excruiatingly scary with just five laps to go.
Larry Pearson, a two-time Nationwide Series champion, spun his car into the turn 2 wall after what looked like a flat tire on lap 30 of the 35 lap event. His car then slid down the track and was T-boned directly in the driver's side by Charlie Glotzbach, who is shown in the photo at right particpating in a 2008 autograph session. It was a massive hit that left the television announcers speechless and Pearson with several broken bones, though no life-threatening injuries.
After being airlifted to Bristol Regional Medical Center, Pearson was diagnosed with a compound fracture of his left ankle that required surgery Saturday evening, a fracture of his pelvis and a fractured right hand.
As the mangled cars slid to a stop at the East Tennessee track, pit crew members from a just-completed Nationwide Series race along the backstretch pit road scrambled to the scene, many frantically waving their arms for arriving track emergency crews to assist both Glotzbach and Pearson.
The race was red flagged immediately as ESPN2, providing television coverage of the race, quickly went to commercial and avoided showing replays of the incident -- a common practice when wrecks are particularly severe with a chance of injury or worse.
Glotzbach, 71, was the first to exit from his demolished car several minutes later and he walked gingerly to a waiting ambulance, holding his left arm close to his chest.
Meanwhile, rescue workers cut the top of Pearson's No. 21 car completely off to help extricate the 56-year-old driver from the car, using a backboard in the process.
Pearson was eventually airlifted, awake and alert, to the local Bristol Regional Medical Center to be evaluated for injuries after the brutal wreck, which had initially rendered him unconcious.
The race eventually resumed nearly a half an hour later but without one of its competitors. Pearson's father David, a three-time Sprint Cup champion, who excused himself from the event to head to the hospital to check on his son.
Share Rick Wilson won the second-year event organized by BMS officials after a late duel with Phil Parsons. The Pearson-Glotzbach crash was the only incident of the race that saw the retired stock car racers driving in USAR Pro Cup Series cars (they are slightly different cars than ones that are typically used in NASCAR).
Late in the race, ESPN2 said Wilson drove a lap around the half-mile short track in roughly 15.8 seconds (over 120 mph average) -- fast enough to qualify in the back of the field for Sunday's Sprint Cup race.
Despite the speeds, the drivers were not required to wear head restraints, full-faced helmets or gloves. Each are required in NASCAR competition for safety, though none would have prevented Pearson's injuries.
Read More: Bristol Motor Speedway NASCAR
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VACZrlnC27Q&feature=player_embedded
What started out as a fun exhibition race featuring some of NASCAR's legendary drivers Saturday evening at Bristol Motor Speedway turned excruiatingly scary with just five laps to go.
Larry Pearson, a two-time Nationwide Series champion, spun his car into the turn 2 wall after what looked like a flat tire on lap 30 of the 35 lap event. His car then slid down the track and was T-boned directly in the driver's side by Charlie Glotzbach, who is shown in the photo at right particpating in a 2008 autograph session. It was a massive hit that left the television announcers speechless and Pearson with several broken bones, though no life-threatening injuries.
After being airlifted to Bristol Regional Medical Center, Pearson was diagnosed with a compound fracture of his left ankle that required surgery Saturday evening, a fracture of his pelvis and a fractured right hand.
As the mangled cars slid to a stop at the East Tennessee track, pit crew members from a just-completed Nationwide Series race along the backstretch pit road scrambled to the scene, many frantically waving their arms for arriving track emergency crews to assist both Glotzbach and Pearson.
The race was red flagged immediately as ESPN2, providing television coverage of the race, quickly went to commercial and avoided showing replays of the incident -- a common practice when wrecks are particularly severe with a chance of injury or worse.
Glotzbach, 71, was the first to exit from his demolished car several minutes later and he walked gingerly to a waiting ambulance, holding his left arm close to his chest.
Meanwhile, rescue workers cut the top of Pearson's No. 21 car completely off to help extricate the 56-year-old driver from the car, using a backboard in the process.
Pearson was eventually airlifted, awake and alert, to the local Bristol Regional Medical Center to be evaluated for injuries after the brutal wreck, which had initially rendered him unconcious.
The race eventually resumed nearly a half an hour later but without one of its competitors. Pearson's father David, a three-time Sprint Cup champion, who excused himself from the event to head to the hospital to check on his son.
Share Rick Wilson won the second-year event organized by BMS officials after a late duel with Phil Parsons. The Pearson-Glotzbach crash was the only incident of the race that saw the retired stock car racers driving in USAR Pro Cup Series cars (they are slightly different cars than ones that are typically used in NASCAR).
Late in the race, ESPN2 said Wilson drove a lap around the half-mile short track in roughly 15.8 seconds (over 120 mph average) -- fast enough to qualify in the back of the field for Sunday's Sprint Cup race.
Despite the speeds, the drivers were not required to wear head restraints, full-faced helmets or gloves. Each are required in NASCAR competition for safety, though none would have prevented Pearson's injuries.
Read More: Bristol Motor Speedway NASCAR
