Wow this is like a horror movie Drivers Getting Killed in the same turn Irwin killed in same turn as Adam Petty http://espn.go.com/auto/nascar/news/2000/0707/623002.html LOUDON, N.H. -- Kenny Irwin was killed Friday in a horrific crash during practice for a Winston Cup race, yards from where Adam Petty was killed two months ago at New Hampshire International Speedway. Irwin, 30, died of "multiple injuries," Concord Hospital spokeswoman Jennifer Dearborn said. Irwin was entering the third turn when his car went hard into the wall and flipped onto its roof. The Chevrolet was a crumpled hulk. The accident happened during practice before qualifying leading to the Sunday's race, the New England 300. Practice continued after the crash and Rusty Wallace would win his seventh pole of the season a few hours later. "Our thoughts and prayers are with Kenny's family and his teammates," said a statement from Irwin's BellSouth Racing Team, which withdrew from competition for the weekend. Irwin's teammate Sterling Marlin also withdrew from the race. "We are deeply saddened at today's passing of Kenny Irwin," NASCAR president Bill France said in a prepared statement. "On behalf of all of us at NASCAR and the entire NASCAR community, our deepest sympathies, all our thoughts and prayers are with Kenny's family, friends and everyone at Team SABCO. Kenny was a fine competitor and will be missed very much by the entire NASCAR community." Irwin was the 1998 Rookie of the Year and was in his third full season of Winston Cup. He spent the first two years of his career in Robert Yates' No. 28 Fords. This year, he moved to Felix Sabates' Team SABCO. Ironically, Irwin replaced Joe Nemechek in the No. 42. Nemecheck won the fall race last year at New Hampshire. Irwin was 28th in points this season with one top-five and one top-10 finish in 17 starts. Irwin finshed 10th last fall at Loudon and was 26th in this race last year. In 1998, he was 11th in the fall race at New Hampshire and 32nd in the spring event. A star in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Irwin enjoyed his best season in 1999 when he was 19th in points with a pair of top-fives and six top-10 finishes. Irwin also won two poles driving for Yates. Irwin, who is from racing-rich Indianapolis, proved himself as one of the top racers in the open-wheel ranks of the United States Auto Club. In five full seasons with the USAC Skoal National Midget Series, Irwin earned eight wins, 20 second-place, 59 top-five and 87 top-10 finishes, as well as the 1996 championship. Track officials attend to Kenny Irwin's car following his crash during practice Friday. In 1997, his only full season with the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Irwin once again was named Rookie of the Year. He won twice and finished 10th in the series point standings. Irwin grabbed the Winston Cup spotlight in September of '97 at Richmond by qualifying his Ford on the outside pole in his first series race. He finished eighth, becoming the only driver in NASCAR's modern history to start on the front row and finish in the top-10 in his first race. Petty, stock car racing's first fourth-generation driver, died May 12 after a crash during practice on this same track. The 19-year-old driver appeared to brush the wall on Turn 3 before spinning out and smashing sideways into the concrete. He was taken to Concord Hospital, where he died of head trauma. His death came five weeks after the family buried patriarch Lee Petty, his great grandfather. "There ain't nothing the matter with the race track," said Richard Petty, Adam's grandfather. "These guys run those things 200 mph. It's circumstances with the way you stop that thing so quick. Your body just can't stand it." Asked about the coincidence of Irwin's fatal crash near the spot where Adam Petty died, the King of stock car racing with a record 200 victories replied: "Those things are circumstances beyond human control." Ward Burton, a driver and friend of Irwin's, disagreed with Petty. "Two means it's a problem. I think it needs to be addressed," Burton said. He suggested that track officials look into raising the banking in the turn, which is virtually flat and therefore more dangerous. Although Richard Petty was at the track, Adam's father, Kyle, decided it was too soon to return to the place where his son was killed. "He just didn't feel comfortable," said Jeff Dennison, a spokesman for Petty Enterprises. "They decided it would be better just to take a week off." Veteran driver Steve Grissom will drive Petty's Pontiac. ------------------ Will Work for Clutch 101 Book [This message has been edited by moestavern19 (edited July 07, 2000).]
