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The Winston, 2000


Kyle Petty, more injuries at Charlotte, Geoffrey Bodine's up-coming demise?, and The Winston.





Kyle Petty........... Steps Aside

Kyle Petty didn't enter the Winston. The No. 44 Hot Wheels racecar was missing from the lineup at the all-star race. It was reported earlier in the week, that he was stepping away from the racecar. Steve Grissom, who drives the No. 43 Craftsman Truck for Petty Enterprises, will drive Kyle's racecar next Sunday evening in the Coca-Cola 600.

I don't know how long this is going to last, but I understand the reasoning for it. I would assume, by wondering about myself in his situation, that he's just too grief stricken to even think about racing at this point. Will he get back into a racecar? Who knows. There may be feelings and family concerns that are causing obstacles that will keep him out of the racecar. He could retire from driving. I certainly wouldn't blame him if he did. My heart goes out to the Petty family.......... Their grief may mellow with time, but it will never go away.





Charlotte Motor Speedway......... More Fan Injuries?

No, I'm still not using the new speedway name. I think speedway president Humpy Wheeler and/or owner Bruton Smith, should change the name back the way it was! If one was superstitious, they could say the new name put a jinx on the place. A Reuters news report uploaded to Yahoo at 4 AM Sunday morning claimed that over 100 fans were hurt in the pedestrian bridge collapse onto US Route 29, a 4 lane highway that runs between the track facilities and the parking lots. More than 20 fans were injured critically.

Wheeler stated in a mid-night press conference that there were approximately 75 people on the bridge when it collapsed. He was also quick to point out that the pedestrian bridge was built in 1995 to DOT specifications, because the bridge was spanning a US highway. So, I guess that lets Wheeler off the hook, or does it? Wheeler didn't mention what the load specifications for the bridge were. Does 75 people sound about right? If there were more than 100 hurt, there had to be more than 75 people on the bridge.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what happened. The race was being won about the time the bridge collapsed. I've been known to make a mad dash for the parking lot myself, to try to beat the ever-present traffic jams that follow a race. That bridge was packed full of folks that were attempting to get to their cars and get away before the big traffic tie-up began. There had to be more than a 100 people on the bridge at the time of its demise. My heart goes out to the injured fans and their families. All they wanted to do was see the race, they didn't expect to be lying in the middle of a highway in pain, with broken arms and legs. No Humpy, don't build a tunnel, it'll just cave in, a jinx is a jinx.
The copyright of the article The Winston, 2000 in NASCAR is owned by Thomas M. Sampson. Permission to republish The Winston, 2000 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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