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A Drivers Nightmare...............


A drivers nightmare, and the new (???) NASCAR site.





Ricky Craven.............

I still have the picture in my mind of Ricky Craven's race car soaring airborne over the top of several other racecars traveling at speeds in excess of 190 mph. I would not be a bit surprised if Ricky does, too.

I suspect that all of you are aware that Ricky has signed on with Cal Well's PPI Motorsports team, replacing Scott Pruitt in the No. 32 Tide sponsored Ford. Wells has claimed that he put Ricky through a very rigorous medical review to assure his ability to pilot his racecar during the 2001 season. He claims that Ricky came through with flying colors and that he is completely recovered from head injuries suffered in 1997.

I am wondering if that medical review included any mental testing. Or, if there is any type of mental test that could ascertain any possible inhibitions that may be lingering from Ricky's violent high speed crash.

I know from personal experience that violent crashes linger in ones mind and tend to instill a subconscious apprehension that is very hard to overcome. Even though a person has the ability to rise above the apprehension, it still remains to haunt you. The split second something goes wrong, it instantly comes to mind, fogging the reality of what is going on at the moment.

We have seen this happen to race drivers in the past. The violent crash at Daytona that sidelined Dale Earnhardt for a couple of years comes to mind, as well as violent crashes that involved Bill Elliott, Rusty Wallace, Ernie Irvan and Steve Park, just to name a few. Some drivers, like Earnhardt, Wallace, Irvan, and Park, were able to overcome the nightmare to compete and win, shaking the monkey from their backs. Others are not.

The deaths of three drivers during the 2000 season compounded this nightmare for the recovering drivers. The stark reality that this could also happen to them within a matter of seconds, had to be present in the back their minds.

A retired Modified Series driver once told me about the "shaky leg syndrome." He had survived a violent crash, and tried to compete again at the same level as before the crash. He could not do it. Every time he got up to speed in traffic, his right foot started shaking and he could not concentrate on what he was doing, so he had to ease off the throttle to appease the monkey. He was never able to overcome this malady. His sponsor quit him, and as a result, his racing career came to a sorrowful end. It must be a terrible feeling to want to do something that you love to do and know that are good at, but are unable to because of a mental disability.
The copyright of the article A Drivers Nightmare............... in NASCAR is owned by Thomas M. Sampson. Permission to republish A Drivers Nightmare............... in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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