Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 25, 1993 TAG: 9307250032
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: E1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER
DATELINE: TALLADEGA, ALA. LENGTH: Medium
At least twice in the past 12 months, he confronted and overcame difficult, scary landings in his private airplane.
While those incidents are rare, they do happen.
This has been underscored, of course, by Allison's fatal accident and the April 1 death of Winston Cup champion Alan Kulwicki in a private plane crash outside Bristol, Tenn.
This has been NASCAR's most disastrous year ever for aviation accidents and one of its most tragic years, period.
As more and more drivers and teams buy or lease private airplanes, the potential for trouble increases.
But the convenience of private flying is impossible to ignore. An airport next to or close to the track, such as at Talladega, can't hurt. And after some races, even as the winner is still being interviewed in the press box, the NASCAR air force is taking to the skies, winging drivers and crews home in time for a late Sunday supper.
The top plane in the fleet is the twin-engine NASCAR jet dubbed "Air France" for NASCAR President Bill France, who flies in it to most races.
The air force also includes some 30 other twin-engine turboprops. Of NASCAR's 35 top teams, 14 drivers and 11 car owners own their own planes.
Bill Elliott has a fleet of five airplanes. Ken Schrader, Rusty Wallace and Ricky Rudd each have two planes. Car owner Felix Sabates has a private fleet that includes a twin-engine turboprop, a helicopter and a Lear jet.
The most popular planes, by far, are the various models of the Beechcraft King Air, which make up about half of the NASCAR air force. There's also a half dozen Piper Navajo Chieftains and an assortment of other planes.
Most drivers and teams reported no recent mishaps or close calls, even though many of them fly 400 to 500 hours a year.
But they do happen.
On May 27, less than two months before his fatal crash, Allison had a near mid-air collision. He was flying into Indianapolis for a public appearance to promote The Winston, which was held two days later at Charlotte. Four other people were on board, including Kyle Petty and his team's publicist, Jane Gossage.
After Allison was cleared to land and started his descent, Gossage heard him utter an expletive.
"We suddenly veered to the right, veered to the left and then a plane went right past the window so close that I could clearly read the tail numbers," Gossage said. "Davey saw it in time and knew what to do, but it was close."
And last winter, Hut Stricklin had hitched a ride with Allison back to Alabama after a Daytona test session.
"We landed in a bad crosswind," Stricklin said. "It seemed like the plane was at a 90-degree sideways angle when we landed. But it yanked back when we landed. I was glad then to have a race driver for a pilot."
Gossage's boss, Felix Sabates, was involved in a crash in his helicopter in 1991 while flying to his North Carolina mountain home. Sabates was unhurt.
And in 1988, Bill Elliott was in a mid-air collision while taking a ride in a jet fighter in Georgia. No one was hurt, but the other pilot, whose jet crashed, had to eject while Elliott's made an emergency landing.
It was not a good aviation year in 1992 for Ted Musgrave and his RaDiUs Motorsports team. In early March, the pilot for Musgrave's sponsor, Jasper Engines, was killed when his plane crashed in heavy fog while attempting to land in Richmond for that weekend's race. His girlfriend also was killed.
In June, while flying to Pocono, the twin-engine plane in which Musgrave was riding lost an engine over central North Carolina. The plane was piloted by team co-owner D.K. Ulrich, who made an emergency landing in Greensboro.
"If you ever want to see a parade of flashing lights, just call for an emergency landing," Musgrave said at the time. "But I think D.K. made one of the best landings he's ever made - better than when he has both engines."
Dick Trickle hasn't had any recent incidents, but he survived a crash many years ago while landing at a drag strip outside Green Bay, Wis. And about six years ago, his pilot was killed in a crash while landing at an airport to pick up Trickle.
"With all this crashing, it's getting scary anymore," said Ken Wilson, crew chief for Sterling Marlin.
Wilson said Marlin had a scary flight just last week when his plane got into a thunderstorm returning from Pocono.
"And when we were coming back from Daytona in January after a test, all the navigational instruments went out," Wilson said. "We got lost and they had to guide us in."
But not everybody takes to the skies.
Geoff Bodine and Morgan Shepherd drive their motor homes to most races. Shepherd hits the road for every race except those at Sears Points and Phoenix.
"I try to keep my feet on the ground as much as possible," he said.
by CNB