ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, February 17, 1997 TAG: 9702190040
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: DAYTONA BEACH, FLA.
TYPE: DAYTONA 500 NOTES
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
Two backstretch spectators were injured Sunday in the closing laps of the Daytona 500 when the hood from Ernie Irvan's car flew into the grandstands.
The incident occurred during the crash in which Dale Earnhardt flipped after hitting the outside wall coming out of turn 2.
When Earnhardt's Chevy flipped on its roof, Irvan was just behind him and drove under the car. But the upside-down trunk and spoiler of Earnhardt's car peeled off the hood from Irvan's car and sent it sailing into the air.
The hood flew over the restraining fence separating the track from the grandstands and dropped into the lower rows of the Tiny Lund grandstand, where it hit at least two spectators.
Edward W. Suders, 42, of Chambersburg, Pa., stuck his right arm up to deflect the hood and suffered a broken bone - specifically a superficial non-displaced fracture - in the arm.
George Ray Anderson, 44, of Chase City, Va., suffered a badly bruised knee.
Both men were treated at the infield care center and released. But before they were turned loose, they had several visitors.
Irvan, Dale Jarrett, car owner Robert Yates and his son, Doug, all went to the care center and spent several minutes checking on the injured fans and chatting with them.
TWO DRIVERS TO HALIFAX: Two Winston Cup drivers - Robert Pressley and Johnny Benson - made trips to Halifax Medical Center on Sunday. But both were released after examination, track officials reported.
Pressley was involved in the race's first wreck and it was almost as spectacular, and certainly earned higher style points, than Earnhardt's mishap.
Pressley was bumped out of the pack entering the backstretch on the ninth lap and his car spun and flipped into the air. It did a perfect pirouette and slammed back down on its wheels heading straight ahead.
The takeoff was smooth, but the landing was rough. Pressley got out of the car complaining of pain in his tailbone. He was X-rayed at Halifax, but no broken bones were discovered.
Benson was involved in the sixth and final wreck of the day - a 12-car crash in turn 4 with four laps to go.
It started when Benson's Pontiac came together with Bobby Hamilton's Pontiac. Benson was turned head-on into the outside wall as cars crashed and scattered behind him.
Benson was given a CAT scan of his pelvis and bladder before being released, track officials said.
FINES ANNOUNCED: NASCAR Winston Cup spokesman Kevin Triplett announced Sunday morning that two teams had been fined for using side door roll bars that were too thin.
Triplett said Winston Cup director Gary Nelson fined Paul Andrews, crew chief on Jeremy Mayfield's car, $5,000 for using several bars on both doors of the car that were too thin.
Nelson also fined Doug Hewitt, crew chief on Benson's car, $2,500 for using several bars on the left side of Benson's car that were fractionally too thin, Triplett said.
The violations were discovered last week and neither car was allowed on the track until the bars were strengthened. The fines were not announced until Sunday because NASCAR wanted to make sure they would not have to check any new back-up cars that would have entered the field if a driver crashed his primary car late in the week during practice.
MR. EXCITEMENT: Jimmy Spencer, one of the more aggressive Winston Cup drivers, almost took out a member of his crew.
Spencer lost his brakes when he hit the wall. He couldn't slow coming into pit road and clipped the foot of jackman Wayne Jenks when he dived headfirst over the hood. Jenks, using the jack to help break his fall, was not seriously injured.
``You don't use your brakes until pit road,'' Spencer said. ``My mistake there. God was watching over us. We were lucky nobody got hurt.''
The Associated Press contributed information to this story.
LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Wayne Jenks, a member of Jimmy Spencer's crew, hitsby CNBthe pavement after he was struck by Spencer's car when the brakes
failed. Jenks escaped serious injury by diving over the hood. KEYWORDS: AUTO RACING