Three Before February

Shelby win in 26 events Joe Nemechek is a first-time winner in this car Winston Cup racing on September 19 1999 joe nemecheck finally scored his first Cup Series victory the win came at New Hampshire the track that saw Joe make his first start in the series a full six years in 179 starts earlier he'd also won a Busch Series race they're beating none other than Dale Earnhardt others still struggled in the track earlier in the 99 season a missouri driver qualified a strong fourth only to lose the engine and finish 43rd it was the first last place finish of Tony ropers career Joe's win came driving for team owner Felix Abaddon's whose flagship number 42 has a visited Victory Lane in more than four years kyle petty was his driver that day and though the third-generation petty would never win again the promise of a for his 19 year old son Adam was already coming to fruition six days after Joe's win Adam petty led 23 laps at Dover the first of his own Busch Series career but the win also came less than a month after Joe was released from his contract with sabko racing one of the drivers parting gifts from sivadas was the car he drove to Victory Lane this was certainly to the dismay of his replacement who was so anxious to start driving the number 42 that he hoped to leave his old ride before season's end but sivadas told Kenny Irwin jr. to wait after all the 2000 season was just around the corner but most significantly Joe's win came two years after the death of his brother John nemecheck who in 1997 died from injuries sustained in a crash during the closing laps of a Truck Series race at Homestead less than three months after that dark day joe's newborn son john hunter would carry on his name this is for my brother john said joe is he cross the stripe i love you there must have been some solace then that as of that September day John had been the last NASCAR driver to die in a racecar [Music] [Music] the mid to late-1990s were a golden age for NASCAR increased national exposure brought with it more corporate sponsors eager to get their brands on a car with that came a rise in teams and with that more opportunities for drivers to compete on a national level in 1999 the Brickyard 400 still drew 55 entries for 43 spots the Busch Series race at Las Vegas pulled 53 among these drivers were Adam petty Kenny Irwin jr. and Tony Roper Adam petty may truly have been the first fourth-generation athlete in professional sports the Randleman North Carolina driver was born into racing royalty he was the great-grandson of Lee petty three times a cup champion with 54 wins he is a grandson of the King Richard Petty with 200 wins seven championships and legions of fans and he was the son of Kyle Petty who's eight wins all came driving four teams other than Petty Enterprises father and son were extremely close Adam proudly called Kyle his best friend when Adam Petty was eight Kenny Irwin jr. was playing varsity soccer in high school but he had already been running quarter [ __ ] since he was six as a teenager he got a taste for racing and NCCA in EMSA his father Kenny senior fielded his team in the American Challenge series where he ran american-built production cars on road courses but it was an USAC open-wheel competition that Irvin truly stood out he scored eight wins and midgets in the 1996 championship another seven wins came in sprint cars where he was 1993's Rookie of the Year and a 95 he was the top rookie in the silver crown series finished second in points and took another four wins by then some were already calling this driver from Indianapolis the next Jeff Gordon like Petty and Irwin Tony Roper was born into a racing family he was the son of Dean Roper who in 1983 qualified for his first Daytona 500 and finished 15th two years later in already 46 years old Dean won an ARCA race of the Springfield dirt track his first of six victories in the series the last of these came in 1994 Wendy was 55 and nearly all his starts Dean drove for the Mueller brothers Wisconsin bass team who's number 89 became one of NASCAR's most prolific part-time teams some of their drivers were Rodney Combs and Jim Sadr Dean and the Muellers were still racing when Tony began to drive in 1986 he started in go-karts that branched out into dirt racing and emka Modifieds and late models when his local tracks in Lebanon and Bulevar were paved he made the transition seamlessly this led him to compete in the American speed Association which visited his home track the i-70 Speedway located 150 miles north of the family home in Fair Grove it was at this track on June twenty eighth nineteen ninety two that Roper finished fourth the best finish of his rookie season after five years in a sa Tony Roper and his wife Michelle moved to North Carolina he just earned a full-time ride in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driving for RK veteran Bob Breivik in 1997 on June 6th of 97 Roper finished 20th in the Truck Series race at Texas a race won by Kenny Irwin jr. her Huan's success and you second earned him a ride with Jim Herrick and the Union had already yielded another win the same tragic homestead race that claimed the life of John nemecheck by now or when success had caught the eye of Robert Yates as a possible replacement for Ernie Irvan that possibility became a reality on August 1st in an announcement at her wins home track at Indy the 27 year old would bypass the Busch Series and drive one of the most storied cars in the field the number 28 Texaco Havoline Ford one month later on September 6th Irwin made his first cup start he drive a car fielded by Blair Motorsports a team that had struggled for sponsorship all year with the Yates engine under the hood or when qualified on the outside pole he led 12 laps and came home in eighth was a good night Robert Yates and David Blair gave me a great car tonight we led a few laps I'm real happy except for how I did the pit stops I that's what you're here for to learn and to race that's right we got five races too this year and trying to get ready for Daytona and get all the mistakes on the way right now so we can go to at the end of the 97 season Erwin finished 10th the Truck Series points to ropers 18th in 1998 it was finally time for Adam petty to take the wheel like Roper he started out in a sa driving a radical new paint scheme sponsored by spree prepaid phone cards he drive number 45 the next car in line after Lee's number 42 Richards number 43 and Kyle's current number 44 in Winston Cup on June 27th at the Roper family's home track the i-70 Speedway Adam was making just his tenth series start in the mirror of number 45 was a rookie from California named Jimmie Johnson there is a leader 17 years old just graduated from high school he's not mowing lawns and summer folks he is winning his first as8 race off of turn number 4 Adam petty keeps a pointed straight he will win the Kansas City excitement 300 berries if you guys thought they would whose guys best the bad luck early in the race and got two laps down and made back up a great pit stop day one [Music] they've created all they've done for taking out other ones you gonna call your dad I'm free I'm in ready to call my mom in 1979 father Kyle what in his first-ever ARCA start at Daytona and on September 30th it's Charlotte Adam followed suit grandfather great-grandfather father now you can you describe this moment Lord's been with me is my dream it's been my dreams it's a little kid to come here right come anywhere my dad's race before and prove himself then the Gateway on October 17th Adam finished 27th in his first ever start in the Busch Series this time driving for tadka schickt er in that same 98 season Roper parted ways with Bob Breivik in June then took the controls of the number 55 Icehouse Ford fielded by racing legends Tom gloy and Bobby Ray Hall on July 30th and just as six start with the team Roper finished a career best second following Jack Sprague to the finish line at Indianapolis Raceway Park tonight for Tony Roper and Lonnie rush congratulations for broker we said man I feel like I want this baby I'm second I'm just proud as I could be Tom boy have a very good driver in Tony Roper the next day was the Brickyard 400 where Irwin was one to watch in his first start at his home track earlier that season he'd enjoyed the best run of his career at Atlanta leading 113 laps and finishing fifth but he'd fallen to just 25th and points heading to Indy failing to finish three times and even missing the show at the coca-cola 600 he qualified a strong fourth for his first Brickyard 400 and was running fifth near the end when it all came undone see the five cards one in the corner here comes the fun 28th car and Kenny Irwin just loses control there was Bernard got so close to him we talked about early in the race that he took that air off the rear spoiler and around goes to take over though Irwin won his first pole on the return to Atlanta that November and again took her Kia the Year honors he finished no better than tenth the rest of the year and failed to finish four more times while such struggles were once expected of rookies Jeff Gordon's near instant success had already changed the paradigm and so the pressure was already on the next Jeff Gordon to step it up in 1999 it was in 99 that Tony Roper joined Adam Petty in the Busch Series this time driving for Steve Coulter's new team Express Motorsports Roper had worked as a general mechanic on the team it was offered the opportunity to run a handful of races when co-driver derrike cope was injured in Atlanta however Roper took over the bulk of the schedule starting with the spring race at Darlington in his 20 attempts Roper failed to qualify 4 times and failed to finish another six yeah I'm alright I think little contact with the car on the first lap they're going in first to cut the left rear tire down because I went into one on the second lap and he just come thought I built it as I went into corner but with everybody will find me I was just the pinball [Music] still a short track experience was paying dividends as best runs were in a that South Boston and a tenth that Bristol Adam petty faced similar struggles driving cars fielded under Kyle Petty's pe2 team and prepared in the Richard Petty Driving School shop near the Charlotte Motor Speedway after a sixth place showing at Daytona petty failed to qualify the next week at Rockingham his first of three DN cues he also failed to finish twelve races nine due to accidents and none were more brutal than this one at Dover and here comes the field oh we got a hard bite white Mike Skinner not be fired Wow Fetty call you've had a chance to talk to Adam how's he doing pretty good he's a pretty shook up when he caught me headed over you got hard his ribs are sore and he's complaining a little bit of his ribs and a little bit of his hip on the right side in his elbows but you know he set so close and he's so skinny and and all that stuff you run a great race he did he did really really good from the beginning of the race I hated that it ended like this and you know that's why we gotta get him out the Busch Series because when you race for Busch drivers like that sometimes that's why they're in the bush league because they end up wrecking people like that okay is he gonna go get further update are you gonna go with him I'm gonna go after practice you know I mean to see how he's doing and how he's feeling but uh you know he's good enough right now his mother went with him and she's doing good so we'll just go from there but like Roper there was also a silver lining Adam finished fourth at Fontana fifth at Nazareth and fifth again at Memphis all this occurred during the 50th anniversary of Petty Enterprises a season-long celebration which saw both its cup and truck teams sweep both wins at Martinsville in April unbeknownst to anyone neither team would ever win again in June Adam petty revealed his team was putting together a cup car and plan to run five races in the year 2000 depending on how the 99 season went it went well enough as this was confirmed in November the schedule was tentatively set to start in Texas followed by the coca-cola 600 in May the Bristol night race in August Martinsville and homestead although Rookie of the Year candidates could run up to 7 races prior to their first full season a team wavered on the possibility of adding another two races this only fueled rumors of a full time Cup season in 2001 publicly Adam remained committed to his second full-time season in the Busch Series driving a new red and black scheme on his number 45 for Irwin however 1999 was a season to forget the lone highlight was in his second Daytona 500 where he finished a strong third behind Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt but even this was shrouded in controversy as he bumped teammate Dale Jarrett in turn three triggering a massive pileup he made all the races won another two polls and finished fifth at Richmond but left the season just 19th and points as early as June it was rumor - Irwin would part ways with Yates it was confirmed on August 11th just after his second Brickyard 400 ten days later came news of Joe Nemechek released from Team sabko by the time of the November announcement it had been all but confirmed that Ervin would replace him as part of Irwin's deal with sabko he would run a partial 16 race schedule in the NASCAR Busch Series driving a reversed version of his Cup Series paint scheme one of his competitors would be Tony Roper who had also moved on over the offseason Roper would drive full-time for third year Busch team Washington Irving Motorsports named for its two famous team owners retired NFL star Joe Washington and NBA Hall of Famer Julius Erving Roper took the place of Mark Green who in 1999 scored a single top-10 finish in Atlanta driving the dr. pepper Chevrolet on Wednesday April 14 1999 kyle petty was testing at Talladega when something strange happened heading down pit road his throttle stuck and his Hot Wheels Pontiac was out of control the car smashed through a fence then slammed to a stop against an infield flagpole petit climbed out unhurt and spoke to Ryder Monte Dutton I ran through the chain-link fence and over a couple of azaleas and I think a couple of dandelions gave their lives to said petty assuring a concern Dutton it was just a freak deal it's back to the beach for the NASCAR Busch grand national series Randy Lajoie defending 300 champions here as is like magic shows McLaughlin Elton Sawyer hopes to clean up on the two-and-a-half-mile tri-oval while Jeff green he'll be a Mungo Zion victory in this first race of the season the series young stars are here like Casey Atwood and the fourth generation of that most famous racing family Adam caddy January 21st 2010 Enterprise announces they are consolidating their Cup Busch & Truck Series teams under a single banner prior to this Adam had run under his father's pe2 team while their Truck Series team ran under Richard Petty Motorsports now all three had their Basin level cross and the team debut a new logo to celebrate the union the Petty's are already preparing for a massive change in sponsorship STP which sponsored the iconic number 43 since 1971 will leave the team at midseason to be replaced by cereal company General Mills to represent the change in branding John Andretti will run two different paint schemes that year transitioning to the blue and yellow Cheerios colors at Daytona in July one month later both the Petty's and Bill Davis racing will announce a switch from Pontiac to Dodge in 2001 I want to be that type of person that people can say hey he's a great person off the racetrack and and the fans know that Kenny Irwin's first season with Team SAP Co gets off to a tragic start in the early morning hours of January 31st Irwin's hauler is on i-40 near Waverly Arkansas when a pickup truck crosses the median while hauler driver David Walker survives the crash the driver of the pickup does not the team manages to salvage the dented trailer and prepare for Daytona thanks to her wounds to poles the previous season he's able to join teammate Sterling Marlin in the season opening Budweiser Shootout he runs near the back of the 15 car field and finishes ninth then times in 16th fastest for the Daytona 500 on Thursday Irwin overcomes overheating problems to finish 9th in the second twin 125-mile qualifier securing him the same 16th spot on the grid for his third 500 start the next day is the truck race and during the first unrestricted super speedway race since 1987 Geoffrey Bodine is nearly killed in the spectacular accident we got trouble this is gonna hurt [Music] yep keep your fingers crossed for Saturday's Busch Series opener Irwin qualifies even better lining up 10th for the NAPA Auto Parts 300 and impedir roll off 17th but Tony Roper fails to qualify in the race both urban and petty are eliminated in accidents petty finishes 37th Berwyn and 39th aaron rebounds in the Daytona 500 and finishes 14th but none of his fellow Chevrolet teams are happy they all say the new style Monte Carlo is at a significant aerodynamic disadvantage to the new ford taurus which sweeps the top five behind a dominant Dale Jarrett on February 26 petty urban and Roper compete in the same Busch Series race for the first time in the Alltel 200 at Rockingham petty finishes best of the group in 27th ahead of 31st place Irwin and Roper in 37th orwen comes back Sunday spins in the early laps and finishes 22nd at Las Vegas Irwin misses the Busch race along with Roper petty finishes 17th his best of the young season in the Cup race Irwin ends up 24th when the race is cut short by rain the following round in Atlanta sees NASCAR give the Chevrolet teams a 2 inch air dam extension Roper Chevrolet still misses its second straight race Irwin runs as high as fifth and finishes 10th the head of 25th place petty Saturday success doesn't translate for her win on Sunday as he finishes 24th for the second straight race at Darlington petty finishes 16th of the Busch race ahead of a win in 19th the next day Irwin's Cup race goes sideways early jerry nadeau Kenny Irwin this is garlic welcome to Darlington South Carolina another incident here coming just one lap of green flag racing in fact a half a lap of green flag racing but Gerry you remember a couple years ago we used to do the story about flat nose the tree top tree climbing dog here in Darlington you got a flat nose on your Bell saw Chevy how bad your race car that's pretty bad they're putting in a new radiator they're gonna cut the whole front end off so to look like a modified when we go back out there we didn't even get a chance to work up a sweat about South Chevrolet what happened out there I would just everybody coming through one and two and the 7 car was keeping everybody slow and the spotter told me that you know everybody was slow now so we're getting slowed down and then whoever's running behind me just just got in the back of me and that's what started the whole deal the crew pieces the car back together but urban only finishes in 38th in the Busch Series race at Bristol Sterling Marlin joins her win as a last-minute replacement for Dave steel Marlin goes to Victory Lane while urban is left in 30th 10 spots ahead of Adam petty with a blown motor Roper has handed his fourth straight dnq her 1 tries to turn things around in the Food City 500 but he crashes again and this time is collected by Dale Earnhardt or when finishes 165 laps down in 40th and drops to 30th and points the day after the Cup race at Bristol Adam petty has a successful test in the Cup car and is confirmed to make his Series debut at Texas he's one of forty eight drivers entered for 43 spots including his father in qualifying Adam takes the 33rd spot but Kyle misses the cut Adam is a little disappointed by this but says quote there will be plenty of times for that later doubleheader weekend coming up for the first time here on a NASCAR weekend you've got the bush race going on right now which you're currently running 12th in and then tomorrow your first ever NASCAR Winston Cup race where you'll start 33rd how much of a relief is it to get the car in the Cup show for tomorrow I guess it's a big relief you know Sprint poll day on Thursday went good for the Busch car sprint poll day on Friday was a little bit hairier I didn't know if I was gonna make it or not but uh I did my rain dance everything paid off I did really badly want to race today though I didn't get more cancer this Racing Busch cars really really good and like I said tomorrow I don't know what I have for the Winston Cup race but I will go out and just just ride and I got to go some more I got gained their respect over there in the Winston Cup Series earn a little bit and learn and gain as much experience on the on this racetrack and race some of those guys as I can so I'm looking forward to it come and ask me how 500 miles was after I get out with my tongues hanging out but hopefully it'll be a good time on April 2nd Adam runs mid pack as he looks to gain experience but here's Adam petty let's catch up with a 19-year old his great-grandfather Lee petty a NASCAR champion in the 50s and winner of the first Daytona 500 his dad his grandfather the King Richard Petty winner of seven Daytona 500 and seven Winston Cups his father Kyle Petty has been a Winston Cup victory lane as well so now he's a fourth generation driver that's a first for NASCAR and it may well be a first for any professional major professional sport but there's Adam he's in 30th place in his first Winston Cup drive one lap down to the race leader 124 laps completed as they try to tame tech news but after the halfway point the engine let's go and Adam finishes 40th following a 39th place run in the Busch Series race the 19 year old has a lot of promise and a lot of opportunity but also a lot of responsibility to carry the most famous name in stock car racing to another generation just right we broke a motor that's what happened that's just my look last night I had a car capable fishing in top 5 and somebody blew up in front of me and I got in there wreck and today we just riding along running about 24 and Motors so that happens we'll come back at Charlotte least I didn't tear it up I learned a lot and I just figured out you know what my line was an hour and get back in my rhythm and everything like that so I hope honoring some of those guys respect out there today I had a good time and we'll go get him next week Irwin finishes sixteenth in the Busch race at Texas then 17th and cup and leads his first lap of the season he watches his Dale jr. takes the checkers for his first Cup Series victory Tony Roper misses the Busch Series race his fifth straight DNQ Richard Petty isn't at the track to see all this his father Lee who had surgery for a stomach aneurysm in February has fallen ill again three days later on April 5th Lee dies at age 86 the next race for the Busch Series is at the Nashville fairgrounds three days after Lee's death Adam finishes 34th three spots behind Tony Roper who finally manages to qualify her win' isn't in the fields but the BellSouth car will run in the sponsors race third generation driver Stedman Marlin age 19 will make his Series debut at his family's home track Irwin is in Martinsville for the Cup race he breaks the radiator after hitting another car and manages only 37th 53 laps down Kenny Wallace qualifies outside pole that day but while battling Mike Skinner for second his day takes an unexpected turn goodness gracious they look like the Left Front the 55 car and you believe Kenny Wallace's luck [Music] more than his share of the bad luck Kenny you're alright what happened still wide open months first time in my career that's ever happened to me just ugh you know big letdown for all the NASCAR fans and everybody up everything was going right to plan and uh just never had a hat before let off the gas and what quit first I thought it was the brakes then done and when I wrecked I rely started it up and it was wide open so uh looked underneath the hood there and it just stuck wide open so had to figure out why one week later Talladega marks the final time that petty urban and Roper will race in the same event all three get their best series finish of the season with Irwin ninth petty 12th and Roper in 24th when Cup Series qualifying is delayed by rain Irwin is among those who get to qualify in partial darkness he times in 12th his best start of the year so far in Sunday's die hard 500 Irwin does even better and finds himself in the thick of the lead battle in the final laps Jeff [Applause] [Music] inside [Music] let's go and figure out who he says gentlemen [Applause] [Music] [Applause] now looking at just two laps to go these days the wide one car length advantage [Music] let's see who goes with his pencil take your pick Jeff Gordon the 24 car has won what 49 races the 31 car my skirt has never won [Music] they were vain in the same motive comes up and they're looking to the white flag we [Applause] [Music] second warburton up high and losing spots go and make a move they're down the backstretch for the final time on the racetrack nobody makes a move yet will anyone make the move before they hit the start to the inside of Mike Skinner's nothing going there Dale Earnhardt is up on the high side in the battle for third position he's gonna good run up [Applause] [Music] [Applause] as they come down the result is a fourth-place finish one spot shy of her Huan's career best in the Daytona 500 a year earlier Jeff Gordon's win is the 50th of his career and records his best finish to the year Kenney from 12 to 4 did you have anything at all those last laps for the 24 car I don't think so you know I was really trying to help the 31 get up there and and you know we just we're just doing everything we can the last 10 laps is wild just trying to pick my spot to keep inching up and not going backward to it it was fun the whole BellSouth crew they did an awesome job all the green flag pit stops I mean you just just can't say enough oh I think we come in 15th and we come out 3rd so they did an awesome job you let yourself think about the possibility that today could have been your first win I mean you gave Gardening one before but you and Skinner we're looking for that first one I know you wanted it badly yeah you know just I didn't think about it you're just trying to put yourself in a position the whole time just to inch up there and a couple times I think sterling was leading and I wanted to run second and sure enough I pulled out of line and nobody went with me and I think I went back to 25th and but it that's kind of a cycle all day you go back come come forward and it's just actually he's a lot of fun is it's pretty intense but there's a lot of fun your gradual he's gonna break run Thank You Kenny Irwin finishes for speaking of finishing second I think John Kernan has caught up with the second place finisher Mike Skinner the next day however team owner Felix abates is busy denying rumors that he might sell his two car team to Chip Ganassi Ganassi has already indicated he wants to expand his Kart team at a NASCAR but it's yet unclear whether he'll start from scratch or invest in an existing program like sivadas on April 20th at Richmond Tony Roper is involved in a serious crash during testing he's taken by ambulance to a local hospital for observation but is discharged later that night nine days later he fails to qualify at Fontana petty finishes 27th in the Busch race there with Irwin and 32nd urban struggles even more in the Cup race he's running near the back when he crashes by himself leaving him 42nd on May 5th Roper fails to qualify at Richmond sight of his testing crash two weeks earlier that he finishes 16th in what will turn out to be his 43rd and final Busch Series starts the next night on May 6th Irwin has an bad race while racing Mike Bliss down the front stretch bliss runs over a piece of shattered brake rotor off Robert Presley's Ford Bliss blows a tire and pins Irwin into the outside wall Irwin's car sits in the middle of the track for some time before anyone arrives at the scene initial reports say Irwin lost awareness while talking to others after his release from the infield care center and that he had to be transported to the hospital this is later denied by the team Aaron himself says he felt sore but decided against going to the hospital and jury or none his second-straight 42nd place finish has dropped into 29th at the points on May tenth four days after the Cup race in Richmond Adam petty is in Charlotte for a test he's now planning to add the Winston open to his schedule but it's unclear whether he'll run a Chevrolet or a Pontiac the team has both at the track and it's anyone's guess which one he'll run the following week he then travels North to Loudon New Hampshire where he enters the upcoming 200 lap race 24th and Busch Series points rambling stone fences and white clabber buildings this is pastor ol picturesque New England a hotbed of stock car racing you better believe it a quarter century these fans have waited to see these Winston Cup drivers and finally there's a world-class facility here to showcase their talents all the stars are here and so are 70,000 jacked up race fans they've waited 25 years and they just won't wait any longer nicknamed the magic mile though measuring just a shade over that the New Hampshire International Speedway started hosting NASCAR modified Busch North and Busch grand national series races when it opened in 1990 it was added to the Winston Cup calendar in 1993 prior to 1998 the Trax four corners each banked at just 12 degrees had been repaved giving the asphalt a darker complexion at the end of each 1500 foot straightaway for the year 2000 Loudon has three NASCAR weekends on the schedule one each in May July in September as of this the track's 10th anniversary season Loudon has not had a single fatality that is until the afternoon of May 12 good afternoon from New Hampshire International Speedway we greet you today with heavy sorrow filled hearts because during practice here yesterday 19-year old Adam petty was killed an accident and turned 3 taking the life of the fourth generation of racing Petty's Adam petty first grabbed headlines in the sport when he won his ARCA and super speedway debut at the Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte back in October of 1998 of late this has been the best of times and the worst of times for the petty family the excitement of the family's involvement in the return of dodge to NASCAR racing the excitement of seeing Adam petty moved to the NASCAR Winston Cup circuit for the DirectTV 500 at Texas just a few short weeks ago then all of that tempered by the passing of the family's patriarch Lee petty and now just unbelievably Adam petty at 19 years of age having just begun to experience life tragically taken from all of us needless to say we offer our condolences to Kyle Petty to his wife Patty to Adams brother Austin his sister Montgomery lead to Richard and Linda petty the entire petty family a heartfelt condolences oh I'm afraid that at a time like this our words just come up way too short of filling the void that certainly may have to be experiencing Adam petty dead at the age of 19 shortly after 2:00 p.m. during practice for the Bush 200 Adam Petty's car goes straight at the entrance of turn 3 and smashes into the wall nearly head-on there is no footage of the accident but eye witnesses say the car briefly catches fire as it grinds to a stop against the outside wall as the petty team prepares the backup emergency crews begin to cut the frame of the primary petty is removed and transported by ambulance to a helicopter pad outside the track where an airlift awaits by the time petit arrives at Concord Hospital he is pronounced dead the cause of death is originally listed as serious head injuries but it is later clarified as a closed head injury at the base of the skull also known as a basilar skull fracture the number 45 car is covered in a tarp then removed from the track while it's never officially confirmed what happened to the car it's believed to have been buried the team withdraws the future of both team and family very much in doubt well today's show was meant to be a celebration of Adam Petty's life he was certainly just a fine young individual just a prince of a guy he came from one of the finest families that you'll ever want to meet and our prayers and best wishes continue to go out to the entire petty family you know this is a very dark time but I know what I'm gonna do when I think of Adam petty I'm gonna remember that smile and I encourage fans do the same thing remember to smile then it won't be so bad very good point Steve remember the petty smile the somber race is won by Tim Fedewa interestingly this is the only Busch Series race of the first 13 where a wins number 42 is not entered Roper fails to qualify the following Monday at 11 a.m. services are held for Adam in High Point among the drivers who attend or Ward Burton Bill Elliott Ernie Irvan Dale Jarrett Bobby and Terry Labonte and Bobby Allison a few years earlier Allison had separated from his wife Judy after the deaths of their sons Davey and Clifford Allison both rising stars in NASCAR Davey's final star came in the inaugural race at New Hampshire in 1993 Clifford's passing which happened following a crash in a Busch Series practice session at mich again in 1992 was the most recent death in the series before Adam the couple reunites as they console the petty family and later that summer will remarry at Bessemer Alabama on May 17th five days after Adams death Kyle Petty says he won't run the Winston open at Charlotte where a four by six foot flag bearing Adams name will fly over Victory Lane four days later Adams Busch Series team is also withdrawn from the next race in Charlotte on May 27th Kyle won't run that weekend either and the team has put Steve Grissom the team's truck series driver into the number 44 hot wheels Pontiac Grissom will fail to qualify joining a list of five DN Q's on May 20th Lyndon Amick carries a petty blue decal on his hood for the ARCA race at Charlotte by races end Adams number 45 rolls into Victory Lane for a second time career arc of victory with carrier heart and the been through Tim steel in tow [Music] he laps the event scores the victory there you see him driving by what's left of the Shauna Robinson car after she was involved in an accident in turn one in the last lap scramble to the finish but it is Linda Nemec from South Carolina in the Ken Schrader racing entry here he has scored the victory his first in the ARCA series he's a happy young man wearing an Adam petty hat tonight there is Lyndon your car owner Kenny Schrader was not very encouraging on the radio he said you had better cars behind you did you think you could hold those guys off well I knew if I just hold my head and I tell you run this race like Adam did two years ago he won this deal man we're carrying his name on the hood this means the world to me and this is for the paddy family and for Kyle and we loved him to death and you know all hearts were with him but not with him all week and that's why I want to do this it was my idea to put this guy on the hood and he was with me tonight it's against this backdrop that Kenny Irwin jr. competes in his second running of the Winston all-star race as in 1998 Irwin advances to the main event by being the new driver of a team that won the previous season sponsor BellSouth celebrates their first start of the all-star race with a special paint scheme for project impact a disaster readiness program in collaboration with FEMA the race gets off to a bad start with Irwin breaks loose and turn 3 putting John Andretti into the outside wall Irwin finishes 12th one lap down to Dale jr. despite the struggles for Irwin it's a welcome distraction from the persistent rumors about Chip Ganassi investing in Team sabko and now new rumors about switching to dodge rumors that don't include Arwen or as teammate Sterling Marlin staying with the team then after the race a concrete walkway leaving the charlotte track collapses 78 fans are injured 13 of them critically fortunately none are killed one week later Irwin makes what will turn out to be his 14th and final Busch Series start he finishes 20th then runs 24th and the coca-cola 600 across the garage Tony Roper is frustrated contrary to what he was promised the Washington Irving team's cars are old and slow accounting for his several DN cues in qualifying for the Busch race Roper is swapped out of the number 50 for Stanton Barrett but Barrett also fails to qualify the team insist this is only a temporary change and that Roper will be back behind the wheel at Dover that changes on June 1st is the dr. pepper team isn't entered at the Monster Mile one driver who is entered is Kyle Petty who to Richard's surprise will not only run the cup race but drive Adams car on Saturday the moment overwhelms Kyle in his first public appearance since the accident you know coming in here last night and just rolling through the front gate of the racetrack and knowing that did Adam won here was pretty hard I don't think the emotion of getting back in the car and getting in his car is gonna be that bad because I've been around his crew everyday and they run that car every day I think it was just coming back to the racetrack and seeing new people and being around that part of it that that was that's the toughest part you said joke about being a father and son and best friend we were and I think Austin and I am Amelia patty and all of us are in the same way so I think that was I don't know we just we tried to do that because we felt like that was more important in the race and stuff race and support but that was your family was a lot more important kyle qualifies for the Busch race and runs as high as sixth before a late pit stop drops him to 26th Kyle misses the field for the Cup race but serves as a relief driver for teammate John Andretti who is struggling with rib injuries from his tangle with Irwin in the Winston he does all this at Dover site of Kyle's last Cup victory and Adams first laps led in the series Irwin finishes 17th at Dover after qualifying 11th and at one point nudges Jimmy Spencer out of the way June 11th Michigan Kyle Petty gets his number 44 into a cup race for the first time since Richmond but a blown engine leaves in 39th orwen doesn't finish much better in 35th in the next round at Pocono Kyle's engine let's go again putting him 41st urban takes 25th the series then heads west to Sears Point where Kyle Petty makes a statement in qualifying he puts his car on the outside pole his first front row starts since April 1996 at mark Zil Cowpen he knows that a win today won't change history and it certainly won't turn back the clock but it might be the first step toward the healing of a broken heart simply put Rusty Wallace may have this beef jeff gordon may have the string but kyle petty has the spirit Kyle's run happens on June 23rd 2000 the same day I take this picture of her Huan's car on the front stretch that night and the ARCA race of Toledo Scott Baker is killed in this accident when his car strikes a protective tire barrier and Sunday's Cup race on the road course petty finishes 19th urban squeezes Elliott Sadler in the wall then spins out in the final laps and finishes 25th four days after Sears Point things have gone from bad to worse at Washington Irving Motorsports the team's website is down and there's word the crew has been sent home without pay Tony Roper quits and looks for a new team it's heard he may still have support from dr. pepper as a sponsor but that falls through as they signed with David green at CC Welliver later that same week Roper tests with alumni motorsports a struggling single car Busch team fielded by Ohio State alumnus Brent bushu the team doesn't go with Roper for the next race in Milwaukee and sticks with Lance Hooper meanwhile Kyle Petty arranges with a si driver Scott Hansen to qualify the number 45 at Milwaukee while Petty runs the Cup race in Daytona that coming Saturday Kyle finishes 30th in this Daytona race held on July 1st which also marks the final Cup race broadcast on CBS that Pepsi 400 will become the 87th and final cup start for Kenny Irwin jr. her win' stays out to lead lap 86 under caution the 179th lap he's led in a cup car on lap 123 he makes this daring move down the backstretch they go 5 wide 6 wide down the back straightaway 29th after he had his time [Music] Kenny Irwin that green car ran the whole back straightaway Irwin finishes 22nd and sits 28th in points exactly where he ranked at the end of his rookie season it's been a frustrating year but outwardly her.when has reason to smile Ganassi has gone over plans for him to stay in the number 42 in 2001 and he'll be driving a brand new car the next week at New Hampshire he's also planning on marrying his girlfriend I was thinking of the right way to propose the next day on July 2nd Kyle Petty travels to Milwaukee where Scott Hansen has qualified the number 45 car in 18th petty finishes eighth the first top 10 finish of the year for the team that same day NASCAR officials looking into Adams crash report no signs of mechanical failure while crew chief still point to a stuck throttle Mike Helton says there is no evidence of that regardless petty will not compete in the following weeks Cup race in Loudon and again hands the wheel to Steve Grissom however Richard Petty will make the trip to Loudon as a goodwill gesture to track president Bob Baer the king will be there in time for opening practice on Friday July 7th programs printed for the event already call it the New England 300 but the summer of 2000 is the height of the dot-com bubble and websites are eager to buy up naming rights to races and so after the mall comm 400 at Darlington but before the go racing dot-com 500 at Bristol the investment of a cosmetic surgeon referral service means New Hampshire will host that that look calm 300 [Applause] [Music] thank you I've been very fortunate as some great car owners through the years - especially that are here tonight which are my parents they are the ones that had to sacrifice so much to get me to this point in my career thank you I love you mom and dad and he said I'd rather be doing this than anything else in the whole world and if this if I die doing this mom is what I want do you know what the last time I talked to him and you know he said I'll call you after qualification 11:23 a.m. just eight minutes into the first practice and during his first time flap Kenny Irwin jr. slams the turn three wall nearly head-on this time the car ramps onto the driver's side slides for nearly the entire distance of turns three and four and rolls to a stop on its roof Brett Bodine who was following Irwin into the corner calls it one of the worst accidents he's ever seen when track medical staff reached the scene Irwin is unresponsive there's blood on his uniform he's pulled out in ten minutes rushed to the infield care center then transported to Concord Hospital at 2:14 p.m. the worst fears are realized for the second time in 56 days a driver has been killed at New Hampshire and for the first time since Rodney ores practice crash at Daytona in 1994 it's a cup driver Irwin was just 30 years old the cause of death is printed as a crushed skull but is later clarified as a basilar skull fracture the same as Adam Petty's as with petty the cause of the accident remains unknown Robert Fisk Louden's police chief says NASCAR contacted his department two hours after the crash too late to do a proper investigation since practice restarts just 30 minutes after the accident they can't even determine whether the wreck happened before or after Owen started to turn a stuck throttle is again believed to be the cause as with Adam petty the number 42 team loads up and leaves the track sometime later Felix abates will have the car destroyed to deter a souvenir hunters the rest of the day's activities go on as scheduled I just don't know what to say is that but just super tragic is horrible it's it's - it's something I hope none of my family or friends ever have to go through makes everything else kind of I really seem to matter you know it's just very unfortunate just glad to be able to say that I knew him was a teammate but more than anything else he was a friend then we've all lost a good friend they need to do something I mean whatever it is I mean these Modifieds got a kill switch on these things when when something hangs up on them you're just going too fast here in the straightaways and there's no your head can only take so much why can't we do something about this why can't we do something with the cars when these throttles hang if it was a throttle hung it looks like but can we do something out the racetrack why can't we do something you know this stuff happens for reasons we need to learn from him just one day later in the Truck Series race Dennis Setzer enters the 3rd turned to me at number 16 I don't they locked the brakes for what happened before he did go hard Wartrol right number 24 Setzer walks away nine months earlier Irwin was involved in this famous altercation with Tony Stewart his old rival at new SEC after Irwin's death at his steward who offers to fly or wounds family and coach driver on his private jet it is steward who wins the somber race on Sunday which is shortened by 27 laps due to rain and it is Stewart who then gives that trophy to Irwin's family I race with Kenny for nine years and you know ever since I moved down the three quarter midgets in the film it just he was a guy I had to race hard each week and if I want to win the race he was the guy had to be each week so [Music] it's just one of those weird things I mean ever since we've moved into Winston Cup I mean every time I get a practice sheet the first thing I do is look to see where he is look to see where bobby labonte is so it's just hard I mean it he was a great racer I mean in the 21 years off race there was nobody tougher than he was I mean it didn't matter whether it was a [ __ ] on dirt or a silver crown car sprint car payment it didn't matter he was he was a contender to win every week and you know I heard a quote yesterday I don't that people thought that they hadn't seen the best of Kenney here whenever Winston Cup car I agree teams can't wait to leave New Hampshire that rainy day but they all reached a shared realization they will all be back just two months later for another 300 mile race figuring out what has happened and what could or would be done becomes a new priority were these two accidents simply a tragic coincidence or was something else happening NASCAR's more like a community and and if a citizen of a community passes away the community still has to go on the lights have to work and the water has to run and and the life has to go on and your heart's not in it 100% necessarily but but it has to go on and that's the way we look at our schedules and it could've been that we didn't press on yesterday but I don't know that that would have made it any better I think a lot of people for the most part this soon stay busy but but our procedures are to press on and in cases like this so it's not because we don't have a heart or soul with simply because that that we have a lot of responsibility everybody does in a garage there is to a lot of different people and the biggest thing is is that that that's what we do we race and that's what Kenny did he races and that's what Adam did he races and that's what we do and it's it's a matter of I think ins in some people's mind it's it's what's necessary is to press on I think probably the fan the guy at home watching this on TV or they heard about what happened here with with Kenny I'm sure he said nurse and how can those guys how can they go back out there and and act like nothing happened how do they do that and trust me in this garage area Friday people were walking around looking at each other like how can we do this how can we keep going you know Kinney was it was a great kid we all loved him and you know I I felt I felt really awkward getting in my car and going out on the track because a kid had just lost his life in that corner over there I had to drive down that straightaway right into that same corner man I'm I'm checking my throttle I'm checking my brakes I'm checking my brain what am I doing here we have to learn from this let's don't sweep it under the rug and forget about it let's learn from it let's move forward I'm not pointing fire at anybody let's look at the racetrack you know that's to put two times right in the same spot let's look at the racetrack let's be objective about let's don't just let it go and say oh it's one of those things let's make something let's do something with it let's show that out of respect for Adam Petty and Kenny Irwin dad we're gonna make some changes we're gonna look at this a little differently and we're gonna try to prevent it from happening again from uh from an old guy that's been in a sport for 30 years that would give me some comfort we're taking this thing and we're not just avoiding it we're not just hoping it'll go away but we're saying okay we had a problem there and we fixed it that's that's that would give me a lot more confidence in the track and NASCAR and everybody involved they've give me a lot more respect for everybody involved if it was handled just like an airplane crash take the car your panel of experts puts it back together here's what happened the throttle hung in the floor man or the hot throttle hung in the firewall or the throttle hung under the air cleaner but something happened in the trial hung there's plenty of people who saw it so don't tell me you know well we don't know what happened Ward Burton puts it succinctly to means there's a problem he says it needs to be addressed on July 10th NASCAR historian Bob lat furred weighs in on if NASCAR has become too dangerous if you just took one lap at each of the 188 tracks that Winston Cup is raced at over 52 years and make it one piece of Highway he says I doubt there's one equal section of highway in the country that has had that few fatalities over the same amount of time two days later on July 12th services are held for Irwin at the Abundant Life Church in Indianapolis at least 500 people attend including IMS president Tony George dozens of red roses adorn the casket the Reverend Peter Bosworth Arwen's priest recalls a conversation with the driver you know what I drive for free he told him I'd race for free that's my passion that's my passion still the season pushes forward one day after the services on July 13th truck series driver Jamie McMurray parts ways with MB Motorsports owned by Missouri native Mike Mittler Midler's scene we've been around since the start of the series in 1995 that year gave Tony Roper his first two starts in the series at Milwaukee in Martinsville with MacMurray's departure comes an opportunity for the two to reunite Roper accepts his first start back with the team will be next month an Indianapolis Raceway Park side of his career best runner up finished two years earlier other planned races are Chicago Richmond Nashville and Texas three days after the Midler deal Kyle Petty finishes fifth at Nazareth which turns out to be the best run of the season for Adam's car the team will skip the next race in Pikes Peak then run the remainder of the season and a quick word from Kyle Petty you finished fifth but from the reaction down here you won no idea what it was a great day for the Sprint PCS car and Chris house he made a phenomenal call that got us up front like I said I just had no practice on a racetrack like the tour wall down a hard time to be 50 laps to get used to it and they made a great call to the tenths place or 15th place driver in a first place car and we run fifth with it and I'm just tickled to death it's like I said Adam came here run fourth last year and I always said he had more talent he's little fingers and I've got my whole body and I get that shows and just to come here and be able to do some of the stuff he done I'm pretty proud of these guys and just thank God the next day a team sabko announces a permanent number change to the BellSouth team from 42 to 0 1 the paint scheme has also changed so the distinctive neon green added to Irwin's cars nowhere on it perhaps due to the long-standing superstition behind the color since most drivers are under contract the team's driver selection comes down to Todd Bodine and Ted Musgrave since Bodine is running the Busch race and Pikes Peak they pick Musgrave Sterling Marlin Aaron's former teammate will take over the rest of Irwin's four remaining scheduled Busch Series starts starting the next month in Bristol like Musgrave Marlin will also run the number zero one Musgrave first start comes at Pocono where he runs 16th that same day trouble in turn one Ricky Rudd in the outside wall looks like maybe the right front tire went down or something because he has hit the outside wall hard and then started way back to pulling straight away I'm looking at the black mark you can see right front is not moving at all the hole that came in yeah I'm pretty good shade just gonna knock me silly for a second hit that wall pretty good down there blew a right front tire not sure exactly without but cut a right front tire blew something on the right front huh I had it before I right about time you get rid of turn down in the corner do grab some break and I was it on August first after nearly a month of silence NASCAR issues a technical bulletin to all teams mandating two changes to the cars the first mandates an independent travel stop to keep the throttle plates from opening beyond a vertical position the second is in effect a cut off switch a button the driver can press to disconnect power to the ignition system as it happens the car has already have such switches but in each case they have been placed out of the drivers reach the new regulation requires they be within reach of the drivers thumb allowing it to be hit at a moment's notice both changes go into effect for the upcoming Brickyard 400 two days before the Brickyard Tony Roper makes his first Truck Series start of the season at IRP he finishes 30th and Midler's number 26 Ford the next day the company downing Atlanta reports sales figures of their new head and neck restraint device or Hans device which has been getting more attention since Adam Petty's wreck in May since he's reducing a new and improved version of the device in late June downing Atlanta has sold 35 with another 44 on order NASCAR's Gary Nelson says he's not ready to make the device mandatory even though cart and Formula One already have for 2001 part of the reason may be that bill Simpson is announcing a cheaper alternative to the Hans despite NASCAR's inaction both Ford and General Motors are strongly encouraging their drivers to use the Hans that same day after months of speculation felix ibadis finally announces chip ganassi will partner with him in 2001 forming a new two car team running dodges Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Abbas August 5th the Brickyard 400 held in Kenny Irwin Jr's hometown is run on what would have been Aaron's 31st birthday it was here three years ago he was announced as Robert Yates new driver here one year ago that he all but knew he was out of that car and here today the race is dedicated and his honor [Music] 31 years ago today a boy was born on the east side of Indianapolis in the shadow of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as he grew so did his passion for racing Kennedy we'll be shown in correspondent and as a young man he distinguished himself with his racing accomplishments ladies and gentlemen the seventh running of the Brickyard 400 is dedicated to the memory of Kitty Irwin's Junior [Applause] at 11:00 a.m. local time balloons are released at the track an hour later more balloons fly near team samko's offices in Mooresville the Mooresville tribute is arranged by Debi Musgrave wife of Ted Irwin's replacement in the race itself two drivers aren't in the field because of injuries Terry Labonte briefly lost consciousness in this crash at Daytona a month earlier than wrecked hard again at Loudon this ends Labonte Ironman streak at 655 straight starts also missing his Jeremy Mayfield who is hurt in a crash during practice his relief driver is Kyle Petty at a crossroads both professionally and personally petty will hand over driving duties of the number 44 after Bristol to focus on Adams Busch Series car Steve Grissom will drive once again but in the final 11 races will fail to qualify seven times on August 12th Tony Roper makes his second truck start at the Nashville fairgrounds besting eleven other drivers who failed to qualify he finishes in last place out with engine failure he doesn't attempt the next race at Chicago Motor Speedway which happens to see NASCAR's first live tests of the new cutoff switch on lap 124 Rob Morgan's throttle sticks heading into turn one Morgan hits the button cutting power to the motor and avoiding a hit to the outside wall he recovers to finish 23rd three days later Kyle Petty presents a check for ten thousand and forty-five dollars to the Brenner Children's Hospital in winston-salem Jay ski reports that some kind of Foundation and Adams memory is in the planning stages September 2nd Irwin is inducted into the Darlington record club for being the defending pole sitter of the upcoming southern 500 with 13 days until opening practice for the next cup series race at New Hampshire Jeff Gordon Dale Jarrett and Rusty Wallace are insisting soft wall barriers must be added to the turns before they race there NASCAR's Mike Helton disagrees Helton instead considers a change to the cars he and his team consider possible aerodynamic changes and dropping the maximum cubic inch limit from 355 to around 305 all this comes amidst a possible change in management at NASCAR as Jim Francis rumored to take the place of bill France jr. the next day there's a of a possible drivers strike at New Hampshire which would be the first since the inaugural Talladega race in 1969 Bobby Labonte the series point leader says he'll race whether changes are made or not but also says he's not happy about it September 8th one week until New Hampshire and one day after Roper finishes 21st in the Truck Series race at Richmond NASCAR approves a live tests of an automatic version of the cutoff switch called the dumb switch that system developed by Jack Roush uses sensors to automatically shut off the engine with a device detects 850 to 900 pounds of brake pressure while the throttle is at or nearly full open six teams are slated to run it but all are concerned after Bobby Labonte's car is found to have a faulty sensor at the same time a new rumor begins that NASCAR is planning on instituting restrictor plates in New Hampshire and that teams are already preparing their engines for next week during the weekends racing at Richmond Elliott Sadler runs a plate during practice it costs him one second a lap two days later in five days before practice NASCAR confirms they will mandate restrictor plates for the following weeks race and Loudon not only will they be mandated for Cup but also the Busch North Series race held the day before and before each practice teams will also take so-called pre practice laps behind the pace car to ensure proper brake temperature there's one big catch however NASCAR won't allow any testing at Loudon prior to the race Steve Park Dale jr. and Jeff Burton test at Milwaukee Dale Earnhardt tests at Greenville Pickens joining a pre-planned test for Busch Series driver Kevin Harvick around this time Earnhardt speaks out about the lingering controversies during a rare interview by his hauler his quotes are in two articles in the September 14th issue of nascar scene he first agrees that NASCAR had to do something but takes issue with what he perceived to be unproductive negativity he also disagrees at the oval and New Hampshire is particularly unsafe it's not a totally safe situation anywhere you race he says I accepted that when I came into racing Earnhardt also offers a theory of his own for what caused the two fatalities during a conversation with Dave Marcus about why they wear open face helmets that who not only insists their helmets are safer but that full-face helmets are dangerous why aren't they say faster in heart of the full-faced helmets because you slam your face into them says Marcus and what does it do to the back of your neck when you hit you break it right here says Marcus pointing to the base of his neck that leverage point is there and your head keeps going something's got a bus back there then Earnhardt says it's like somebody puts a deuce around your neck and throws you off the gallows though it is true that our heart never uses the Hans device this last quote will be attributed incorrectly to Earnhardt's mistrust of it Marcus is likewise not against advances in safety just over a year earlier he survives his brutal crash at Pocono thanks to a special shoulder strap attached to his helmet pioneered by fellow driver Phil Bart doll the horse collar style device has since been adopted by ARCA one track to eerily similar incidents to young stars gone questions are raised we know what need to do my answer to that strap your butt in there 220 minor straightaway you have something go wrong and hit the wall head on and tell me if you'd like to have some cushion down there well I'll tell you I would softball technology using their trenches tested but with no closure kill switches are installed various safety measures try but once again the monster raises its ugly head an announcement is made we know how to slow cars down we've done it Daytona and Talladega for the same reason where the cars became too fast for the track and we know how to do that and we do that with restrictor plates the treaded plate is bolted on opinions fly [Music] 108 of me you know don't matter bus no a beer and go race and see what happens engine builders spring into action and burn the midnight oil on the push to squeeze research development and production into a scant few days yeah we know we got to build something tiny in between what we've always built so we just kind of mean to do it so it's pretty much a stab in the dark so many questions so much at stake 43 teams are poised to enter the unknown the Cup Series races at Loudon this weekend Kyle I'm sure people would like to know your thoughts on that track and the safety issues that have come up about it yeah you know and I probably thought as much or more than a lot of people have owned the issue I don't blame loud at all at the racetrack the Bears are some of the greatest people in the world as you know and anybody that's ever dealt with them you know and and talking to Bob he had an incredibly hard time he and I had a good conversation right after it happened and they're just great people but you know is the racetrack dangerous tough question they run ten million miles there and nothing ever happened you know and all of a sudden you have two wrecks you know within a short period of time so everybody's up in arms can we be safer yeah can the racetracks be safer yes September 15th the Winston Cup Series is back in New Hampshire for opening practice Tony Stewart wears a helmet painted like Irwin's and seeks a season sweep at the track Jack Roush reports his Cup Series drivers will carry his automatic dumb switch that was tested at Richmond joining them will be Ricky Rudd Bobby Labonte Tony Stewart and Elliott Sadler Roush is 14 more of the switches available for the 35 remaining drivers entered in the race by October 1st he'll have enough for a full 43 car filled the opening practice comes and goes without serious incident Bobby Labonte wins the pole Steve Grissom just misses the cut in Kyle Petty's car Ted Musgrave qualifies 11th with what was once Kenny Irwin's team matching Irwin's own season best start at Dover in of two fatal accidents here last week NASCAR mandated the use of restrictor plates to slow the cars down restrictor plates had never been used on Winston Cup cars at New Hampshire or even a track like this and that has opened wide the gates of the great unknown teams have struggled with engine combinations chassis setups transmissions and gear choices engines are down 300 horsepower as a result fuel mileage is up some teams can go 25 laps further than ever before so adapted Daytona engines to hear others adapted unrestricted engines to a plate everyone is running a combination they never ran before talking the garage today is that the race could go to someone experienced and successful in cars with less power NASCAR Busch Series cars someone like Mark Martin the advantage could go to those who have expended extraordinary efforts like Steve Park and Jeff Burton who tested at a similar track in Milwaukee all hope that their car will be fastest but mostly all hope that the race will be safe just let him race safe on Sunday defending race winner joe nemecheck climbs from 30th to 9th john andretti starts 31st and finishes seventh but outside pole sitter Jeff Burton leads all 300 laps and wins under caution NASCAR's first flag-to-flag performance since 1978 no one else is all that happy but everyone involved feels like they dodged a bullet hi there's a-- the names far-field Barnes Shepard yeah Morgan Shepherd missed the race again you can see it averaged 11 drivers per race for the last five events now 55 guys at dawn home five days after the New Hampshire race Tony Roper fails to qualify for the Truck Series race at Dover one of 11 drivers sent home his next attempt will be in three weeks at Texas the O'Reilly 400 is the next to last race on the truck schedule where Greg Biffle carries a 290 point lead over Mike Wallace for the championship Roper qualifies 15th in the field while eight drivers are sent home including Morgan Shepherd and Carl long a lap two Roper misses a 10 truck pileup on the backstretch on lap 26 these in 17th 18 seconds back of the lead and closing on a pack of trucks that is Tony Roper in the Middler brothers truck and it is torn up now there's flames coming out of the underneath side and the window net is not down that is the signal to officials that he is okay meanwhile the other truck involved for sure was the 43 of Steve Grissom there may have been one other one you can see parts all over the front straightaway it's our second caution of this race Mike Mittler whose pit stall is directly across from the accident scene doesn't think the wreck is too bad but Dean Roper spotting for his son from the tower overlooking the track doesn't hear Tony over the radio he joins the family in rushing to the hospital emergency crews end up cutting a hole in the roof and lifting Roper out on a backboard he's transported by ambulance out of the track by the time he reaches Parkland Hospital it's clear how serious the injury is the impact has broken his neck and stopped the flow of blood to his brain he's breathing with the help of a respirator the weekend in racing began with tragedy NASCAR Truck Series driver Tony Roper suffered fatal injuries during Friday's O'Riley 404 twere 'the after a head-on crash into the wall at Texas Motor Speedway Roper was trying to maneuver through traffic when he touched another truck and lost control on the 30 second lap of the event he passed away on Saturday the first fatality in the three and a half year history of the track at 11:55 a.m. the next day Roper dies at age 35 well not a basilar skull fracture as in Petty and Irwin the impact is similar in speed and angle and the injury is similar to Scott Baker's fatal injury at the worker race' Toledo back in June Roper's death is another shock of reality to the NASCAR community a third different driver is killed from a head-on impact with the outside wall this time it's not at New Hampshire and not during practice the issue is now clearly more than a track with the treacherous turn it is something that could happen anywhere at any time to any driver while this makes ropers death perhaps the most critical of the three it is nevertheless overlooked because the very next day this happens [Music] [Applause] the nerve there five contender three days after Earnhardt's win tony ropers memorial service is held in the gymnasium at the Fairgrove high school Roper graduated in 1983 more than 600 people attend in the days that follow ropers website receives more than 1600 messages and emails so many that the webmaster has to start a third message board he was never going to make cup and he had resigned himself to that says Tony's uncle Dale Roper but like movie stars very few make it at the very top level but he can still make a very good living by being a supporting actor his racing family's past and present converged on his hometown of fair Grove Missouri to say goodbye in all over 3,000 people paid their respects Tony Roper was well-liked and he was well remembered at the funeral his wife Michelle bravely addressed us and reminded Tony always saw the best in everything and Tony Roper loved everyone thanks Tony for sharing your life with so many of us a week after ropers accident the Busch Series ladies Association distributes decals in memory of Roper that run on the Busch Series cars at Rockingham then again for the truck series finale at Fontana the Midler team doesn't run that week and returns for the 2001 season opener at Daytona Larry gun Suleman debuts the new truck number 63 in this race and in each one for the next 17 years every one of Midler's trucks will carry ropers name there is no doubt in my mind that he would have been a superstar as a crew chief says Mittler he had the knowledge and the work ethic on October 22nd Kyle and Patti petty found the Victory Junction Gang Camp it's the seventh in an international network of hole-in-the-wall gang camps which serve children with life-threatening illnesses located in level cross on property donated by Richard and Linda petty the completed facility features a large building that resembles Adams colorful spree car the next day Tony Roper is laid to rest in Fair Grove by season's end Kyle makes two more cup of temps this time at Adams number 45 he makes the show at Martinsville and finishes 31st then misses the field at Homestead both times he runs the Pontiac that was brought to Charlotte leaving Adams Chevrolet in the shop Kyle's next attempt will be in a Dodge for the 2001 Daytona 500 also among the dodges will be a rookie Jason Leffler in the Chip Ganassi number 0 1 with BellSouth merged into tech firm singular the team Leffler will drive four will be completely unrecognizable from the 101 drove just seven months earlier over the offseason NASCAR makes no new mandates regarding driver safety while the stuck throttle issue has been addressed without being acknowledged the rise in basilar skull fractures is not On January 13th 2001 during pre-season testing at Daytona others take the initiative a consultant speaks to four drivers suggesting changes to their seatbelt systems in the Hans device even offering to pay the bill for any driver wanting to order a Hans among the few who pick up this offer Ricky Craven and rookie Andy Houston now teammates at PPI Motorsports Ford also holds a meeting with dr. Robert Hubbard the professor of biomedical design research who is part of developing the Hahn he states that both Adam Petty and Kenny Irwin jr. could have survived their accidents if they used his device despite these rumblings NASCAR is still reluctant to mandate the Hans and Mike Helton states he doesn't plan on making a decision for a few weeks we are not in a position today to make any changes he says On January 30th we just haven't seen anything yet that's not got something with it that gives us concern Larry woody a veteran writer for The Tennessean expresses his frustration over a lack of response by NASCAR all the talk and attention that swirled around the issue of NASCAR safety last year seems to have cooled unfortunately it shouldn't take another racetrack tragedy to refocus attention on the matter efforts shouldn't lag in trying to find ways to build safer track walls reliable ways to prevent stuck throttles dependable helmets and harnesses what were sizzling issues in the wake of last year's driver fatalities seems to have been all but forgotten amid the excitement swirling around the start of a new season and the attendant Daytona 500 dazzle Woody's article goes to print On February 6 2001 just 12 days before the 43rd Daytona 500 it falls on deaf ears this is undoubtedly one of the toughest announcements that I've ever personally had to make but after the accident in turn four at the end of the Daytona 500 we've learned over the last two decades NASCAR has advanced the narrative the today's push for safety began with these words an unthinkable tragedy followed by unprecedented action creating a sport made better by lessons learned and measures taken the Hans device safer barriers the car of tomorrow Earnhardt's legend is allowed for this when we lost the Intimidator the tragedy was already so massive in scale a larger-than-life driver dying in the sports biggest race from a seemingly ordinary accident but the more we've replayed it in our collective memory it's grown impossibly larger it's now treated as though free from context separate and apart from the three clear warnings that came before it to this day NASCAR continues to have a hard time dealing with the harshest realities of its sport at the NASCAR Hall of Fame the only monument to the 82 drivers who have died at nascar-sanctioned competition is a copy of the Earnhardt report under glass one volume open to the first page its statement of facts laying out nothing more than the story we already know it's as if no other driver had ever died in all of NASCAR history but to deny history this way is to be doomed to repeat it and that is what happened on February 18 2001 it happened again on October 4th blaze Alexander once a development driver for Team sabko collides with carrier and heart while battling for the lead at Charlotte Alexander slams the wall nearly head-on practically identical to the crash that killed Tony Roper less than a year earlier is just as identical and outcome Alexander dies at 25 while the death happens in ARCA it is this accident and not the four before it that finally convinces NASCAR to mandate the Hans device I have a picture hanging up in my office it shows Robert Yates putting on the twenty-eighth jacket on Kenny I knew and did all the work and all the sacrifices we had made everything was paid in full just right there on that on that moment and it was the great experience in my life it wasn't a race that he'd won or not qualifying idiot sit down or anything it was just watching robbery aids put that 28 a jacket on Kevin [Music] [Music] [Music] what do you remember his enthusiasm [Music] everything is desirous Wow it's touch everything [Music] [Music] sethro looks like this tycoon in a chevrolet xx a great veteran Dean Roper for Missouri and the Mueller brothers 89 [Music] [Music] [Music]

Channel: Brock Beard

Views: 79,948

Keywords: nascar, kenny irwin, adam petty, tony roper, fatality, racing, nascar 2000, winston cup, busch series, truck series, new hampshire, new hampshire international speedway, new hampshire motor speedway, magic mile, kill switch, restrictor plate, dale earnhardt, Earnhardt

Id: 5Gv3G3EmrQ0

Length: 84min 16sec (5056 seconds)

Published: Sun Nov 17 2019