2008 NASCAR running thread

I will agree with Mr. Poole's assessment that we have Earnhardt's death to thank for the safety advances. But if Earnhardt had been wearing a HANS, or even a Hutchens, in the first place, he still may be around. Of course, hindsight is 20/10 in that case, since a perfect storm of events resulted in his death -- angle hit, speed, possible belt issues -- and few guys were wearing a safety device that year. (The count was in the low single digits, IIRC.)

Driver just died at an area track today. Served as a reminder that this racing stuff never, ever will be anything approaching safe.

 

NASCAR official Brienne Davis, part of the inspection team for the Cup Series and a former engine builder at DEI, died in a car wreck tonight in North Carolina.

 

She was 28.

 

All I can say, and all I've been saying: Damn. Damn. Damn.

Single-car accident. Damn.

28. Damn.

 

There's some coverage of the accident with video here:

http://www.wbtv.com/news/topstories/17402984.html

 

http://www.thatsracin.com/247/story/12826.html

<blockquote>Brienne Davis, one of the few fulltime female inspectors employed by NASCAR on race weekends, was killed Tuesday in a one-car accident during rush hour on northbound Interstate 77 near Huntersville, according to police and NASCAR officials.

A blue truck driven by Davis flipped and came to rest in the median just north of the Gilead Road exit, police said. The truck lay in two pieces, with the truck bed separated from the cab. Davis, 28, was airlifted to Carolinas Medical Center, where she died of her injuries, officials said.</blockquote>

This, by the way, is the same Brienne Davis who Tony Stewart used to date.

 

On a much lighter note, SI is reporting Tony Stewart is in talks with Haas CNC to part-own and drive for them.

Um...

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/tom_bowles/04/23/stewart/index.html

 

Jared's 6-inch turkey sub just went limp and he doesn't know why.

 

Sponsors can move with drivers. See also: Jarrett, Dale.

 

Having more horsepower than the infield RVs was probably getting boring. This will liven things up for him.

 

Really? Because Hendrick Motorsports builds the engines for that team and Rick Hendrick is basically running the place while Gene Haas does hard time in a federal PMITA country club lockup.

Lack of horsepower is not HaasCNC's problem.