No Richmond race for W. Burton.

MountaineerTom · April 30, 2001

Ward Hospitalized UPDATE 2 No Richmond? Winston Cup driver Ward Burton was admitted to Loma Linda Medical Center in Riverside(actually in Loma Linda), CA Sunday after he was involved in a wreck during Sunday's NAPA 500 at California Speedway. Burton and Mark Martin were involved in a wreck on Lap 225 in Turn 2. Martin apparently hit Burton from behind, putting Burton's car into a spin and then the wall. Burton was diagnosed with a concussion but was awake and alert at the hospital. He was being held for additional CAT scans(That's Racin')(4-29-2001)

UPDATE: A NASCAR official confirmed that Burton was wearing the Simpson Decelerator, a new head-restraint system from Simpson Performance Products. Like the HANS device and other head restraints, the Simpson Decelerator is designed to reduce the violent whiplash a driver can suffer in a crash and lead to a basilar skull fracture, which killed Dale Earnhardt, Adam Petty and Kenny Irwin(Roanoke Times) UPDATE 2: hearing Ward Burton will not the Cup race at Richmond due to the concussion and possible torn neck ligaments he suffered at California. No word on who will be sub for him but am hearing it could be Kenny Wallace if the Eel River Racing team decided not tot run at Richmond(4-30-2001)

April 30, 2001

Eel River Racing did put out this past Sunday that they could not afford to race again without a sponsor.

They said it cost ?,000 a race.

General Lee 01 · April 30, 2001

I heard the same thing.

I wonder why NASCAR won't allow Crown Royal to sponsor them.

I feel sad for Ward Burton. This will be the first race he missed for a LONG time. But then again, Terry Labonte had the same thing end his 600+ start streak.

(Edited by General Lee 01 at 7:39 pm on April 30, 2001)

Jpshostr · May 1, 2001

He sure was slow getting out of his car after that wreck. Before that net dropped I thought we might have had another bad thing happen.

May 1, 2001

Quote: from General Lee 01 on 6:33 pm on April 30, 2001
I heard the same thing.

I wonder why NASCAR won't allow Crown Royal to sponsor them.

I haven't heard about that. Gimme more scoop.

MountaineerTom · May 1, 2001

Update 3 and 4.

UPDATE 3: Rumor has it that Ward Burton will sit out this weekend's Pontiac Excitement 400 at Richmond International Raceway(NASCAR.com Buzz)(4-30-2001)

UPDATE 4: Ward Burton, driver of the #22 Caterpillar Dodge, was released from Loma Linda University MedicalCenter last night at approximately 10:00pm/et. He was released following hospitalization for observation and a series of tests after a late-race incident at California Speedway Sunday. Burton was diagnosed with a concussion and was given clearance from the medical staff to return to his home in Virginia(Bill Davis Racing PR). No word on his plans for the race at Richmond this weekend(5-1-2001) AND ESPN2's RPM 2Night reports that Burton has been cleared to race at Richmond and a team spokeman says Burton is scheduled to run at Richmond, but Burton is still experiencing pain in his neck(5-1-2001)

(Edited by MountaineerTom 99Z71 at 9:52 pm on May 1, 2001)