A MINUTES AGO: mark martin have just been confirmed dead in an accident car just now …
A MINUTES AGO: mark martin have just been confirmed dead in an accident car just now …
Brad Keselowski was in the middle of a news conference after his second-place finish Sunday in the NASCAR Sprint Cup race when he became distracted by a replay on TV.
It was Mark Martin’s car slamming violently into the end of a short, narrow barrier on pit road during the first half of the race.
Whoa,” Keselowski said, stopping in the middle of an answer to a reporter’s question. “That’s the first time I’d seen that. Jeez. My God.”
Martin walked away from his crash at Michigan International Speedway, but the side of his car was essentially impaled by the end of the wall, raising questions about whether that spot – a gap in the barrier on pit road that leaves the edge of the wall exposed – creates a safety risk.
Could have been a lot worse than it was,” Keselowski said. “Over the course of time, we get complacent and think that we’ve hit all the buttons on the safety side. Then you see something like that. It shows why you have to never quit working at making these cars and tracks safer because that could have been a lot worse, whether it was for Mark or for the crew members or anybody.”
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MORE WOES: For the second consecutive weekend, Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon both experienced frustrating race days.
Last week at Watkins Glen, Stewart had a pair of pit stop miscues and hit an inner guardrail, and Gordon spun his car on the last lap. Sunday, Stewart and Gordon had valve spring issues, forcing them to the garage during the first half of the race.
Stewart, who finished in 32nd place, returned just prior to the midway point of the race but he was forced out after completing only 109 laps. Gordon also came back with just over 50 laps left and placed 28th. That was Gordon’s worst finish at Michigan since August 2008 when he was 42nd. It was the first race Stewart did not finish at the track since June 2006, when he placed 41st.
