American
Le Mans Series
http://www.americanlemans.com
Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be
held overnight for observation after suffering second degree burns on the inner
sides of both legs and to his face on his chin. His injuries were sustained
during a Sunday morning accident while practicing for the American LeMans Series
at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California.
Track spokesman John
Cardinale said Earnhardt was transported by air to the University of
California-Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, Infineon's designated hospital
for burn treatment.
A
hospital spokesman said that Earnhardt was "resting comfortably" at
University of California-Davis Medical Center and would be examined again Monday
morning.
Junior,
in the last few months, has entertained thoughts of driving in the Indianapolis
500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Earnhardt has compete in a Corvette at
Daytona with his late father, and earlier this year teamed with NASCAR friend
Tony Stewart in a Daytona Prototype with the Grand American Rolex Series race.
With NASCAR off this week, Junior had accepted an opportunity to drive at
Sonoma.
According
to an American LeMans Series statement, Earnhardt was driving a Chevrolet
Corvette C5-R in a 30-minute practice session when the accident occurred. The
car , ironically numbered 8, spun, and impacted a barrier in the Turn 8, then
caught fire. Earnhardt exited the car on his own, and was then assisted by
safety crews.
"We had an unfortunate
incident in morning warmup today with our No. 8 Corvette," Doug Fehan,
program manager for Corvette Racing, said. "The accident was caused by a
combination of many factors, including a slick race track, cold tires and a full
tank of fuel. The hit was so hard that it broke the filler neck off the fuel
cell and caused a fire. We know Dale Jr. wishes he could be back here at the
race with us and we're going to try to win this one for him."
Earnhardt, who regularly
competes in NASCAR's Nextel Cup Series, was scheduled to co-drive in today's
Infineon Grand Prix of Sonoma with veteran road racing driver Boris Said. The
team withdrew the car from the race.
"I'm bummed out and
disappointed I couldn't run the race," Earnhardt said through a team
spokesman. "I hope Corvette gets the victory."
Earnhardt is expected to
be released on Monday, and is scheduled to race Sunday in the NASCAR Nextel Cup
Series race at New Hampshire.
Dayton and
Field Finish Third in Top Class Sunday as ALMS Visits Mid-Ohio
Lexington, Ohio - June 27, 2004
Linda
Mansfield
Restart Communications
www.restartcommunications.com
E-mail: LindaKMansfield@cs.com
The perseverance of Duncan
Dayton, Jon Field and the rest of the people connected with Intersport Racing's
Lola B160 Judd #37 was rewarded Sunday at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course by a
third-place finish in the top class, P1, in the American Le Mans Series' second
event of the season.
After starting in last place, 23rd, since he didn't record a
qualifying time due to mechanical problems, Field, of Dublin, Ohio, blasted
through the field at the start. Knowing that the polesitting Dyson
Lola #16 had stopped with an oil pump or engine problem at the start, the
Intersport team knew it had a chance for a good showing despite its problems
earlier in the weekend.
Field did his part. He was already in 17th by lap two, and by
lap four he was ninth. By the fifth lap he was in seventh, right behind
his son Clint, who eventually won the P2 class with co-driver Robin Liddell.
The elder Field advanced to sixth on the next lap in the #37,
which is sponsored by Marquis Financial Services, Goodyear, Highcroft Racing and
Banana Joe's. He was fifth by lap eight. He passed Ron Fellows for fourth on lap
nine, and then whizzed by Oliver Gavin for third on lap 11.
Although things couldn't have been going better at that
point, a hint of the trouble that lie ahead came instants later on lap 12 when
Field radioed to the Intersport crew that he was having a problem with the car's
gearbox. Although the Dyson Lola #20 which eventually finished second was
only one minute ahead, Field's stirring assault was over when he radioed in that
he only had first and second gear.
The team went back to the garage for repairs at 1:20 p.m.,
and 50 minutes later Dayton got in the car and put in back on track on lap 54,
back in last place.
The gearbox problem was still an issue, unfortunately. Dayton
quickly radioed in that he only had third, fourth and sixth gears. The crew told
him to just tough it out and try to finish.
When Anthony Lazzaro's Ferrari lost its engine Dayton moved
into 22nd place. He pitted for fuel only around lap 107 and then received a
stop-and-go penalty for speeding on pit lane because the limiter that helps with
that task only works in one of the gears he was missing.
"When you shift, you never know what gear you're going
to get," Dayton reported around that point.
Still, keeping underway often counts for a great deal in
endurance sports car racing. Despite all the problems the team still
finished third in the top class, P1, when the Audi of J.J. Lehto and Marco
Werner took the checkered flag on lap 124 in the two-hour-and-45-minute race,
which was broadcast live on CBS.
"We don't know for sure, but it's possible that the
gearbox problem may have been a throwback to an accident we had at Le
Mans," Dayton explained while waiting for the repairs to be made in the
garage area. "It's a part that doesn't usually fail. It may
have looked OK visually, but there may have been a stress fracture in it from
the Le Mans accident, and it just finally let go now. We don't know that
for sure though. We broke the lay shaft, and they had to replace the gear
stack.
"Actually running so slow was hard," he added later
in victory lane. "I had third, fifth and sixth gear at the end, and
sometimes fourth. By going so slow I was picking up a lot of rubber on the
tires, so it was hard to get a good drive going. I just had to hang on
mostly. I was giving everybody a ridiculous amount of room in the turns.
"But it was a good result for the team," he
concluded. "Everyone worked very hard."
The team won't have long to wait until the next race, which
will be near Dayton's home in North Salem, N.Y., as the ALMS races at Lime Rock
Park in Lakeville, Conn. on Monday, July 5.
For more information see www.intersportracing.com,