VanHoose: Scary reminder of the dangers of racing
NASCAR can never have a senior tour. As good as that idea sounds in theory, it just wouldn't work.
We almost lost two legends Saturday to find that out.
Bristol Motor Speedway brought back its popular Saturday Night Special, putting 12 long-retired drivers in late model stock cars and turning them loose for 35 laps.
Watching the coverage on TV, I heard the commentators call drivers like Harry Gant "cool" for not wearing gloves and using old school, open-faced helmets. It was "so much fun to watch," they said.
And then 56-year-old Larry Pearson, a two-time Nationwide Series champ, spun in Turn 1 and slid down the track. That's when 71-year-old Charlie Glotzbach T-boned him in the driver's door.
Both drivers were knocked unconscious. I instantly thought we had lost both of them. Watching veteran pit reporter Jerry Punch talk about the wreck and the reaction from the crew members who reached the wrecked cars first, I knew they were in really bad shape.
That's when the reality of racing sets in. It can be the most beautiful, exciting, enjoyable sport in the world.
In an instant, it can kill you.
Fortunately, that wasn't the case Saturday.
Glotzbach walked from his car with assistance from a few crewman and an oxygen machine. Rescue workers cut the roof off of Pearson's car and took him away on the stretcher.
Both drivers were taken to the hospital. Pearson suffered a fractured ankle, shoulder and pel
Comment on "VanHoose: Scary reminder of the dangers of racing"
|
|
 |
 |
Justice: Longing for the good ol' days of Halloween
I recently read that Halloween has become one of the most profitable holidays for retail businesses, with more than $5 billion spent annually on Halloween products. That same article stated Halloween is the second-biggest decorating holiday of the year, behind only Christmas.
VanHoose: Scary reminder of the dangers of racing
NASCAR can never have a senior tour. As good as that idea sounds in theory, it just wouldn't work.
Falcons lose Robinson after 'scary' collision, drop game at Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA - DeSean Jackson lay flat on the turf, motionless. A few yards away, Dunta Robinson was just as immobile.
Local retailers expecting good Halloween sales
While economists fear that the current economy will take a bite out of Halloween retail sales this year, several Athens retailers say their trick-or-treat business is on track to do as well as or possibly better than last year.
Shearer: 'Winter's Bone' takes its scary from the outskirts
I'm going to admit something here: I'm terrified of rural areas. Blame it on the fact that I was born and raised in Atlanta, spent my summers in New York and never found myself too far out of the city limits. Combine that with a steady diet of scary books and movies throughout my formative years, and you end up with some serious paranoia. The dark stretches of road that seem to go nowhere, eerie quiet, clean air and the too-good-to-be-true friendliness of the locals all make me nervous. I consider myself a Southerner, but watching "The Dukes of Hazzard" was about as close as I ever got to the real deal for the first 18 years of my life. Although I know stories like the ones in "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre," "Deliverance" or "Wrong Turn" ar ...
Rutten: There's a reason 'theocracy' is scary word
At the nation's Roman Catholic universities, controversy over the choice of commencement speakers has become almost as regular an annual ritual as graduation itself.
Forum: Election creates a scary movie script
For two years, Republican leaders, both elected and self-appointed, have been in America's cellar concocting political potions and trying to design invincible politicians who would help them in their fight against the "evil empire" ruling the country.
Old ghosts in New South
I'm not sure it's politically OK to mention this, now that we've elected President Obama and we're officially in a post-racial age. But I saw more black people in a recent four-day, 1,600-mile road trip from Atlanta to the Mississippi Delta and back than I have in Pittsburgh in the past year.
|
 |
|
