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Sunday, February 18 Pressley: It's not worth it By Bill Frederickson ESPN.com DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The 2001 edition of the Daytona 500 proved to be one of the most exciting, hotly contested races NASCAR has seen in years. But it was also very dangerous -- and ultimately deadly. The race featured 49 lead changes among 14 different drivers. For most of the day, the entire field ran in a single tight pack. But with those close quarters comes risk. "It's inevitable," Burton said. "You can't put that many people in one pack and expect that something is not going to happen." The inevitable happened twice Sunday. First, on lap 174, a massive 19-car accident occurred on the backstretch. Tony Stewart's car flipped end over end, landing on Robby Gordon's ride. After the accident, Stewart, who was alert and talking but complaining of shoulder pain, was transported via ambulance to nearby Halifax Hospital. A CT scan of Stewart's head and neck and X-rays of his left shoulder were negative. He was released later in the afternoon. Jeff Gordon, Jerry Nadeau, Robby Gordon, Bobby Labonte and Ward Burton were all seen and released from the infield care center with no injuries, and no other serious injuries were reported. A red flag stopped the race to allow crews to clean up the track's surface before the race finally resumed after a half-hour delay. On the final lap, seven-time Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt crashed hard in Turn 4. Earnhardt died from injuries suffered in the accident. "I know it's exciting to watch and I understand that last year's races weren't as exciting as they needed to be, but Earnhardt's hurt," Burton said before knowing the full extent of Earnhardt's injuries. "Stewart's in the hospital and has been transferred there for whatever reason and if we keep doing this, it won't be the last one." Burton's comments were echoed throughout the garage area. "I'm sorry, but that's not racing," Jarrett said. "It may be a great show out there (in the grandstands), but from a driver's perspective, that's not it." Michael Waltrip's winning average speed was 182.555 -- the highest ever at the Daytona 500. Some drivers feel resentful that their safety may be risked at the expense of entertaining racing. Robert Pressley says it isn't worth it. "It's good for the fans," he said, "but I'm telling you, the fans don't want to see anybody get hurt." Said Mayfield, "I don't know what to say. This is incredible, just incredible. I think everybody is just in shock right now. "I didn't see much of what happened up there (in the fourth turn). After the race was over, I heard things didn't look very good but, man, Earnhardt. You figure he'll bounce right back. Your first thought is, 'Hey, he'll probably come back next week at Rockingham and beat us all.' "When you bunch them up and slow them down, that's what you're going to get," Mayfield said. "That's what's bad. Everybody sat there waiting for it happen." Some drivers were less critical of Sunday's performance, which featured just three caution flags. "All these guys are professionals and everybody knows what they're doing," Houston said. "One guy makes one mistake and it has a big impact. But, for the most part, everybody was doing a great job." |
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