Saturday's action at U.S. Nationals marred by Engel's accident
<p style="width:300px;float:left;font-weight:bold;padding-right:0px;">
<img src="http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii112/racerchickpics/EngelbyRR.jpg" />
<br><font color="Navy">“Engel was reportedly alert and conscious when he was extracted from the wreckage and airlifted to a local hospital."</font>
<P> (8/28/08) INDIANAPOLIS (Aug. 30) --Four pairs into Saturday evening's third round of professional qualifying for the JEGS ProMod Challenge, this year's 54th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis took a decidedly nasty turn when Bristol winner Steve Engel lost control of his '63 Diamond Heavy Haul Corvette and impacted the left-side retaining wall at a high rate of speed.
Engel was reportedly alert and conscious when he was extracted from the wreckage and airlifted to a local hospital. The wreck caused so much damage to the retaining wall that the remainder of the day's racing action was called off.
By rule, the drivers that didn't get a chance to make a pass during the session will not get a chance to make up the missed run. Josh Hernandez, who moved into the qualifying lead earlier in the day with a 6.010 at 240.98 mph in his Team Rage Camaro, ended the day on top.
"My mind is on Steve Engel and his family," Hernandez said. "Racing doesn't mean much when one of your buddies goes through something like that. We're all praying he's going to be okay."
Hernandez and several other racers picked up considerably in Saturday's first session of time trials where the bump spot dropped by more than three tenths of a second.
"I think we all kind of went up there (Friday) with a conservative mindset just to get a feel for the racetrack," said Hernandez, the defending series champion. "Once we got an idea of what it would hold we were able to tune from there and that's why you saw so many people step it up in Round 2.
"Our car responded very well to the changes we made and we ran about what we expected in that session. I think we would have seen a bunch of guys go into the fives tonight but it just wasn't meant to be."
There is one more round of Pro Mod qualifying scheduled for 2 p.m. The first round of eliminations is slated to begin at 5:10 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Roger Richards and Competition Plus.
<p style="width:300px;float:left;font-weight:bold;padding-right:0px;">
<img src="http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii112/racerchickpics/EngelbyRR.jpg" />
<br><font color="Navy">“Engel was reportedly alert and conscious when he was extracted from the wreckage and airlifted to a local hospital."</font>
<P> (8/28/08) INDIANAPOLIS (Aug. 30) --Four pairs into Saturday evening's third round of professional qualifying for the JEGS ProMod Challenge, this year's 54th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis took a decidedly nasty turn when Bristol winner Steve Engel lost control of his '63 Diamond Heavy Haul Corvette and impacted the left-side retaining wall at a high rate of speed.
Engel was reportedly alert and conscious when he was extracted from the wreckage and airlifted to a local hospital. The wreck caused so much damage to the retaining wall that the remainder of the day's racing action was called off.
By rule, the drivers that didn't get a chance to make a pass during the session will not get a chance to make up the missed run. Josh Hernandez, who moved into the qualifying lead earlier in the day with a 6.010 at 240.98 mph in his Team Rage Camaro, ended the day on top.
"My mind is on Steve Engel and his family," Hernandez said. "Racing doesn't mean much when one of your buddies goes through something like that. We're all praying he's going to be okay."
Hernandez and several other racers picked up considerably in Saturday's first session of time trials where the bump spot dropped by more than three tenths of a second.
"I think we all kind of went up there (Friday) with a conservative mindset just to get a feel for the racetrack," said Hernandez, the defending series champion. "Once we got an idea of what it would hold we were able to tune from there and that's why you saw so many people step it up in Round 2.
"Our car responded very well to the changes we made and we ran about what we expected in that session. I think we would have seen a bunch of guys go into the fives tonight but it just wasn't meant to be."
There is one more round of Pro Mod qualifying scheduled for 2 p.m. The first round of eliminations is slated to begin at 5:10 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Roger Richards and Competition Plus.
