Racing Wrecks

March 15, 2008 Sharpie Mini 300 Bristol, TN - Martin Truex, Jr. spins his National Guard Chevrolet at the Sharpie Mini 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series event in Bristol, TN. (ASP Photo/Walter G. Arce)

More of Walter’s fine photography can be found here.

CIA Stock Photo

This photo was found here.

With near 20 laps to go in the April 1993 Food City 500 at Bristol Jeff Gordon crashes in his first Winston Cup start at Bristol in turn 2.

This is one of the most amazing crashes we have ever seen. This is from 1990 at Bristol Motor Speedway, when Michael Waltrip crashes his NASCAR Busch Series car into the gate, ultimately running head-on into the end of the concrete barrier. If you watch closely, the rescue workers lift up the roof sheet metal, and there’s Mikey, basically sitting on the ground in his racing seat, still holding the steering wheel. It’s only by the grace of God that Michael wasn’t killed in this accident. We remember a later TV interview with Ned Jarrett where Waltrip acknowledges that he accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior as a direct result of this crash.