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 Sunday, October 3
Stewart, Irwin renew old short-track rivalry
 
Associated Press

 MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- There was no love lost between Tony Stewart and Kenny Irwin during their years as short track rivals. Apparently, they still don't like each other.

Those two caused the biggest uproar early in Sunday's 500-mile NAPA AutoCare 500 at Martinsville Speedway.

Tony Stewart
Tony Stewart grabs onto Kenny Irwin's car after expressing his displeasure with Irwin. The two tangled on the track early in the NAPA 500, resulting in Stewart hitting the wall.

The first two caution flags were brought out when Irwin spun after being hit from behind by Stewart.

In an apparent payback on a restart on lap 147, Irwin veered to the right, bounced off innocent victim Brett Bodine and pounded Bodine's Ford and Stewart's Pontiac into the wall.

Stewart backed the car down to the middle of the track, but couldn't get it restarted and climbed out. He unhooked the heat guards from his shoes and waited for the field to come by behind the pace car.

As Irwin's No. 28 Ford approached, Stewart stepped out from behind his car, pointed at Irwin, flung his heat guards at the car, hitting the windshield. He then reached into the open right-side window and took a swipe at Irwin, missing the driver but prompting him to speed up momentarily.

Stewart, the first rookie in 12 years to win a Winston Cup race, then walked hurriedly to his team's transporter.

"It's the same thing when we ran sprint cars," Stewart said. "He didn't like to be behind me then, either."

Stewart admitted the first bumping incident was his fault, saying he asked his spotter to tell Irwin's spotter to relay a message that he was sorry. But Stewart added, "The second time, he leaned on me coming off (turn) one and about spun me coming off of two. We go down into three and four and I hit him back and spun him. He decided to make sure he took me out good."

"I just treated him like he treated me," Irwin said. "The thing is, I would have given Tony the first one. We've raced together for a long time. But I wasn't going to give him two of them."

Irwin later spent some time behind the wall for repairs and Bodine walked up to his car and leaned into the cockpit, yelling at Irwin. Bodine was pulled away from two crewmen and walked away.

A NASCAR spokesman said videotapes of the incidents would be reviewed before any decision on possible penalties is made, and that nothing would be determined before at least Monday.

Safety worker escapes serious injury
Safety worker Randy B. Hall of Spencer, Va., escaped serious injury but was flown by medical helicopter to Baptist Hospital in nearby Winston-Salem, N.C., after he was injured in a fall from a truck during Sunday's race.

Hall sustained a 4 to 6-inch laceration on the back of his head and abrasions to his left shoulder and arm when he fell from back of the cleanup truck as workers circled the half-mile oval during a caution period. He was reported conscious with good vital signs and the trip to the hospital was called precautionary by track officials.

Two more caution flags were waved before Hall was taken to the helicopter, which was waiting outside the track. The first allowed an ambulance with specialized equipment to drive into the infield to pick up Hall, while the second caution was waved to let the ambulance back across the track.

The Martinsville Speedway does not have a tunnel for traffic into the infield.

Fans flock to Martinsville
The crowd for Sunday's race was estimated at 81,000 -- only about 500 below capacity at the half-mile oval. By the race in Martinsville next spring, a new grandstand to be erected overlooking turns one and two will increase seating capacity by about 15,000.

Track officials said future plans -- possibly as soon as 2001 -- include moving the railroad tracks that run just behind the narrow back straightaway stand. Once that is done, the track will be free to add another highrise stand with luxury suites that will raise the seating total to around 125,000.

Not bad for a track opened in 1947 with 750 seats overlooking a dirt oval.

Behind Lowe's closed doors
Richard Childress Racing, with one of its cars sponsored by Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouses, has closed its race shop in Welcome, N.C., to visitors since Friday because of the recent attacks and bomb threats on Lowe's stories in North Carolina.

Lowe's Motor Speedway in suburban Charlotte, which will hold a Winston Cup race next Sunday, received a bomb threat Tuesday. Nothing was found. Three people were injured Sept. 22 when pipe bombs exploded in Lowe's stores in Asheboro and Salisbury. Lowe's is based in Wilkesboro, N.C.

Spark plugs ...
John Hendrick, president of Hendrick Motorsports, says brother Rick, the team owner, is "in 100 percent remission from leukemia and should be off his medication completely in about 60 days." ... In the next few days, it is expected that Cal Wells, a CART team owner who is adding a Winston Cup operation, will announce that driver Scott Pruett is moving with him to the stock car series.
 


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AUDIO/VIDEO
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 Early in the race, it's Tony Stewart who spins Kenny Irwin.
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 Kenny Irwin retaliates by spinning out Tony Stewart.
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 Tony Stewart takes out his frustration on Kenny Irwin's car.
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