UPDATED - SCRUGGS PONDERS OPTIONS AFTER CRASH
Jason Scruggs’ toughest decision Friday afternoon at the ADRL U.S. Drags II in Dinwiddie, Va., had nothing to do with which set-up he planned to run in his Pro Extreme Camaro. Scruggs' has to decide whether to withdraw from the event or have another car towed overnight from Mississippi to Virginia.
Scruggs’, in a freak accident during practice, crashed into the Virginia Motorsports Park retaining wall causing enough damage to his Camaro to render it. He was not injured in the mishap.
The cause of the crash, a blown oil filter line which spewed oil underneath the car. Crew members tried unsuccessfully to gain their driver’s attention prior to his making the run.
UPDATE - 4:33 PM - Scruggs plans to race on Saturday.
SCRUGGS UPDATE - Jason Scruggs has dispatched a crew from
Mississippi to make the 14-hour trek (including time change) to
Virginia Motorsports Park with last year’s championship-winning Dodge
Stratus in the hauler.
“It should get here about 5 A.M.,” Scruggs told CompetitionPlus.com.
“We’ll start working on it as soon as it gets here and have it ready
for qualifying on Saturday.”
With the weekend already a financial disaster, why would Scruggs want to add to the expense of the weekend?
“We don’t do this for the money, we do this for the fun and the thrill
of the competition,” Scruggs said. “We’re here and we hate to even miss
a qualifying session. The Stratus is a good car and we went 3.70s
earlier in the year. It’s competitive and we could even win this race.”
1:45 PM - Jason Scruggs’ toughest decision Friday afternoon at the ADRL U.S.
Drags II in Dinwiddie, Va., had nothing to do with which set-up he
planned to run in his Pro Extreme Camaro. Scruggs' has to decide
whether to withdraw from the event or have another car towed overnight
from Mississippi to Virginia.
Scruggs’, in a freak accident during practice, crashed into the
Virginia Motorsports Park retaining wall causing enough damage to his
Camaro to render it. He was not injured in the mishap.
The cause of the crash, a blown oil filter line which spewed oil
underneath the car. Crew members tried unsuccessfully to gain their
driver’s attention prior to his making the run.
“My crew saw it and they couldn’t get my attention,” confirmed Scruggs
from inside his hauler shortly after the accident. “With the clutch
dust [circulating], I saw a wisp of stuff but it didn’t appear to be
anything out of the ordinary.”
The accident delayed practice for an hour while the ADRL safety crew cleaned the track.
Scruggs must now decide whether to withdraw or dispatch a crew from
Saltillo, Miss., to retrieve last year’s Dodge Stratus, hopefully
getting the car just in time for Saturday’s qualifying. Scruggs holds a
228 point lead over second place Quain Stott, equivalent to two round
wins plus 28 points.
“I just don’t know what to do at this time,” Scruggs said. “We have a pretty good points lead and I hate not to race.”
A last minute decision to switch from the right lane to the left could have been a contributor to the crash.
“I might not have wrecked if I had done that,” Scruggs admitted,
thinking he might have had more time to correct the car. “That’s a big
if and nobody got hurt. It’s part of it and you race these things and
I’ve always said you have to make your own luck, and we didn’t make our
luck today.”
HOW’S THAT FOR A CLEAN UP? – The very first car to run in the left lane following the Scruggs’ clean up was Quain Stott. The Inman, S.C.-based driver lowered his personal best with a 3.782 at 200.65.
Advertisement