So much for dispelling the notion that NASCAR drivers can’t handle corners.
At the 2017 Goodwood Festival of Speed over the weekend, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s old No. 88 NASCAR Chevrolet SS went off at the first corner, crashing into the hay bales lining the side of the course and sustaining heavy damage. Earnhardt wasn’t driving the car when it crashed; he was across the pond in America, where he’d competed in the Coke Zero 400 at the Daytona International Speedway the night before and, incidentally, crashed out of the race.
Driving the car in Earnhardt’s stead was former driver Ed Berrier III – son of retired NASCAR driver Max Berrier. It’s unclear what caused Berrier’s crash, although the commentators in the video above seem to imply that it was a suspension failure of some kind. Granted, cold tires could as easily be to blame. After its impact with the hay bales, the car was left undrivable, the front drivers side wheel pointed in entirely the wrong direction.
Other NASCAR machines made it through the Goodwood hillclimb without incident. Bobby Labonte, for instance, drove Richard Petty’s old No. 43 STP Pontiac up the hill, and Kerry Earnhardt entertained the crowd in Dale Earnhardt’s No. 3 Goodwrench Chevrolet.
Comments
NASCAR drivers can go left and right in most cases with no issue.
Now here you have a driver that had really no seat time in a cup car on cold tires. He just over cooked it on the first turn and had no grip.
One only needs to remember some of the greatest drivers in this he world also were NASCAR drivers.
Foyt, Andretti, Unser, Gurney and Clark all did well there.
Should have sent Jr’s sister to drive she was a hell of a good driver in her time. She was mean like the old man and did not take crap.
Just what is the intent of this “true to forum” piece?