CUP: Two Drivers Hurt In Bristol Exhibition

Sprint Cup

CUP: Two Drivers Hurt In Bristol Exhibition

UPDATED: A frightening crash in a “legends” race resulted in two famous names being transported to an area hospital Saturday...

Mike Hembree | Posted March 20, 2010 Bristol, TN

Larry Pearson is a two-time Nationwide Series champion. (Photo: Getty Images)

A frightening crash in a “legends” race for retired NASCAR drivers resulted in two famous names from stock car racing’s past – Larry Pearson and Charlie Glotzbach – being transported to an area hospital Saturday.

Bristol Motor Speedway officials said both Pearson and Glotzbach were knocked unconscious when Glotzbach’s car slammed hard into the driver-side door of Pearson’s car as Pearson slid across the track in the second turn near the end of the 35-lap exhibition race. Pearson’s car appeared to have a rear-tire problem, causing it to slide up the track, hit the outside wall and drop down off the banking.

Several seconds passed before Glotzbach drove into the area and hit Pearson at near full-force.

A track official said Pearson suffered a fractured pelvis, fractured right hand and fractured left ankle and had been scheduled for surgery to repair the ankle late Saturday night at Wellmont Bristol Regional Medical Center. Glotzbach was admitted to the hospital in good condition and was expected to be kept overnight.

Pearson, a two-time Nationwide Series champion, is 56 years old. Glotzbach, who won 12 Sprint Cup races and raced at the front so often in the 1960s and 1970s he picked up the nickname “Chargin’ Charlie,” is 71.

Pearson, son of three-time Sprint Cup champion David Pearson, who also was participating in the race, was removed from his car and placed on a stretcher after safety crews cut portions of the roof from the car. He talked with his younger brothers, Eddie and Ricky, before being airlifted to an area hospital.

Glotzbach was helped from his car and walked with assistance to an ambulance while wearing an oxygen mask.

Rick Wilson, a driver whose major claim to fame was being chosen to replace Richard Petty in the Petty Enterprises car after Petty retired, won the race over Phil Parsons and L.D. Ottinger after a lengthy red flag for the Pearson-Glotzbach accident.

The drivers raced in Late Model cars from the United Speed Alliance Racing tour.

Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com and has been covering motorsports for 28 years. He has written several books on NASCAR, including "NASCAR: The Definitive History of America's Sport" and "Then Tony Said To Junior: The Best NASCAR Stories Ever Told". He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.

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