Driver Death in Irwindale, CA Featherlite Southwest Series Tourning Division
Preacher
phone with my Son....
My son works on a Featherlite Southwest Series Team (#34 Doug McCoun) now.
They raced in Irwindale yesterday. He said Doug McCoun came in 5th place but
then he added.... "there was a death". When my DIL asked him who it was he
said he didn't want to talk about it. She asked him if it was someone we
know and he said "yes". He wouldn't say anything more and sounded very
distraught (which leads me to believe it is one guy in particular).
Has anyone heard anything about a driver dying in the Irwindale Featherlite
Southwest Series race???
We know Jimmy Pettit II II, Scott Busby and Todd Souza. I've known Jim
Pettit II II since he was a little kid. I remember when he was 16 years old
and got into his first race car at Watsonville Speedway. Scott Busby bought
our old Street Stock Race Car from us, as his first race car. We raced
against Busby in the Grand Am series... I have a *bad* feeling it was Jimmy
Pettit II because my son has known him every since *he* was a little kid
that we would sneak into the pits (and always pitted next to Jimmy).
Damn. I hope to God it wasn't *any* of those guys. And as usual, nascar.com
has *shit* for news and the standings for the race aren't posted yet.
Is anyone in the area that might have seen it in the newspaper or knows some
other way?
Please contact me at ppol...@sprynet.com so I get the information ASAP.
Thanks to anyone that can help,
Preacher
Ryan Cooper
news:ae00p5$71o$1...@slb1.atl.mindspring.net...
Nothing on the official site:
http://www.nascartouring.com/featherliteswseries/
22fan
the
> phone with my Son....
>
registering for the site now and can send the text and a link in a few
minutes.
Jayne
22fan
Preacher
Southwest Series touring division race last night.
It was reported to me that the driver that died is John Baker out of Tucson,
AZ. He drove the #18 Chevrolet Monte Carlo.
I was told that he was clipped by Sean Woodside (out of Saugus, CA driving
the #45 Chevy Monte Carlo, 2nd in the points standing prior to last nights
race). Once he got clipped he "went into the wall just like Dale Earnhardt
did".
(NOTE: As far as I know, *All* NASCAR Touring Series drivers are required to
wear head/neck restraints and I'm pretty sure the Southwest Touring guys
do).
It was no fault of anyone, just a racing accident. The race was red flagged
and they worked on Baker on the track but they were unable to revive him.
For his Bio go to:
http://www.nascartouring.com/featherliteswseries/
and click on the drivers tab.
John Baker was one of the "regulars" in the series (unlike guys like
Schrader, Bush and Harvick who race the series but not on a "regular"
basis).
This is just terrible....... something like this is *much* worse when it's
this close to "home".
God Speed, John Baker.
Preacher
22fan
sports
(the site requires registration, it's free but they're nosey)
Driver Dies at Irwindale
Times Headlines
War Emblem's Owner Skips Belmont
Triple Frown for Baffert
McPeek Turns Recent Layoff Into Big Payoff
Unlikely Mexico Heads Group G
Lewis Takes a Bite Out of Tyson Myth
more >
By TONY SOLORZANO, SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Touring Series driver John Baker was killed
Saturday night during a race at Irwindale Speedway. Baker was the first
person to be killed in a Featherlite Southwest race since the series'
inception in 1986, and the fourth at the track in its four-year history. He
was 44.
Baker, from Tucson, was in the middle of competing in the K & N Filters 150
as he entered the first turn on lap 36.
As Baker entered turn two, he was being passed by Greg Voigt on the inside
lane. Baker checked his speed and slowed, but lost control of his Chevrolet
Monte Carlo as he exited turn two.
He bumped into Voigt's right side and headed into the wall along the
backstretch, just past the entry chute from the pit area.
The 6,160 fans in attendance watched as Baker slammed headfirst into the
wall, bouncing off at an angle toward the infield. But before the car
stopped, it was clipped by Sean Woodside's car in the back and the car came
to rest on the edge of the one-third-mile inner track.
Despite the efforts of the rescue crew, Baker was unresponsive after being
pulled from the damaged car.
He was transported to Kaiser Permanente Baldwin Park Medical Center, but
according to Los Angeles County Fire Department paramedic John Denton, Baker
was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.
There was no comment available from officials of the track or the
Featherlite Southwest Series.
In the first fatal accident at the track, Casey Deimert, 23, was killed
while practicing in a sprint car on opening night, March 27, 1999.
Keith Cowherd, 49, a speed truck driver from Phoenix, died six months later,
on Sept. 25, 1999, of injuries suffered in a two-vehicle accident at
Irwindale.
Chris Shields, 30, died June 7, 2001, six days after crashing while racing a
test car at the track.
Preacher
> "Preacher" <prea...@springmail.com> wrote
<snip>
> > Has anyone heard anything about a driver dying in the Irwindale
> Featherlite
<snip>
> >
>
> Nothing on the official site:
> http://www.nascartouring.com/featherliteswseries/
That's the first place I checked....
See my "update" for the drivers name.
Preacher
SPRint3876
company and was doing what he loved.
may God rest his soul
Leo in Tucson
Preacher
> John worked his way up the SW tour through the ranks. He owned a trucking
> company and was doing what he loved.
I know that his sponsor was a trucking firm so I'll assume it was his own
trucking firm?
I didn't personally know John Baker but apparently my son (and the rest of
the team he is on) did know him and his crew very well. As I said, John
Baker was one of "the regulars" on the circuit so they saw each other almost
on a weekly basis. They just did Pikes Peak 2 weeks back. From what I am
hearing my son knew him really well. He seems to be taking this situation
pretty hard. We raced together for many years in the past (he drove, I
wrenched/built) and we always knew that injury and/or death was always
lurking just around the corner. But no one ever thinks it can happen to
them, to someone they know, or to someone they are close to. We did have a
*very* close friend and mentor die in a racing accident a couple of years
back (Roger Paulson) so we aren't totally immune to the fact that it *can*
happen, even in the smaller series..
But now for the "Bad News".....
My son just got home from the race (he lives in Monterey, CA) and my wife
told him about the LA Times article that someone posted on this group. He
said "That is *not* how it happened. If the newspaper said that, they are
wrong". He told my wife that the race will be televised next Monday
(6/17/02) on The Speed Channel (the old "Speedvision"). He said that anyone
that has any doubts in the matter needs to watch the race so you can see
what happened for yourself. He said that if I watch the race I'll see how it
really happened, and it wasn't like what the paper said happened (you need
to understand that since he is a friend of John's he is most likely biased
in favor of Baker). I'm one of those people that like to hear both sides of
a story before passing judgment or making up my mind.
So anyway....
He went on to give us some _very_bad_information_ regarding this incident.
It also gave me some insight as to why he is so angry/distraught over it. I
mean, besides being a friend of John's. He said that Baker did *not* spin by
making contact with Greg Voigt as the newspaper article claimed but that it
was due to contact from Sean Woodside. He seemed to blame Woodside for the
whole incident.
But here is the really bad part..... What has my son *so* upset is that he
told us how NASCAR had just warned *both* drivers (Baker and Woodside) for
"rough driving". Apparently they had a continuing "on-track scuffle" going
on and either Woodside, or both of them kept trying to spin the other out
(Woodside was 2nd in the points standings last I checked which could
possibly be justification in his mind why Baker should "get out of his
way"...). I gathered from the information I received that my son feels it
was Woodside who intentionally clipped Baker in the rear and spun him into
the wall, which resulted in John Bakers death.
That is NOT GOOD folks. If this is true you can expect this to get *very*
ugly.
This is also the very same scenario that I have been trying to tell everyone
that could happen if someone like Kevin Harvick or Kurt Busch continued
their driving "style" (or lack thereof). The style which I speak of is the
"if they don't get out of my way I'll move them out of my way" style (or as
I say, *lack* of style).
Is there anyone out there that still feels that type of driving should be
permitted or tolerated in a Stock Car that runs in the 180's? I don't think
so. And now, even more so.
This is *not* good. A man died, regardless of the circumstance.
I will reserve judgment until I see the televised race on The Speed Channel
next Monday. Then, and only then will I make up my mind.
I hope for Mr. Woodside's sake that it is not true.
> may God rest his soul
Amen.
> Leo in Tucson (AZ)
Preacher in Prunedale, CA (home of Doug McCoun and Jim Pettit)
DennyK
for a while now. I know beating and banging is a part of stock-car
racing, and that's fine as far as it goes, but these deliberate attempts
to wreck another driver have got to stop. NASCAR did the right thing by
parking Harvick earlier this year...it might have been harsh, and
perhaps a questionable interpertation of their rules, but it did get his
attention...and probably the attention of the other drivers out there as
well.
Personally, I'd like to see NASCAR stop worrying so much about the guys
who get to scuffling in the garage and start coming down harder on the
ones who are beating on each other out on the racetrack. I know it's not
great for the sport's image when two drivers start throwing punches or
wrestling each other...but I'd rather see two guys duking it out with
their bare hands than watch them, or some innocent victim, being cut out
of the shattered remains of their race car behind a blue tarp.
My condolances to the Baker family, your son, and everyone involved.
However it happened, losing a driver, family member, and friend is
always a terrible thing. :(
DennyK