Nascar Nextel Banquet 400 NBC HDTV, Sun. 10/9, 1:30 p.m. ET, Chase for the Cup, Race #4

Continue to pray for the recovery of Bruce Allen and Ken Koretsky. Allen's Pro Stock dragster flipped up in front of Koretsky Friday night resulting in one of the most scary crashes ever seen, including Michael Waltrip at Bristol in '90. Koretsky slammed through the bottom of Allen's car at nearly 190MPH. The disintigration was total and complete.
Here is part of the news item:
Pro Stock driver Ken Koretsky returned to his home in Richboro, Pa., Monday, Oct. 10 to continue his recovery from the injuries he suffered when his Nitrofish Dodge Stratus collided with Bruce Allen’s car during Friday night qualifying for the O'Reilly Fall Nationals at Texas Motorplex. Koretsky’s injuries include a broken arm and wrist, two cracked ribs and a cracked tailbone, as well as a bruised heart.

“I’m hurting pretty bad right now,” said Koretsky. “I’m probably going back to the hospital this afternoon because they keep finding things wrong with me. You start to think you’re okay, but your body tells you that you’re not.”

Koretsky remembers little from the horrific accident and has yet to see the dramatic video footage that was broadcast on ESPN2.

“I never in my life thought that anything like this would happen,” he said. “I guess Bruce and I are just lucky that we weren’t hurt worse that we are. If they ever make another And they walked … away video, I’m sure Bruce and I will both be on it. Seriously though, it was nice to see so many people come to the hospital in Dallas to check on me. I think just about everyone in Pro Stock showed up and it really meant a lot.

As for his future racing plans, Koretsky is sure he won’t drive again at the final two races in Las Vegas and Pomona. He is currently discussing the possibility of using a replacement driver to finish the year. Both Mike Thomas and Dave Northrop have driven Koretsky-owned entries in 2005.

“Right now, everything is still up in the air,” Koretsky said. “That includes my plans for next year. Right now, the main thing is just for me to start getting better. I know that it’s just going to take a little time.”

You can see the video at nhra.com (follow link I gave and look under qualifying).

http://www.nhra.com/2005/events/race21/video/index.html

Interesting.

The rest of tomorrow's news today from Jayski -

Rusty is the latest hedger on retirement (Mark Martin already will be back for a full-season encore).
Newest TV deal rumor (the 2007+ deal is expected to be done by the end of this year) - Fox (and presumably FX, though the cable version of Fox isn't mentioned) gets the first third including the Daytona 500, ESPN/ABC gets the middle third including the Brickyard 400 (or whatever they're calling it now), and NBC (no mention of current partner TNT) gets the Chase. Also, the Busch Series will likely get a separate deal.
Texas Terry says he's not a candidate at Hall of Fame Racing, and that he will run 10 races for Hendrick.
Speaking of HOF, the leading candidate as of last week, Tony Raines, may or may not be gone from the #37. This much is known; despite the fact that his name is on the entry list, he won't be in the ride this week or next.
The Other Sadler will be back with the team he used to own (the #66) at Martinsville, running a Virginians for Jerry Kilgore (Pubbie candidate for governor in Virginia) scheme.
There now is a number being thrown around on the number of teams an owner can operate - 3. <start_personal_editorial_commentary>Expect Roush, Hendrick, and Ganassi to be very unhappy, and The Other Earnhardt to not have a Cup ride anymore.<end_personal_editorial_commentary>
Rumors around the Wood Brothers abound. The latest pair both have Ricky Rudd retiring quietly at the end of the year and Jon Wood getting one more year of seasoning in the Busch Series. One has John Andretti taking a 1-year deal, and the other has Ken Schrader, who previously said that he'll retire with BAM after the 2006 season, jumping ship.

Don't forget, qualifying is THURSDAY!, so those of yuo in the FRFL, get those picks in Wednesday night.

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