Kevin Lepage Fesses Up to Nationwide Wreck

Kevin Lepage must have finally seen the replay.

"I caused 'The Big One,' " Lepage said. "I realize I need to apologize to NASCAR, the car owners, my fellow competitors and most importantly the fans. I made a huge driver error by blending onto the race track in the wrong area.

[...] "Speaking yesterday before reviewing the tapes of the accident made me look like a heel and there is not a single person to blame for this huge mistake except myself."

Lepage's apology came after his -- uh -- involvement in Saturday afternoon's 16-car Nationwide pileup shown on the right. Yours truly may or may not have jumped on his case slightly after the incident. (And, oh, 97 or so of you did as well)

While its quite obvious that Lepage made likely one of the worst driving mistakes of all-time, I do feel kind of bad for the amount of heat he's taking. He surely isn't sleeping well at night.

Yahoo!'s Bob Margolis thinks the guy will never drive for another team in NASCAR again after the incident.

I can't say I disagree. What sponsor would want a guy that made arguably the dumbest move in NASCAR history behind the wheel of their car? Not mine, that's for sure.

Though your move will live in Youtube glory for a long, long time, your apology is accepted, Kevin.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

4-29-2008 @ 3:43AM

racing20guy said...

He makes one of the biggest, dumbest mistakes in racing history, and then apologizes and confesses days later. A case of too little, too late if you ask me. If he would have said "Hey, it was completely my fault." in the first place, this likely would have blown over with the fans he is supposedly apologizing to. Margolis is probably right, his racing career is likely over, not that it was a stellar career to begin with. Obviously the guy has some skill or he would not be in NASCAR in the first place. Just a case of bad judgment, but who would want to take a chance on said judgment again?

4-29-2008 @ 11:56AM

Don Emerson said...

Yeah, I agree....it's too little too late. I've seen Kevin race over the years and was quite amazed at the dumb move he made. He's never been a great driver, but seemed to be pretty solid on making decisions during a race. If you look back, almost every big wreck at 'Dega was caused by someone making a dumb move. So hang the guy....nah. Suspend him for the rest of the year sounds good for me. His career is probably over either way, but it may cause the other drivers to sit up and take note of the rules laid down at the drivers meeting. Works for me.....

4-29-2008 @ 6:55PM

Raine said...

It was good of Kevin Lepage to apologize but,after a bonehead move like that it's time to think about a career change.

No matter what NASCAR has said in the drivers meeting you simply don't move into an oncoming freight train,Just imagine someone jumping across your lane from an onramp on the highway.

Luckily no more serious than a broken ankle had occured as a result.

What I'd like to know is why the spotter wasn't screaming his bloody head off as he watched Lepage climb above the yellow line.

4-30-2008 @ 2:03AM

Raine - #3 - Franchitti's broken ankle was not a result of this incident. That occurred earlier in the race when he cut down a tire.

4-30-2008 @ 9:49PM

Peaches said...

Raine his WIFE was his Spotter...

5-01-2008 @ 12:24AM

crapbuster said...

Are you serious poster PEACHES?.Ashley Judd was her
husband (franchitti) spotter?.If you are correct,Ashley should go spot a production studio to
recorder another movie,not fast moving vehicles.

5-01-2008 @ 8:25PM

Susan Ohio said...

LOL...These comments went off the rails. Ashley Judd was no one's spotter. This articles crash has nothing to do with Franchitti's crash or his broken ankle. BTW, Kevin's wife was his spotter but she gave him the info that he needed. It wasn't the spotter/wife's fault. It was Kevin's mistake.

5-02-2008 @ 8:30PM

You are right Susan Ohio Kevin Lepage"s Wife was his spotter,that's what I said He should have BEEN listening to her he said she was screaming at him...
He just miss Judge.......

5-05-2008 @ 7:01AM

Rusty@therustygourmet.com said...

Seems the media/public pressure finally got to him. I'm not sure he knows why he's apologizing.

5-05-2008 @ 6:40PM

travis russell said...

Obviously the man has got a problem.Have you ever seen the face of a heavy drinker,because when they interviewed Lepage he sure had one.Don't like to make accusations,but the man just ai'nt all there.I'm
sure his career is over.No time to start over.

6-15-2008 @ 7:31PM

kevin lepage fan said...

I find the comments very offensive towards Kevin Lepage. Many drivers in the past have made mistakes which have caused wrecks which have caused extensive damage to other drivers cars but no one has criticized or made continuous hurtful comments such as he is receiving. Kevin made a big mistake but at least had the courtesy to acknowledge that and apologized to everyone including the drivers, teams & sponsors the next day whereas other drivers have made such mistakes as this and have not had the decency to apologize for their mistakes. Kevin feels bad enough about what happened there is no need to keep harping on it.
Kevin is a great driver but even the best of the best make mistakes. I believe the other drivers have forgiven him for the mistake and it is now time for the public to do so and move on. It doesn’t seem fair that some drivers get all the sponsors yet here is a great driver who puts his heart into the sport he loves and just doesn’t seem to get any breaks. Sponsors should not just look at how many wins the driver has alone for the season but also how many great top finishes they have as well as the type of person they are. In the case of Kevin Lepage I believe his past and present record show him to be a great driver as well as a great sportsmen and an asset to the sport.

6-15-2008 @ 7:38PM