Nascar and Racing Nascar Crashes

For two mornings this week, Ryan Newman struggled just to lift his head off the pillow to get out of bed, his neck muscles still sore from a frightening airborne smash-and-roll wreck at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway last Sunday.

Even as he suited up Friday to practice for Race 8 of NASCAR's 10-race Chase for the Championship at Texas Motor Speedway, he was still aching from the crash, and bristling that it even happened.

Newman had been outspoken about NASCAR's immediate need to keep the race cars from launching into the air during accidents -- only to take that scary ride himself Sunday afternoon.

Before Ryan Newman's horrific Talladega flip-roll-smash-and-slide on Sunday, there was Carl Edwards' car somersaulting into the front stretch fencing.

The late Dale Earnhardt had one of his most frightening accidents at Talladega Superspeedway, barrel-rolling through the tri-oval. Before that it was Ricky Craven and Bill Elliott on E-ticket rides. In 1993, driver Jimmy Horton's car flipped over the Turn 1 wall and landed outside the track.

Rusty Wallace's Talladega crash footage -- pick a year -- used to be standard play before any NASCAR restrictor plate race.

The point is -- while there is a justifiable outcry at the scary accident involving Newman this weekend -- spectacular, highlight-reel wrecks here aren't news. They are old news.

Ryan Newman left Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday obviously sore and presumably irritated after flipping violently in a late-race crash near the end of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series' AMP Energy 500.

Newman, who was uninjured, was trapped in the car for almost 15 minutes as safety crews cut him out from exactly the type of wreck he had warned NASCAR against after an amazing crash involving him and Carl Edwards at the same track in April. And after being checked out of the infield hospital, Newman didn't hesitate to get on NASCAR again.

"Drivers used to be about to race each other and respect each other," said Newman. "Guys like Richard Petty, David Pearson and Bobby Allison -- all those guys have always done that. I guess they [NASCAR] just don't think much of us [drivers] anymore."

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BRISTOL, Tenn. (AP) -- David Ragan held off teammate Carl Edwards on a two-lap sprint to the finish Friday night to win the Nationwide Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Edwards settled for second, but shaved 91 points off the commanding lead Kyle Busch brought into the race. Busch, who started the night with a 339-point lead over Edwards, was wrecked by Chase Austin while leading early in the race and finished 28th.

Edwards now trails him by 248 points, and wasn't disappointed to lose to his Roush Fenway Racing teammate.

The pain was evident in Jeff Gordon's body language Monday afternoon outside the care center at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International where he was given the once-over after being involved in a frightening late race accident.

The resulting 37th place finish tied his worst showing of the season and was only his second finish outside the top-20 since April -- a dismal conclusion to an un-Gordon-like road course outing.

It's a safe bet his No. 24 DuPont Chevy team will rebound in the remaining four weeks before the Chase for the Championship 10-race playoff. The question is, how will his already aching back recover. And will it ultimately affect Gordon's title hopes?

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The "Big One," a 13-car accident at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday night took out fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. before NASCAR's Coke Zero 400 was even halfway complete.

The accident on the backstretch was triggered when Kasey Kahne's Dodge tapped David Stremme's Dodge from behind. Eleven more cars were collected, including Earnhardt and his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon -- both truly innocent victims of the smoky melee.

MEXICO CITY (AP) - Driver Carlos Pardo has been killed in a crash during the final laps of a NASCAR Mexico race, organizers said.

Pardo was leading the race in the 97th lap when his car was nudged by a competitor from behind and slid sideways into a wall at the entrance to the pit lane at about 120 mph on Sunday. The car disintegrated as a result of the impact.

Johnny Benson has been upgraded to fair condition following a fiery crash during a SuperModified race. The wreck looked very scary on video, but the reigning NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion is reportedly awake and alert, according to a hospital spokesperson.

Saying they were "glad all the safety devices worked properly,'' NASCAR officials addressed the national media Monday to answer questions in the wake of Sunday's frightening final-lap crash at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway that injured seven fans.

NASCAR Vice President Jim Hunter reiterated the sanctioning body's "number one priority" is the safety of its participants and spectators. And he sent the organization's thoughts to the fans who suffered minor injuries from debris when Carl Edwards' car went airborne and crashed into a fence along the front-stretch grandstands.

Hunter said the sanctioning body would take any steps necessary to ensure safe events. But at this point, there aren't any additional steps to take.