Back in the 2008 NASCAR season, Michael McDowell got sent on a wild ride. In April that year, he was competing in the qualifying session of the Samsung 500. Unfortunately, he lost control of his car and slammed heavily into the wall before somersaulting several times.
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Fortunately, the car finally rested on all four wheels, however the danger wasn’t over as it caught fire. As it turned out, he was just starting a run when he got loose on the exit of turn 1. Truthfully speaking, he probably saw the crash coming from a mile away, as he was complaining about his car being ‘way too tight’.
Michael McDowell lived to fight another day
The good news was that McDowell got out of the car under his own power and walked to the ambulance. Admittedly, he didn’t get away fully unscathed as he was a little unsteady, though he did wave to the fans to show that he was alright.
This just goes to show how far NASCAR has come, in terms of driver safety. Although the crash looked really gnarly, he was still able to walk away, and the SAFER (Steel and Foam Energy Reduction) barriers did their jobs well.
“I feel great, nothing broke,” McDowell said. “I didn’t lose consciousness and I felt every roll down the hill. For me to walk away from that wreck is unbelievable. I’m going to count my blessings tonight and thank God for this opportunity to walk away from that wreck.”
At that time, he was just a rookie and it was his first visit to the track. Truthfully, it was not a good first impression, though he has continued racing. In subsequent races, he has not had such a great track record, but has a best finish of 14th at the track in the Cup Series.
