Mayfield working on safer car

Harry Atkins

Thursday, Aug. 24, 2000 | 9:14 a.m.

Jeremy Mayfield got back in his car without worrying about the crash that sidelined him with a concussion.

Like most drivers, his only concern is the future.

"It drives you real crazy," Mayfield said of the inactivity after his Aug. 4 wreck. "Not only are you waiting, you're going, 'What if when I'm back I'm not as good as I was? What if I'm dizzy? What if it takes me longer?'

"When that crosses your mind, it's pretty frustrating. You don't know what's going to happen."

After starting sixth and finishing 13th last Sunday at Michigan Speedway, those questions have been answered. Now, everything feels normal as he prepares to race Saturday in Bristol, Tenn.

That wouldn't have seemed possible three weeks ago.

While practicing for the Brickyard 400, Mayfield pushed his Ford hard and fast around the most famous track in the world. Suddenly, as he approached turn three of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, he spun and slammed hard into the concrete wall.

"That's probably the worst thing that's ever happened to me," the Owensboro, Ky., driver said. "To be practicing with a great race car that day and kind of just fine tuning it, and then the next thing you know you wake up in an ambulance.

"That's not a good sign. Just to get through all that has been a tough experience."

Mayfield missed the next two Winston Cup races. That might sound like a small price to pay for such a serious accident, but drivers don't think that way.

Missing the Brickyard, then the road-course race in Watkins Glen, N.Y., were seen by Mayfield as lost opportunities. It also was a setback for a team learning how to win.

"Say what you want about the car, the crew, the crew chief, the engine guy, the car owner or whoever, your whole team is basically built around your driver," car owner Michael Kranefuss said.

Mayfield felt as if he was just hitting his stride after victories at California Speedway in April and Pocono International Raceway in June. He nearly swept the summer races at Pocono, but blew a tire on the last lap and watched helplessly as teammate Rusty Wallace won.

At the next race came the crash, followed by the anxiety of being idle. At first, Mayfield wanted to return for the Global Crossing the following weekend.

Now he sees the value of sitting out.

"Probably the best thing I did was not to press the issue there," he said. "A lot of drivers have done that, and they really pay the price later."

To his relief, Mayfield was fine when he returned last weekend for the Pepsi 400.

"Not only did we come back and we're OK and I'm not dizzy and my head's all right, but we're also running just like we did when I got hurt at Indy," he said. "That's a good sign.

"If we would have come back and I felt OK and we ran 30th or struggled, I'd have been a little disappointed. But knowing that we can be competitive and I haven't lost the feel, it's exciting to me."

He didn't have any problems and never tired. In fact, other than failing to win the race, Mayfield thought he had a good day.

Even a not-so-good one would have been acceptable to Mayfield.

"I know this much: That old bumper sticker is right," he said. "A bad day at the race track is better than a good day at home."

He doesn't want any more of those, and has a new goal - a less-risky ride in a dangerous sport.

"It taught me a lot about safety," Mayfield said. "I never thought that you could hit that hard. It's made us go back and rethink everything in the driver's compartment."

Mayfield and crew chief Peter Sospenzo went to work on refinements, hoping that each will lead to safety changes that minimize injuries. But well-padded interiors sometimes are not enough, a point made clearly with the deaths earlier this year of Adam Petty and Kenny Irwin from head injuries.

Mayfield and others realize that G forces on the body can be a problem even if there is no direct contact with something in the car.

"We've just got to figure a way to slow it down, slow all the motions down," he said.

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On the net:

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