Penske crewman listed in fair condition
By Dave Rodman, Turner Sports Interactive
July 23, 2001
1:33 PM EDT (1733 GMT)
CONCORD, N.H. - Derek White, 38, a general mechanic for Penske Racing’s No. 12 Mobil 1 Ford driven by Jeremy Mayfield was listed in fair condition Monday afternoon as he recuperated in Concord Hospital.
White, of Richfield, N.C., was injured Sunday evening at New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon following the NASCAR Winston Cup New England 300 after he fell from the team transporter’s lift gate while helping to load the race car.
A team release Monday afternoon said White had suffered injuries including a “fractured left scapula, fractured left clavicle, fractured rib, skull fracture and sub-arachnoid hemorrhage.”
At 7:25 p.m. ET Sunday NASCAR spokesperson Danielle Humphrey said White had been admitted to Concord Hospital and that he was “awake and alert, speaking and moving his toes.” Humphrey also announced he suffered a two-and-a-half-inch cut above his left ear.
On Sunday, Jasper Motorsports crew chief Ryan Pemberton sprinted about 150 yards to the infield care center to summon an ambulance after the accident, which occurred just after 5:30 p.m. After being brought by ambulance to the infield care center White was airlifted by helicopter to Concord Hospital, about a 15-mile drive from the track.
White, who has worked for the team since December 2000, apparently fell from about eight feet above the pavement while about half a dozen crewmen helped load Mayfield’s car that finished 39th in the race. The 12 team’s truck driver, Rodney Pickler, said he did not know how White fell, but that the gate was fully raised to load the car.
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