Groundings force testing teams to drive home
By Marty Smith, Turner Sports Interactive
September 13, 2001
2:26 PM EDT (1826 GMT)
CONCORD, N.C. -- Following Tuesday’s terrorist attacks on New York and Washington and the subsequent grounding of all American commercial flights, several NASCAR teams were forced to drive back to the Charlotte area after canceling tests at Kansas Speedway.
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James Ince
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Seven NASCAR teams canceled a day of testing at the brand-new track, including the Winston Cup teams of Johnny Benson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Bobby Labonte, Dave Blaney, Jason Leffler and Brett Bodine, and the Busch Series team owned and driven by Joe Nemechek.
The trek from Kansas City to Mooresville via ground transportation is nearly 1,000 miles and takes some 16-plus hours to complete. Still, all individuals involved deemed it necessary to return without taking to the track.
“We felt it was best to come home,” said James Ince, Benson’s crew chief. “There just wasn't any desire to run after what we watched on television.”
The lengthy trip is all the more tiring when you consider the Winston Cup Series is in the midst of a 20-week stretch without a break. Rest is hard to come by in NASCAR these days.
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Jason Leffler
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“After we learned what happened, we drove back home Tuesday afternoon in vans," Leffler said. "We had three vans with four people in each. We rotated drivers and ended up getting home at 6 a.m. Wednesday morning.
"I slept most of the day Wednesday, just to try and catch up and get some rest for this weekend.”
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