Gilmore, VP of competition for DEI, suffers aneurysm

TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Richie Gilmore, a key figure at Dale Earnhardt Inc. heading up the motor partnership with Richard Childress Racing, is home in North Carolina recovering from an aneurysm.

Vice president of competition for DEI, Gilmore was airlifted to Trinity Medical Center in Birmingham, Ala., on Friday afternoon when he suffered the aneurysm, according to DEI competition director Steve Hmiel.

An aneurysm is a blood-filled dilation of a blood vessel caused by disease or weakening of the vessel wall, which mostly occurs in arteries at the base of the brain and in the aorta.

The bulge can burst and lead to death at any time.

Gilmore, 41, worked at Hendrick Motorsports for eight years before he was hired by DEI to be the team's head engine builder in 1998.

He was then promoted to his current position by DEI co-founder and CEO Teresa Earnhardt in January 2004 after Ty Norris resigned from the position.

Max Siegel, DEI's president of global operations, said, "I talked to his wife Lisa this morning and he's feeling better. They gave him relief for the pain. He had a CAT Scan and MRI.

"He was released from the hospital [Saturday] and he's back home getting some rest. He will undergo further evaluation and precautionary testing next week."