NASCAR Cup
More Bruises at California
Elliott, Petty crash at California By Bill Frederickson FONTANA, Calif. (May 3, 1998) If Lady Luck believed in fairness, Bill Elliott and Kyle Petty wouldn't know it. After being caught up in a 20-car accident last week at ...
Edited: May 8, 2001, 12:19 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Elliott, Petty crash at California By Bill Frederickson FONTANA, Calif. (May 3, 1998)
If Lady Luck believed in fairness, Bill Elliott and Kyle Petty wouldn't know it. After being caught up in a 20-car accident last week at Talladega, the pair were involved in a hard crash Sunday during the California 500 presented by NAPA at California Speedway.
The chain reaction began when Dale Jarrett's No. 88 Quality Care/Ford Credit Ford blew an engine and sprayed oil over much of Turn 2.
"Something just started to let go by the Start/Finish Line," Jarrett said. "It started to miss, and by the time I got to Turn 1 something let go. It's unfortunate, you know."
Petty, in his No. 44 Hot Wheels Pontiac, didn't have time to react and spun in the mess on lap 86.
"We had no place to go," Petty said. "Everybody just kind of run through the oil and spun."
Petty's Grand Prix slammed hard into the side of Elliott's No. 94 McDonald's Ford, sending the former NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion into the wall.
Elliott was transported via Life Flight to Loma Linda Medical Center for X-rays and a further evaluation. He initially visited the infield medical center and was treated for abrasions on both sides of his face and bruising. According to a team spokesperson, Elliott was complaining of pain in his right ankle.
"Our spotter told Bill to move up and get out of the way and that is what he did," said Joe Garone, crew chief for the McDonald's team. "But the 44 car (Petty) didn't get out of the oil in time and so he spun up into Bill.
"Bill wrecked real bad at Talladega and I know he was still real sore. This is the last thing that he needed to have happen."
The incident brought out the second yellow flag of the day. Then, a red flag was displayed to allow crews time to put out a fire and clean up the debris. After seven laps of caution and a 26-minute stoppage, the field took the green flag again on lap 92.
Dale Earnhardt also spun out during the fracas, but only damaged the rear end of his No. 3 GM Goodwrench Service Plus Chevrolet. Earnhardt's Richard Childress Racing teammate Mike Dillon, who is substituting for an injured Mike Skinner, was also involved in the accident.
Petty said he OK, only slightly bruised. But it wasn't from a lack of impact.
"It was hard," Petty said. "But, not harder than last week in Talladega. But, Bill hit hard, too. He's got some new bruises." Source: NASCAR Online
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Fontana Results (complete)
Next article Beverly Motorsports News
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Dale Jarrett
Elliott, Busch clash would turn “ugly” in normal times – Jarrett
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Darlington II
Elliott, Busch clash would turn “ugly” in normal times – Jarrett
Jarrett slams “consequences” of Talladega manufacturer orders
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Talladega II
Jarrett slams “consequences” of Talladega manufacturer orders
Robert Yates reflects on Hall of Fame career with posthumous speech
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Robert Yates reflects on Hall of Fame career with posthumous speech
More from
Richard Childress Racing
Who won the teammate battles of NASCAR Cup 2026?
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
Who won the teammate battles of NASCAR Cup 2026?
Winners and losers from a frantic NASCAR Cup race at Talladega
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Talladega II
Winners and losers from a frantic NASCAR Cup race at Talladega
What happened to Austin Hill at the end of Talladega NASCAR Cup race?
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Talladega II
What happened to Austin Hill at the end of Talladega NASCAR Cup race?
Latest news
The impressive stats underpinning Liam Lawson's career-saving F1 season
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
21 min
The impressive stats underpinning Liam Lawson's career-saving F1 season
George Russell launches karting academy
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
45 min
George Russell launches karting academy
Liam Lawson retained by Racing Bulls for 2027 alongside Arvid Lindblad
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
1 h
Liam Lawson retained by Racing Bulls for 2027 alongside Arvid Lindblad
Formula E postpones Jeddah E-Prix with Mexico now the season opener
Formula E
FE Formula E 2 h
Formula E postpones Jeddah E-Prix with Mexico now the season opener
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe