1990 Atlanta Journal 500 - Fatal Pit Road Accident

[andesmintlover]

it probley broke his neck.

[rasmann36]

Hey boodyhoo, why don't you cough up those dicks you've been chowing on.

[rasmann36]

Thank you very much Doctor Pit Crew dipstick! Mike had the 4 lug nuts in his mouth when he was hit, he choked on them and died. If he had lived, he would have been shitting lug nuts for life!

[roodyhoo]

@rasmann36 Think you're funny?

[sheenco39]

Mike Rich was actually under the fuel cell after the accident. Ricky Rudd tried to drive away but Ernie Elliott reached into Rudd's car and shut off the engine. Crewmen picked up the 5 car to get Mike out from under it.

[sheenco39]

The tire changer killed was Mike Rich, the jackman who was thrown is Tommy Cole.

[gp4nut]

the guy did not look crushed? he was simply rammed by that car and got a violent whiplash from it too.

[liberalinthedesertaz]

@gp4nut are you an idiot? DID you see how far the tire he was holding when the got hit was thrown? FUCKING dumbass. HAve a little respect for the man.

[nr2003kid]

@gp4nut He was smashed in between the two cars

[vrininger]

@gp4nut You are watching the wrong guy. The rear tire changer is on his knees changing the right rear tire. He is the person that is killed in this accident. You are looking at the Jack Man.

[HRFTG]

This is why when drivers complain about getting caught speeding on pit road, they should stfu and slow down.

[LostHighwayFilms]

it really took NASCAR that long to improvise a pit speed limit?!

[0039073]

wow that guy got squashed big time

[Blizzardwizard11]

Poor guy, he didn't even see it coming....

[mrmomy123]

I was fatal because the sliding car rammed into a pit crew man. May he rest in peace.

[bigboy10131969]

Ricky Rudd should've been charged with a crime of some kind, lack of speed limit notwithstanding. His actions that day demonstrated a lack concern for the safety of others.

[xupthree60]

NASCAR was always last in implementing safety rules. Last with pit speed limits, Last to make HANS device mandatory, Last to make full face helmets mandatory. In every case someone had to die before NASCAR made rule changes they should have made years ago. This time it was a tire changer, another it was Dale Earnhardt.

[Nxtl68]

@xupthree60 that's how it was back then. go look at formula 1. it took Aryton (SP) Senna's death for them to FINALLY take safety seriously. I don't think it was too much a NASCAR problem as it was a racing-wide problem of people just accepting death as an occupational hazard.

[Babelsberger82]

@xupthree60

No, you're not right. Formula-1 introduced a speed limit for the pit lane not until the San Marino GP 1994, where Senna died - a long time after Nascar introduced it first..

[Grandmarchris]

According to Dr. Jerry Punch Mike was still conscious after the accident and was asking about the condition of the car and if Bill was still in position to win the race(he had been dominating the race to this point). Mike Rich didn't die until about 8:00 that night while in surgery.

[0039073]

@Grandmarchris who is mike?

[Grandmarchris]

Mike was the rear tire changer.

[BigCKFan]

Actually, Mike Rick died almost instantly when he was hit. Very sad.

[1981fairwaring]

That Jackman most have had back problems for the rest of his life. The Rightrear tire changer was Toast!.They knew the Risk.

[KA128183]

Its only after someone dies that they make safety changes. 

[Dragonpaul99]

which ones died? was it the one who got squished or the one who flew a few yards

[Antithropocentric]

This whole "sport" is low-brow, and such things were/are bound to happen.

[jrfan07]

@Antithropocentric Though pit road safety was a common issue years ago, it has become a much, much safer place. All aspects of the sport have undergone incredible advancements in safety, and that trend will continue for the life of the sport. You can somewhat get away with saying it was "low-brow" 20 years ago, but i assure you that term no longer suits nascar.

[Antithropocentric]

@jrfan07, the racing itself may have gotten safer, but I was mainly talking about the high prevalence of half-wits who watch NASCAR and don't mind breathing gasoline fumes, etc. (at least they finally switched to unleaded). I once worked around a group of fans and they were the biggest dullards I'd met.

Motorsports in general waste a lot of fuel that could be conserved for more critical things. Peak Oil might finally constrict the whole industry.

[Nxtl68]

@Antithropocentric Stop in go traffic in a day in L.A. uses more fuel than a weekend of NASCAR racing (wish i still had the link to that story but sadly it was years ago when i looked it up.) but they did switch to ethanol for this year to go with the fuel injection.

[roodyhoo]

@Nxtl68 Stop IN go?? It's stop AND go, learn to type

[Nxtl68]

@roodyhoo did a four month typo make you that butt hurt dude? I mean really?

[caseyreavis]

@Antithropocentric not anymore, the sport is very safe these days... that's why there is now a speed limit in the pits...

[dannyeye1]

Edward Cullen would have saved him.

[ScreamsofTheInsane]

at least he dies doing what he loved

[mkl62]

In March 1979, there was another pit road fatality at Atlanta. A pit crew member climbed over the wall awaiting his car. It got sideways and slammed into him.

[gmoneyq]

It seems someone has to die before they implement new rules, which is sad. In this case now they make the pit crew wear helmets, and enforce a speed limit in pit row.

[switchhitter08]

@gmoneyq I don't think even a helmet would've saved him if it happened in today's NASCAR. Just look at the replay, this guy had no chance.

[ROBLOXIANgordonrox24]

I wonder if this crash still weighs on Rudd's conscious...

[MikeNascar9]

dude from like 86-90 all the pit crew accidents were bill elliots crew

[Railer61]

And it was before the helmet law too. I still remember the race that enforced that law. Now it just looks standard anymore.

[jonesy97]

@Railer61 That was when Ward Burton's car plowed into Ricky Rudd's crew at Homestead, right? There was either one or two head injuries. Can't remember the year.

[unseen123456789]

Pancaked

[givethedrummersome]

FAIL

EPIC FAIL

[ipmac6498]

OMG!!!!



[Rogentx]

I still remember watching this race live and this accident. R.I.P

[HumSweden]

You fucking noob!

[71rjeelykcir]

@xrocknroll24x cardiac arrest is when your heart stops instantly. a heart attack is when ur heart muscles die slower...less instantly. in cardiac arrest u get instantly unconscious and heart attack u hurt for a while

[GazzaAyrton]

That is truly awful. RIP MR.

[t20stewartfanjg]

i have a question

he didn't get killed by getting crushed by Ricky Rudds car, but instead of cardiac arrest?

I'm asking that honestly

not in a sarcastic way or anything bad

i just really want to know

[dop3man518021]

rudd is my favorite driver, but hes the reason they wear helmets now too

[C0LL1N]

keep in mind there was a time when there was no speed limit on pit road, theyd just rush in as fast as they could control the car and still stop in their stall.

[sambmw328ci]

i take it that there are now speed limits through the pit lane.

[adicolour75]

such stupid rules back then

[SaintWicked721]

I was at this race. My dad's favorite driver was Bill Elliott. My mom saw it happen and yelled "Oh my God!". It was really sad

[bettendorfcheergirl]

bill elliotts crew always gets hurt

[masterpd85]

i remember this. I was 5yrs old with my dad as he watched the race and this happened on live TV. It was the first time I ever heard a curse word too as my dad yelled "holy shit!" haha.

[turboman2]

I remember Dr Jerry Punch saying the guy just had head injuries. I think it is shameful when they know how serious the injuries are but they want to sugarcoat it for the fans. They always have to protect the nascar image at all costs.

[susanaearnhardt]

ohhh my...

[dbentley18]

at :19-:20....you can see the other guy the car also hit. his neck just snapped back n forward again...what a terrible accident

[Gforcebond]

I think it's ironic that both major pit road accidents involved Ricky Rudd that helped improved the safety on pit road. I can remember the accident at Homestead before they had helmets. Luckily nobody died there.

[qwerty123456789jhdtg]

Ironically, when creating a full yellow on the track, it's to create a better situation on the track, but in the pit it becomes more dangerous than ever. I would never jump across a pit wall when 38 cars enter the pitlane, but life is not easy. Also, do they still "race" to the yellow ? I remember they did that to retain certain track position, at moment of acciden. That's not good : oh yellow, let's put our foot down !!

[jrfan07]

they dont race back to the yellow anymore, they have not since 2003, when dale jarret was nearly struck by the leaders racing back after he had an accident. obviously its all done for safety and there hasnt been a problem since they stopped racing back

[caseyreavis]

@jrfan07 well, y'know, the spotters could say to the drivers, "hey, there's wrecked cars on the front stretch, take it easy..."

[landofconfusion2]

@jrfan07 however they do race to the checkered if the yellow were to come out on the white flag lap during a green whit checkered finish

[jrfan07]

@landofconfusion2 no they don't. If a caution comes the field is frozen, regardless if it's a GWC or not.

[landofconfusion2]

@jrfan07 if the white is out they race to the line

[jrfan07]

@landofconfusion2 no they don't man lol, do you watch the races? If the yellow comes out on the white flag the field is frozen. It happened in the fall dega cup race last year when allmendinger flipped, it happened in the nationwide race at dega this year when wallace flipped and countless other occasions. There have been occasions where no yellow was thrown for a last lap accident and the race stayed green, but if the caution comes out, the field is frozen, regardless of what lap it is.

[TeamAutoBots]

that is the most disturbing accident in pit road for the fans to see the rear tire changer(Bill Elliott pit crew)gettin crushed by Ricky Rudd's car when it was live they didn't show the tire changer from Bill's pit stop cuz its not good for the viewers at home n at the track

[jonesy97]

The rear tire changer, right?

[jrfan07]

yes

[AAC902]

I thought there was a speed limit since the 70's.

[racefan32]

I would have thought that to I remember see a highlight of Richard Petty Hitting one of his crewmwmber who was a cousin at Talladega side ways at full speed on pit road, and he was killed.

[karsonandbrock]

oh my god!!!!!!!!!!!!! geez!

[justnel4]

thats a hell-of-a way to die. one second your changing a tire the next your jammed between to hunks of metal.

[08cobaltssturbocharg]

did 1 person die or two?

[doiwantsomerandom]

no speed limit :S ur just askin for a fatality

[strent2583]

I was at this race that day. It was sad.

[cujlclemson04]

Didn't Mark Martin go on to win this race? Or was that 1991?

[soulcornflake1]

My father and my sister were at this race and were sitting in the stands directly across from the accident. To this day my sister will not watch a NASCAR race.

[soulcornflake1]

STFU

[AdamMc2003]

this is why pit road limits became apart of NASCAR, before this incident, there was no speed limit

[jrfan07]

dude what are you going on with

[gamewizard546]

Didn't look like anyone was badly hurt till the second angle shew a pancake hit...

[oipbhakeld]

pudd rudd to the rescue.

[mosportkarting6]

omg he like ran over and then got scwished

[drglinski]

That's some scary SHtuff right there.

[siahnazi]

sad, i was at the race when this happened and after that nascar put speed limit in pit.

[jrfan07]

seems it always takes something bad to happen before anything is done to fix it:(

[SEALTEAM7bm]

@jrfan07 HOW CAN YOU FIX THE FUTURE BEFORE IT HAPPENS NOOB

[jrfan07]

@SEALTEAM7bm WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT N00B

[craig8392]

No the rear tire changer died

r.i.p.

[perversi]

of course, that's why the video title says "fatal"

[bigjim247365]

o God!!!! the rear tire changer!!

[SteveWard3928]

WEll he did not see that coming. What spun the other car around?

[lank05]

in the report it spun because of an oil trail across the lane.

[CreepyBastard55]

Of what team are you?

[Runepalidan1]

... sad, that's why they have pit speeds.

[sheenco39]

Mike Rich was not related to Bill Elliott. Mike Rich replaced Chuck Hill who nearly died in 1987 at Riverside in another pit road accident.

[dogalways]

which one is mike

[racefan32]

He was the one working the air gun

[dogalways]

okay

[kenseth56]

shit

[kbond225]

I was there. That sucks for sure. Elliott was winning that race and there was a late caution flag with 10 or 12 laps left and this happened.

[thamanCMAcK]

woe the rirht rear tirer changer gets crushed thats some crazy ish

[DoucheBagalow]

Wheres the audio?

[jrfan07]

yea:(

[Mims8595]

that's why the vid is called FATAL pit accident

[aergdr]

@Mims8595 because someone died...duh

[r38901]

uh theres a reason it says "FATAL pit road accident

[adiokennyandersons]

RIP

[browser293]

Damn! Brutal.

[Twister243]

oooh, what a way to go

[jason3173]

first view...poor rich what a way to go