NASCAR Air Force Story

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH carried an AP story on the NASCAR Air Force this=20
morning.

NASCAR teams rely on private planes
Sunday=92s fatal crash shows risk goes with convenience
Thursday, October 28, 2004
Mike Harris
ASSOCIATED PRESS

A fleet of private planes known as the "NASCAR Air Force" has made=20
travel easier for drivers and teams. But as shown by Sunday=92s crash tha=
t=20
killed 10 people flying to a race aboard a Hendrick Motorsports team=20
plane, such convenience also can involve risks.

"We use planes just like our cars," said Ricky Rudd, one of several=20
NASCAR Nextel Cup drivers who are also pilots. "We put a lot of hours in =

the air and have some of the best pilots in the country that fly these=20
things, and some of the best equipment."

The backbone of the NASCAR air fleet has been twoengine, 12-passenger=20
aircraft like the Beech 200 King Air that crashed into a mountain in=20
thick fog Sunday while trying to land at a small airport near=20
Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.

All 10 people aboard were killed, including team owner Rick Hendrick=92s =

son, Ricky; his brother, John, and John=92s two daughters, Jennifer and=20
Kimberly. Also on the plane were the team=92s general manager, Jeff=20
Turner, and its chief engine builder, Randy Dorton, as well as a DuPont=20
executive and three pilots.

For years, nearly everyone traveled to races in team vans or private=20
cars, but the proliferation of private planes changed that.

Nextel Cup teams race 38 weekends each year. On many of those weekends,=20
Concord (N.C.) Regional Airport =97 the closest airport for most teams =97=
=20
is buzzing with activity. More than 100 aircraft take off and land,=20
ferrying drivers, team owners, crewmen, sponsors and fans to airports=20
near the racetrack.

More aircraft, including two 727 jets owned by Roush Racing, fly in and=20
out of nearby Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

"Actually, it=92s not just race weekends," said Annette Privette, a=20
spokeswoman for the city of Concord. "Our airport has approximately 200=20
aircraft based there, and about 60 percent of them are NASCARrelated.=20
There=92s a lot of flying back and forth to testing and pole nights and=20
driver appearances and races."

Driver Jeff Green sees private plane travel as more than just a convenien=
ce.

"Taking the chance on being delayed in an airport just won=92t work,"=20
Green said. "You have to be there Friday morning for practice or you=20
miss practice. Miss practice, and they don=92t let you attempt to qualify=
=2E"

Mark Martin, another driver who is also a pilot, lost his father,=20
stepmother and half sister in 1998 when a private plane his father was=20
piloting crashed in Nevada. But Martin said he has no qualms about using =

his plane.

"I suppose we=92ve been pretty lucky in a way," Martin said last year.=20
"But everybody knows that flying is still safer than driving in your=20
personal car. And we really have no choice. We have to fly to get our=20
jobs done."

With the escalating use of helicopters =97 for short hauls =97 and privat=
e=20
planes, NASCAR=92s Air Force has a very good safety record.

Driver Alan Kulwicki and three others were killed in 1993 while flying=20
to a race in Bristol, Tenn. Later that year, Davey Allison died while=20
trying to land his helicopter at Talladega Superspeedway.

There had been no aircraft-related fatalities in NASCAR since, but that=20
doesn=92t mean there haven=92t been accidents.

In one three-week period in November 2003, Martin=92s plane blew two tire=
s=20
taking off from an airport after a race in Phoenix, a plane carrying=20
Petty Enterprises crewmen also blew a tire on takeoff after a test=20
earlier in Phoenix, and driver Tony Stewart=92s plane hit a deer while=20
landing at a rural Texas airport. There were no injuries.

While teams say there is no substitute for private planes, there is for=20
the small planes.

Martin=92s team owner, Jack Roush, bought his 727s four years ago after=20
starting to feel less and less comfortable about having up to 16 small=20
planes in the air each race weekend.

Since his team has been using the big planes, with pilots trained for=20
commercial airlines transporting most of his people, Roush said he is=20
sleeping better.

"I=92m confident as I can be in the safety of our planes and the ability =

of our pilots, but I still breathe a sigh of relief every time we get=20
through a race weekend without a problem," Roush said