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NASCAR Notebook: Former driver Grubb found dead
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Published: May 8, 2009
■ Police in Henrico County, Va., said yesterday that Kevin Grubb, a former NASCAR driver, died from what appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Lt. Doug Perry, a police-department spokesman, said that that Grubb's body was found by personnel at the Richmond-area Alpine Motel on Wednesday.
Perry said the that police found no indication of any drug use in the room, but toxicology results might not be available for as long as six weeks.
Grubb, who was 31 and a native of Mechanicsville, Va., was suspended from NASCAR indefinitely in 2006 because he refused to submit to a random drug test after the Busch Series race at Richmond International Raceway. He was previously suspended in March 2004 for failing a drug test but agreed to random testing as part of his reinstatement.
■ When Carl Edwards' car flew into the catch fence at Talladega two weeks ago, NASCAR got a reminder as to just how dangerous racing can be. Edwards walked away, but seven fans were injured by debris.
And although there haven't been any driver or fan fatalities since Dale Earnhardt's death at Daytona in 2001, Edwards' wild ride brought safety concerns back to the forefront.
Speeds at Darlington Raceway, which will have a Nationwide race today and a Sprint Cup race Saturday, are up considerably since repaving last year, but driver David Reutimann said that the track is "pretty safe."
"No track is totally foolproof, but Darlington is a pretty safe racetrack," Reutimann said. "Because the track is so narrow, it's going to be hard for a car to take flight."
But that has happened at Darlington before. In the 1965 Southern 500, Cale Yarborough went over the wall and into the parking lot when he tried to pass Sam McQuagg. In the 1970 Rebel 400, Richard Petty cut a tire, hit the inside retaining wall in front of the old covered Brasington Grandstand and flipped eight times.
■ Monuments of Cale Yarborough and Darrell Waltrip will be added to the Darlington Legends Walk this weekend at Darlington Raceway before the Southern 500.
The Walk is behind the Tyler Tower grandstand behind the frontstretch.
Each marker is made of granite and marble, resembles a Goodyear racing tire and old-style pit board and weighs nearly 2,300 pounds.
■ Joey Logano will make his first Nationwide start at Darlington tonight in the Diamond Plywood 200.
"Going to Darlington for the first time is a little intimidating," Logano said. "It's a track whose reputation precedes it. To go there and run well right out of the box would be an awesome experience -- the place is a beast. It was the one track that I circled on the calendar when I made the move up to the Nationwide series."
Although he has yet to race at the track, Logano, 20, said he knows what he will be up against.
"I've always heard that you have to ‘race the racetrack' and not worry about the other drivers," Logano said. "It's just a unique test of your skill."
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