Roush critically injured in plane crash

Jack Roush owns four Winston Cup teams, one Busch team and one Truck team. AP

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (CNN) -- NASCAR team owner Jack Roush was critically injured in a plane crash Friday, a hospital spokeswoman told CNN.

He is listed in critical condition at University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital, spokeswoman Tracy Bischoff said.

Roush, who turned 60 on Friday, was in Alabama for the upcoming Aaron's 499 race.

Bischoff said she could not provide the extent of Roush's injuries and said he was being evaluated in the emergency department.

He was admitted to the hospital about 10 p.m. CDT after the plane he was piloting went down near Troy, Ala., about 45 miles southeast of Montgomery, Bischoff said. According to The Associated Press, the plane went down in a residential area about 6 p.m. CDT, a dispatcher for the Alabama state troopers said. A newspaper photographer at the scene said the plane crashed into a pond in a gated community.

He was airlifted to UAB Hospital because of their excellent trauma care, Bischoff said.

She said Roush Racing and NASCAR would provide further details during a news conference Saturday morning at Talladega Superspeedway, site of NASCAR races Saturday and Sunday.

The NASCAR Winston Cup Series race is scheduled at the Talladega Superspeedway at noon CDT Sunday.

Roush is married with three children (Susan, Patricia and Jack Jr.) and lives in Northville, Mich. Members of his Roush Racing team are Winston Cup drivers Jeff Burton, Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch; Busch series driver Greg Biffle; and Truck series driver Jon Wood.

NWC Owner All-Time Standings
Owner	Yrs	Races	Entries	Wins	Poles
Rick Hendrick	18	553	1,478	103	100
Jack Roush	14	437	1,206	50	48
Richard Childress	28	812	993	72	30
Robert Yates	13	406	608	50	36
Joe Gibbs	10	320	424	32	24
Through 2001 season

Roush, known as the "The Cat in the Hat" for his trademark Panama hat, has been a Winston Cup car owner since 1988, running Fords for Mark Martin that season. Martin has given Roush two second-place finishes in the series points in 1990 and 1994. During his tenure in NASCAR's top stock car series, Roush's teams have won 53 races, including three of eight this season. He also fields teams in NASCAR's Busch and Craftsman Truck series.

In March 1999, Roush earned his 200th career win in the post-drag racing era as a team owner with Martin's Busch victory at Texas Motor Speedway. His engine facilities are in Livonia, Mich., and Mooresville, N.C.

Roush Racing is based at Concord Regional Airport near Lowe's Motor Speedway outside Charlotte, N.C. He owns three P-51 Mustangs, and frequently flies one of the World War II fighter planes.

Two Winston Cup drivers were killed in air crashes in the early 1990s.

Alan Kulwicki, the 1992 series champion, was killed in 1993 in the crash of a private plane on the way to a race in Bristol, Tenn. Davey Allison died from injuries suffered when he crashed his helicopter on the Talladega Superspeedway property later that year.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

 

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