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Scary moment Mayfield alert after jarring crash in Brickyard practice
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Jeremy Mayfield, hospitalized Friday after being knocked unconscious in a hard crash during practice for the Brickyard 400, will miss the race. The 31-year-old Mayfield was admitted to Methodist Hospital and will be held out of the event Saturday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, according to Dr. Troy Payner, a neurologist at the hospital. Dr. Henry Bock, medical director for the speedway, said Mayfield was "unresponsive" when safety workers first got to the wreck, but described the injury as "a moderate concussion." Mayfield was in stable condition and speedway officials said he was awake and alert. Mayfield checked himself out of the hospital late Friday afternoon. Kyle Petty, who failed to qualify his own car, will drive Mayfield's backup Ford for the Penske-Kranefuss Racing team. Mayfield, 15th in Winston Cup points, qualified fourth but Petty will start from the rear of the 43-car field. Mayfield was following teammate Rusty Wallace as the two Fords approached the entrance to Turn 3 on the 2.5-mile oval. Wallace's car twitched as it entered the turn and continued. But Mayfield's car went into a spin and the driver's side of the No. 12 Taurus slammed hard into the concrete wall. It took track safety workers nearly 10 minutes to remove Mayfield from the battered car. The driver from Owensboro, Ky., has won two races this season. He blew a tire and crashed two weeks ago while leading on the final lap of the Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono International Raceway. Wallace, running second at the time, wound up winning.
Two NASCAR drivers, Adam Petty and Kenny Irwin, died in crashes during practice this year at New Hampshire International Speedway. Busch series driver Petty was killed May 12, and Winston Cup driver Irwin on July 7.
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