PONTIERI CRASHES
Tony Pontieri was involved in a horrific crash on July
2 at Luskville Dragway in Alymar, Quebec.
Competing in the second
Pro Modified Racing Association event of the season, the
Toronto driver's car smoked the tires after the launch and
got out of shape. By the eighth mile mark the car was sideways
and headed for the other lane. Pontieri fought for control,
but the car began barrel rolling and then did a pirouette
on its nose, reportedly getting higher than the scoreboards.
It came back down onto the track at the quarter-mile mark.
Pontieri was not injured, but the chassis appears to be
a total loss. Pontieri thinks the engine is alright, but
doesn't have the finances to rebuild the car. Pontieri Racing
received help after the event from the teams of Casey Jansen
and Carl Spiering.
"One thing I will say is that my car protected me
very well through the crash," Pontieri said. "The
biggest benefit is that I'm here to talk about it, because
the car did its job protecting me. Everything else can be
replaced at some point in time." (Photos
courtesy Pontieri Racing) [7-6-2005]
