DAYTONA BEACH, Florida -- Andrew Myers and the Toyota Of Escondido / Red Line Oil team will always remember their first race at Daytona International Speedway.
Myers posted an impressive 8th place qualifying speed on Friday but would end the weekend with a spectacular flip down the speedway’s front stretch on Sunday.
The week seemed to have the makings for quite a storybook. Myers 26th birthday was on Wednesday. Bobby Gerhart Racing had prepared a great car for Myers to make his maiden voyage on the two and a half mile racetrack built around Lake Lloyd. Myers had brought along his co-crew chief’s Phil Bonifield and Jamie Aube. Even the Myers family, mom; Nancy, dad; Gary and uncle Billy were on hand to cheer on the handsome hotshoe from Huntington Beach, California.
However, the racings’ lady luck had been written into this stories script as a villain. First, rain would postpone the events’ scheduled Saturday afternoon start. Myers and the rest of the competitors would have to wait until Sunday morning to race. With temperatures in the thirties the field took the green flag start at 9:30 a.m. Myers would hold position in the top ten for the first dozen laps until the caution came out for a crash in the pack behind Myers.
On the ensuing restart, Myers would be forced to go side-by-side with another competitor. Myers held his own for a couple of laps but then, just as Myers was exiting turn four the two cars came close enough together to take the air off of Myers rear spoiler causing him to spin and eventually flip over down the front stretch. The badly damaged number 7 machine came to rest on its roof in the grass area just in front of the grandstands. Safety workers rushed to Myers aid. Myers was unhurt but took extra time to extricate himself due to his inverted position.
Myers walked to the medical transport unit and received fluids in the speedway’s infield care center and later at Halifax Memorial Hospital. Myers was released from medical care shortly before 1 o’clock Sunday afternoon. “I feel fine. said Myers. They are the best medical staff in NASCAR, and they wanted everything right with me before they would let me go. I had a great car. Bobby Gerhart and his crew gave me an awesome machine to race with. I learned a whole lot and can’t wait to race here again someday soon.”
Myers would finish 39th and Bobby Gerhart would go on to win the Daytona ARCA 200.
