LEBANON, Oregon — Sprint car racer Jeffrey Rivers is at home recovering after a hard crash in Saturday's NorthWest Wingless Tour sprint car feature at Cottage Grove Speedway.
According to the Rivers Family, the young driver out of Lebanon, Ore. suffered a concussion in the crash as well as broken blood vessels in one eye and a hurt knee. Rivers drives the John Rivers No. 45 Chevy-powered Rocket.
Rivers started the scheduled 30-lap NorthWest Wingless Tour main event inside the fourth row. Rivers moved up to the second position behind leader Kyle Miller on Lap 11. On Lap 17, Rivers began putting pressure on Miller for the lead. Miller was running at the very top of the track while Rivers was pulling even with Miller using the very bottom of the track in the turns.
Miller was able to see Rivers getting alongside and on Lap 19 he tried to go low to see if he could stay ahead of Rivers. Problem was, Rivers and Miller went for the same piece of track at the same time. Rivers right side wheels went over Miller's left side wheels as they rounded the second turn of the 1/4-mile, high-banked clay oval. The contact resulted in Rivers going for a wild tumble upside down entering the back stretch, ending his evening.
John Rivers says Jeffrey hopes and expects to be well enough to return to competition in time for the NorthWest Wingless Tour's next event, which is Friday, June 5th at Willamette Speedway. The event is the first night of the NWWT's Summer Shootout Series, which concludes the next night at Cottage Grove Speedway.
Jeffrey's health is one thing, but finances are another. The No. 45 is an unsponsored car and funds are tight at the moment. Despite the lack of sponsorship, the Rivers Family is hopeful they will be back on the track June 5th.
More information on the NorthWest Wingless Tour can be found online at http://www.nwwinglesstour.com.
