PERRIS, California — Popular Perris Auto Speedway PASSCAR Street Stock driver and infield announcer Ronnie Everhart was injured in a violent crash in the main event at the track on Saturday night.
Everhart, who is affectionately known as the “Red Hot Racin’ Grandma”, was competing in the main event at the half-mile clay oval in a race that also featured her husband Jake and teenage son Dalton. She got sideways in turn four while trying to make an inside pass in the 20-lap race. She managed to save the car from spinning out, clipped the inside berm and continued on. What she or no one else knew at the time was the air filter on her Camaro was knocked loose and sitting on the carburetor. One lap later the filter pinned the carburetor linkage and the throttle stuck wide open down the front straightaway and she slammed into the turn one wall.
It took several minutes to get Everhart out of the car. The veteran driver was transported to the hospital where the extent of he injury was determined to be a broken right shoulder blade.
On Sunday morning, Everhart, who lives in Perris, was hurting but was still upbeat. “They said it will take four to six weeks to heal,” she said over the telephone. “The worst part about it was the EMT’s wanted to cut my new fire suit. I told them they could forget that,” she added with a laugh.
She will miss the next scheduled Street Stock race on April 3rd, but plans to be in action on May 1st. However, she hopes to be back in action on the microphone this Saturday for round three of the 2010 PASSORS Stadium Off Road Racing Series.
Everhart is the Riverside County clay ovals all-time winningest female driver and a two-time champion in the Sport Compact class. In 2009 she became only the second female driver to win a Street Stock main event (Carla Laney was the other) at The PAS and was seventh in overall points for the year.
Moreno Valley’s Curtis Dietzsch won Saturday’s Street Stock main event over Jake Everhart and Murrieta’s Stefan Davies.
