DETROIT (January 18, 2002) - David Pook, the 30-year-old son of Championship Auto Racing Teams President and CEO Christopher R. Pook, was injured in a private testing accident late Thursday at Phoenix International Raceway in suburban Phoenix.
David Pook was transported to nearby Good Samaritan Hospital where he remains today in critical condition in the Intensive Neurological Care Unit with a clean fracture of his second cervical vertebra. According to neurosurgeon Dr. Barry Kriegsfeld, immediate plans call for Pook to be fitted with a "halo" device, and it is not believed that the injury will require surgery. Pook is conscious and talking, and is in good spirits.
Pook was testing his NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Tour Chevrolet stock car and was on one of the day's final test runs when the car fell victim to a suspected steering failure. He was traveling approximately 150 miles per hour down the front straightaway of the one-mile oval at the time of the suspected equipment failure, which resulted in a nearly head-on collision with the Turn 1 wall. He was wearing a HANS Device.
Pook is a veteran race driver who has competed in both the CART Toyota Atlantic Championship and the Dayton Indy Lights Championship. He also drove a Van Diemen RF95 to the 1995 SCCA Formula Continental national championship.
Chris Pook, traveling at the time of the injury, altered his plans and is now with his son at the hospital in Phoenix. Further updates will be provided as they become available.
