Veteran ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards driver Brad Smith was airlifted to a Birmingham, Alabama hospital after being involved in a vicious crash during Friday afternoon’s International Motorsports Hall of Fame 200.
The accident started when series championship contender Austin Wayne Self broke loose underneath rookie Cody Coughlin.
Self spun directly in the path of Smith who stayed in the throttle in an attempt to avoid the accident. When the two cars collided, Smith’s throttle stuck sending him careening towards the inside wall.
Before the impact with the wall, Smith’s No. 48 Radon.com Ford Fusion launched off the ground when he hit a drainage ditch and compressing the SAFER barrier-protected wall. The contact shot his car back up the racetrack, before coming to rest at the bottom of a Turn 1 wall.
Track safety workers took their time extracting Smith from his James Hylton-owned machine, where he was placed onto a stretcher. Smith was then immediately transported to UAB Medical Center for further observation. Jeff Gluck from USA Today Sports observed Smith wearing an oxygen mask moments before he was loaded onto an awaiting helicopter.
Smith, 46, is planning to run the full ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards season. His best finish thus far came in the second race at Mobile (Ala.) International Speedway with a 15th. He is a native of Shelby Township, Michigan. In 22 years of competition and 271 starts, Smith is still searching for his first top-10 finish.
ARCA Racing Series officials updated Smith’s condition on Saturday morning at 12:54 a.m. (EST) stating that Smith has been diagnosed with a left ankle fracture and admitted for further observation.
ARCA Racing Series officials will provide additional updates as information becomes available.
Self, 19, was later evaluated and released from the track’s infield care center.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
