CONCORD, N.C. – It goes without saying that Jamie Dick’s return to the NASCAR XFINITY Series didn’t go as planned, but despite the circumstances, one of the series’ youngest driver and owner is ready to put Iowa Speedway behind and focus on the future.
Dick had been sidelined for nearly two months after being diagnosed with new onset diabetes. After falling ill following the XFINITY Series race at Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway, Dick drove himself to a local hospital for further evaluation, where testing revealed the reason for his recent fatigue.
Taking the vital steps to ensure his XFINITY Series return, Dick was cleared to climb behind the wheel of his No. 55 Viva Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro last weekend at Iowa Speedway, but just 10 minutes into the first practice session last Saturday, the Texas native found himself back in the headlines.
When fellow friend Ross Chastain lost a piece of tungsten from his No. 4 racecar, a lead-like piece fell directly into Dick’s path. Unable to avoid it, because he didn’t see it, somehow the tungsten came through his windshield – connecting with his Simpson helmet, cementing into the roll bar before exiting the race car.
An extremely agitated driver informed his crew that he hit something “hard”, but it wasn’t until he brought his car to the garage where he and the team really observed how bad the situation truly was.
“I followed him (Chastain) off pit road and by the time we got around through 3 and 4 and onto the frontstretch, I saw a couple spacers come out,” Dick recalled. “The first one I thought was a brake duct hose, because it’s silver and cylindrical because it looks about the same size and everything. That’s pretty common for a brake duct hose to get in the way of the tire and falls off during the first lap.
“I didn’t think too much about it. I saw another one. Obviously, right after that everything happened fast, but I saw another one and it was in my way, so I kinda dodged it a little bit. Right as I was dodging it, the tungsten hit the windshield. I didn’t see that at all. I wouldn’t have had time to react to it, even if I did see it. I just saw the windshield caved in.”
The amount of damage to the car forced Dick to a back-up, where unfortunately, the team couldn’t shake their bad luck. Shortly into the final practice, the engine seized forcing a back-up motor. After qualifying 30th, he finished 25th despite being involved in the final caution of the day, a lap shy of the scheduled race distance.
Sending their car to the junkyard, Dick said Thursday at Charlotte Motor Speedway it was important for his family-owned team to move on from Iowa, even though it’s been a setback.
“It definitely hurts us, said Dick. “It hurts us financially ‘cause the car is valuable and worth something and it’s basically junk now. “It hurts us time wise cause we have to prepare more cars. That one gets take out of rotation. I know unfortunately, since we went to the backup, I ended up getting into the wall with a backup too, so now we have two wrecked race cars in one week. We try to be organized and do everything the right way, but we’re still a small team and have limited number of people so it’s not as simple as pulling out another one. It will be a long process and more work.”
Ross Chastain who drove two races for Viva Motorsports last season at Charlotte (May) and Daytona International Speedway (July) showed immediate concern for the situation and quickly took to social media to apologize for the incident. The JD Motorsports with Gary Keller team was hammered with a $15,000 fine this week by NASCAR. Additionally, crew chief Gary Cogswell and car chief Charles Kent were placed on probation till December 31.
“It definitely means something,” said Dick of Chastain. “He released a statement on Twitter and then came to talk me personally several times, so I appreciate all that. It’s not Ross’s fault at all. He doesn’t bolt the tungsten into the car. It wasn’t his fault, but I appreciate him apologizing on behalf of his team.”
Knowing he’s extremely lucky that he wasn’t injured other than feeling like he had been “punched” where the tungsten hit his Simpson helmet, Dick credits NASCAR and their safety innovation for allowing him to escape serious injury.
“The safety measures that NASCAR has implemented specifically the thicker windshield than the lamented windshield which came into effect a year or two ago that worked,” added Dick. “It would have been a lot worse if NASCAR didn’t change that rule two years ago. I’m thankful they did. As far as rules are concerned, the car owner side of me kinda gripes and complains when they come out with a new safety rule every off season, which they also do. But, when you sit down and think about, especially on the driver’s side of me, I’m definitely glad that they did it. There’s no telling what the next incident will be. I’ll take the small financial hits in regards to safety a little easier now.”
