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Daytona Beach News Journal
By STEVE MASTER
Staff Writer
Last update: 10 February 2004
DAYTONA BEACH -- The death of a Daytona International Speedway safety worker was ruled an accident Monday, but questions remain over what caused the grisly incident during Sunday's IPOWERacing Dash Series 150.
Roy H. Weaver III, 44, was killed instantly when a car driven by Ray Paprota crushed him while traveling 100-plus mph during a caution period. Weaver was on the track collecting debris from an earlier accident.
The Daytona Beach Police Department said the death was an accident, pending final toxicology reports. But the Speedway and the Dash Series will continue to investigate, officials said.
"We want to know what happened and prevent it from ever happening again," said Speedway President Robin Braig, who declined to discuss specifics of the investigation. "We have to consider how important it is to (Weaver's) family to know exactly what happened, why it happened, how it happened. This is what we will hope comes out of the investigation, and we're confident it will."
Also Monday, an investigator with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration office in Jacksonville was sent to the Speedway to determine whether any federal labor standards were violated during the race, an agency spokesperson said.
Race car drivers and Speedway workers contacted Monday said the investigation will center on a possible communications breakdown.
At issue is whether Weaver was cleared by Speedway spotters to go onto the track, or whether he made the decision on his own, unaware Paprota was accelerating around Turn 2 in an effort to catch the lead pack -- a strategy encouraged by stock-car racing's sanctioning bodies.
Jeff Lilley, a Speedway spotter who worked the race, said he was not tuned into the frequency on which safety workers communicate with track operations officials. But he said it would be unusual for a safety worker to walk onto the track without clearance from the tower.
"Usually, when there's something on the track, they wait for an all-clear (to walk on the track)," said Lilley, who has been a spotter at the Speedway for six years. "That's the big thing to look into."
Braig confirmed the policy. "Safety workers take their directions from the control tower," he said, though he declined to say whether that happened Sunday.
Also at issue is whether Paprota's spotter, stationed in the Nextel Tower, could have warned the 41-year-old paraplegic driver a worker was on the track.
Randy Claypoole, executive vice president of administration for the Dash Series, said Paprota's spotter reported that he didn't see Weaver -- possibly due to the safety worker's location on the track.
The violent crash that brought out the caution took place at the opposite end of the track, between Turns 3 and 4. Claypoole said a spotter's attention would likely be focused on the previous accident site and the car itself.
Drivers were unanimous in their opinion that Paprota was not at fault.
"At that point in time, a driver wouldn't expect to see a worker on the race track," said former NASCAR driver Dave Marcis, 62. "And if he did, he wouldn't expect him to be there when the accident was (at the other end of the track)."
Monday was a timely off-day at the Speedway, where workers were mourning the loss of the popular Weaver, a safety crew supervisor who had worked at the Speedway for seven years in several positions.
Dean Kurtz, the Speedway's chief of guest services, said the organization was working on a plan to allow its grieving staff time to pay its respects during its busiest time of the year.
"He's touched a lot of folks here, so there's a lot of folks impacted by his passing," Kurtz said. "You lose a member of your family in this case . . . and we're trying to find ways to make sure we can ease that for them."
Paprota declined comment on the incident, saying only, "I'm just trying to sort through my emotions."
Claypoole described Paprota, as "very, very upset and very concerned" for the Weaver family. He said the Birmingham, Ala., driver has remained in town to assist with the investigation.
Weaver was the 36th person to die during a Speedway event and the first track worker to be killed. Dash drivers said they hope the investigations prevent another such tragedy.
"There needs to be a little different procedure than having cars running around on the race track when those guys are out there," 57-year-old driver Wally Leatherwood said. "Anything can happen out there. It's really sad. This man went out on the racetrack to do his job and he was killed. It's bad."
By STEVE MASTER
Staff Writer
Last update: 10 February 2004
DAYTONA BEACH -- The death of a Daytona International Speedway safety worker was ruled an accident Monday, but questions remain over what caused the grisly incident during Sunday's IPOWERacing Dash Series 150.
Roy H. Weaver III, 44, was killed instantly when a car driven by Ray Paprota crushed him while traveling 100-plus mph during a caution period. Weaver was on the track collecting debris from an earlier accident.
The Daytona Beach Police Department said the death was an accident, pending final toxicology reports. But the Speedway and the Dash Series will continue to investigate, officials said.
"We want to know what happened and prevent it from ever happening again," said Speedway President Robin Braig, who declined to discuss specifics of the investigation. "We have to consider how important it is to (Weaver's) family to know exactly what happened, why it happened, how it happened. This is what we will hope comes out of the investigation, and we're confident it will."
Also Monday, an investigator with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration office in Jacksonville was sent to the Speedway to determine whether any federal labor standards were violated during the race, an agency spokesperson said.
Race car drivers and Speedway workers contacted Monday said the investigation will center on a possible communications breakdown.
At issue is whether Weaver was cleared by Speedway spotters to go onto the track, or whether he made the decision on his own, unaware Paprota was accelerating around Turn 2 in an effort to catch the lead pack -- a strategy encouraged by stock-car racing's sanctioning bodies.
Jeff Lilley, a Speedway spotter who worked the race, said he was not tuned into the frequency on which safety workers communicate with track operations officials. But he said it would be unusual for a safety worker to walk onto the track without clearance from the tower.
"Usually, when there's something on the track, they wait for an all-clear (to walk on the track)," said Lilley, who has been a spotter at the Speedway for six years. "That's the big thing to look into."
Braig confirmed the policy. "Safety workers take their directions from the control tower," he said, though he declined to say whether that happened Sunday.
Also at issue is whether Paprota's spotter, stationed in the Nextel Tower, could have warned the 41-year-old paraplegic driver a worker was on the track.
Randy Claypoole, executive vice president of administration for the Dash Series, said Paprota's spotter reported that he didn't see Weaver -- possibly due to the safety worker's location on the track.
The violent crash that brought out the caution took place at the opposite end of the track, between Turns 3 and 4. Claypoole said a spotter's attention would likely be focused on the previous accident site and the car itself.
Drivers were unanimous in their opinion that Paprota was not at fault.
"At that point in time, a driver wouldn't expect to see a worker on the race track," said former NASCAR driver Dave Marcis, 62. "And if he did, he wouldn't expect him to be there when the accident was (at the other end of the track)."
Monday was a timely off-day at the Speedway, where workers were mourning the loss of the popular Weaver, a safety crew supervisor who had worked at the Speedway for seven years in several positions.
Dean Kurtz, the Speedway's chief of guest services, said the organization was working on a plan to allow its grieving staff time to pay its respects during its busiest time of the year.
"He's touched a lot of folks here, so there's a lot of folks impacted by his passing," Kurtz said. "You lose a member of your family in this case . . . and we're trying to find ways to make sure we can ease that for them."
Paprota declined comment on the incident, saying only, "I'm just trying to sort through my emotions."
Claypoole described Paprota, as "very, very upset and very concerned" for the Weaver family. He said the Birmingham, Ala., driver has remained in town to assist with the investigation.
Weaver was the 36th person to die during a Speedway event and the first track worker to be killed. Dash drivers said they hope the investigations prevent another such tragedy.
"There needs to be a little different procedure than having cars running around on the race track when those guys are out there," 57-year-old driver Wally Leatherwood said. "Anything can happen out there. It's really sad. This man went out on the racetrack to do his job and he was killed. It's bad."