Jerry Punch saved his life. He was among the few people at the scene and noticed Rusty wasn't breathing. Rusty said if it wasn't for him he would most likely be dead.
That happened in 1997 if I remember right... I think it was David Green in the Caterpillar car. He rode up the wall and wound up on his side, but didn't barrel-roll.
In the same pre-race interview Rusty commented that there wasn't enough clearance between the ball joint and the right front tire and the ball joint blew out the sidewall of the tire. The car rocketed into the outside wall, driving up the wall and flipping over. The same thing nearly happened to Ernie Irvan in the spring Bristol race in 1989 or 1990.
Roof flap would have not helped there. The car hit the wall and basically rode up it causing the car to roll. Plus it is a half mile track. There is not enough speed or room for use of a roof flap
i liked nascar in the 90s when i was a teenager, watched random races, was all bummed out when dale Died, but i REALLY started loving nascar in 2003, rusty was always my guy, unfortunately a couple yrs later, he retired. I became a newman fan! but i wish someday he would Get back in a cup car on occasion like bill elliot does or T-labonte, cause id love to pull for em one more time
HE BROUGHT THEM DRIVERS BACK FROM THE DEAD HE LOOKED AT DEATH AND THEN HE SAID I'LL KNOCK YOU OUT DEATH IF YOU TAKE THESE MEN DR.JERRY PUNCH HE PUNCHED DEATH DEAD
Pretty sure this is the wreck where he got the nickname "Rubberhead" from Dale Sr. Dale saw him in the car right after the crash,his head was pushed forward so he couldn't breathe. Thanks to Dr. Punch and others he got out alive. Dale later said only someone with a rubberhead could survive that!
I'm not sure the roof flaps could have prevent this one because the clip is so shot I can't tell if the car blew over or if it was forced over. The roof flaps can't prevent force overs.
@jin010342 No. He's called "Dr." Jerry Punch because he worked as an emergency room physician before he began commentating in NASCAR as a pit reporter.
He's an okay reporter, not a good commentator, but I have respect for him. He truly cares about these drivers. Would Marty Smith give a rat's tail if a driver was dying. No, he'd want an interview about what happened.
That's why I called it a force over. That's the one kind of flip NASCAR will never be able to prevent. He could have also blew tire on that high banking maybe causing the rim to dig into the pavement and causing the car to flip. Sure it only shows him on the flat part but I don't think this is the whole wreck.
I know, the double M was wrecked while leading at Michigan and just thanked Michael to give him the opportunity to drive. Shows people can change. A lot of young guns aren't bad. Not any worse than the drivers currently in Cup anyway.
he brought them drivers back from the dead. he looked at death and then he said ill knock you out death if you take these man. dr.jerry punch he punched death dead.
ok, maybe his tire blew out and he spun down to the inside, if it happened coming off of the turn, the transition from the banking to the flat could probably have flipped his car.
They arent going fast enough at Bristol to do blowovers in my opinion. I think only 110 or 120 mph isnt enough to flip a car over. he had to have hit something the right way to flip I think.
The wall. Also, since he blew a tire, the force of that alone and the balance it takes out of the car could cause him to flip. The tires are rubber which means they get light in an accident because if the air inside the tire. I guarantee you that and air flow, along with angle hit the wall contributed to him flipping.
Thats how it went it those days, NASCAR loved them (and still does) some Chevorlert and Martin was robbed of costly point that cost him the 90' Cup Championship over a part that gave his car no advantage on the track. Those are the breaks when your racing for a new team and your top contender is NASCAR's homeboy, I'd have been mad too. But every driver on that track today has nothing but great thing to say about MM, especially Tony Stewart
140 mph? I'm not sure they can reach that speed in qualifying trim. This was in the exit of the corner where they are going around 90 - 110 mph (atleast i assume where he got spun). Lol, im still trying to figure out how he flipped because these cars are so low to the ground. The only way i can see it happening is if he lost a tire coming out of the corner, or if he was clipped by another driver in the right spot, or if he hit the wall going sideways and it just turned him.
You must be a new NASCAR fan, you think Mark Martin was arrogant in the 90's. The man help build Roush Racing, 40 Cup wins, 50 + poles, and he dominated IROC and those were built to run equal, do your homework buddy.
Dominated iroc ? PLEASE, can of like your comment about Nascar homeboy, fact is mark Martin was a pu--y therefore was never a champion, dale Earnhardt owned him like he did most of them, Martin was weak face it
@@jcearnhardt393 He probably won't see your comment after his post from 6 years ago. Earnhardt fans always lack intelligence, and have bad grammar apparently. Mark has more championships and wins in the IROC series than Dale. There's no comparison in NASCAR, but there's no comparison in IROC either.
I think Jerry is a GP who also did some emergency medicine, so he knew what to do. Jerry often helped in crash response because he was usually closer to the drivers than the infield care center doctors.
Jerry Punch saved his life. He was among the few people at the scene and noticed Rusty wasn't breathing. Rusty said if it wasn't for him he would most likely be dead.
who here from the dale jr download
I know you
ESPN's Dr. Jerry Punch saved his life.....
Yes he did. Jerry dislodged the piece of food from the airway to clear it and save Rusty’s life.
That happened in 1997 if I remember right... I think it was David Green in the Caterpillar car. He rode up the wall and wound up on his side, but didn't barrel-roll.
people say that mike waltrip or sadler have been in the most/worst wrecks...but rusty's been in at least 4 major flips in his life
This was def. one of those crazy "only at Bristol" crashes.
Rusty is so young here, my gosh!
In the same pre-race interview Rusty commented that there wasn't enough clearance between the ball joint and the right front tire and the ball joint blew out the sidewall of the tire. The car rocketed into the outside wall, driving up the wall and flipping over. The same thing nearly happened to Ernie Irvan in the spring Bristol race in 1989 or 1990.
Hats off to Dr. Jerry Punch who swung into action to keep Rusty alive following this wreck. Otherwise, Rusty would be dead.
rusty was my dude, those were the good ol days
If we didn't have Dr Jerry punch he would be dead
I didn't know a clip existed of this accident.
ahhhh the days before roof flaps :D
Roof flap would have not helped there. The car hit the wall and basically rode up it causing the car to roll. Plus it is a half mile track. There is not enough speed or room for use of a roof flap
@@davidthompson4163 I think he was being sarcastic, especially based on his punctuation.
you don't have to be going fast to roll a car. think about it, cars flip on normal roads going like 40-60mph, and you hit up to 140 at Bristol.
rusty always flipped but came out clean on the other side one of Nascar's greatest
i liked nascar in the 90s when i was a teenager, watched random races, was all bummed out when dale Died, but i REALLY started loving nascar in 2003, rusty was always my guy, unfortunately a couple yrs later, he retired. I became a newman fan! but i wish someday he would Get back in a cup car on occasion like bill elliot does or T-labonte, cause id love to pull for em one more time
HE BROUGHT THEM DRIVERS BACK FROM THE DEAD HE LOOKED AT DEATH AND THEN HE SAID I'LL KNOCK YOU OUT DEATH IF YOU TAKE THESE MEN DR.JERRY PUNCH HE PUNCHED DEATH DEAD
he had an '83 flip at daytona also
If there was ever a stunt driving course for race car drivers, Rusty Wallace and Michael Waltrip are the only two drivers you'll ever need.
Pretty sure this is the wreck where he got the nickname "Rubberhead" from Dale Sr. Dale saw him in the car right after the crash,his head was pushed forward so he couldn't breathe. Thanks to Dr. Punch and others he got out alive. Dale later said only someone with a rubberhead could survive that!
Dale helped pull the windshield out of the car the rest of the way, so the windshield must have come loose during the barrel rolls.
I'm not sure the roof flaps could have prevent this one because the clip is so shot I can't tell if the car blew over or if it was forced over.
The roof flaps can't prevent force overs.
This is true, Dr. Punch saved Rusty's life, and now they work together.
"And this kind of bowel roll..."
It sounds like it, huh?
@jin010342 No. He's called "Dr." Jerry Punch because he worked as an emergency room physician before he began commentating in NASCAR as a pit reporter.
I agree, something happened to him that he couldnt control in the turn because to flip like you are saying, something had to have happened suddenly.
how did he start flipping? Was it because of the weight transfer?
I believe he hit the wall and drove up on his side, and then started to flip
rusty has so many bad wrecks lol. i mean dang.
He's an okay reporter, not a good commentator, but I have respect for him. He truly cares about these drivers. Would Marty Smith give a rat's tail if a driver was dying. No, he'd want an interview about what happened.
got to thank dr jerry punch for his assistance
That's why I called it a force over. That's the one kind of flip NASCAR will never be able to prevent.
He could have also blew tire on that high banking maybe causing the rim to dig into the pavement and causing the car to flip. Sure it only shows him on the flat part but I don't think this is the whole wreck.
It said he cut a tire 3 laps into practice
Bob Varsha was some young looking back then
I know, the double M was wrecked while leading at Michigan and just thanked Michael to give him the opportunity to drive. Shows people can change. A lot of young guns aren't bad. Not any worse than the drivers currently in Cup anyway.
he brought them drivers back from the dead. he looked at death and then he said ill knock you out death if you take these man. dr.jerry punch he punched death dead.
ok, maybe his tire blew out and he spun down to the inside, if it happened coming off of the turn, the transition from the banking to the flat could probably have flipped his car.
Doesn't look like a survivable crash. RIP rusty
He didn't die
@chicagocub1988 its crazy that he was back at the track the next day!!
I guess not underrated anymore. He's a hall of famer.
Why in the hell are their gordon ramsay recommendations to my right?
They arent going fast enough at Bristol to do blowovers in my opinion. I think only 110 or 120 mph isnt enough to flip a car over. he had to have hit something the right way to flip I think.
The wall. Also, since he blew a tire, the force of that alone and the balance it takes out of the car could cause him to flip. The tires are rubber which means they get light in an accident because if the air inside the tire. I guarantee you that and air flow, along with angle hit the wall contributed to him flipping.
Haha, wow. i didnt think you could get going fast enough to roll at bristol, but that was before all the safety bullshit.
What about Mark Martin ???
Thats how it went it those days, NASCAR loved them (and still does) some Chevorlert and Martin was robbed of costly point that cost him the 90' Cup Championship over a part that gave his car no advantage on the track. Those are the breaks when your racing for a new team and your top contender is NASCAR's homeboy, I'd have been mad too.
But every driver on that track today has nothing but great thing to say about MM, especially Tony Stewart
Problem was you were not allowed to mount the part that way.
How do you flip at a short track
@Lhefel45 seriously, rusty is definitely one of the all time greats, but man it seems like he got his car upside down at least once a year haha
140 mph? I'm not sure they can reach that speed in qualifying trim. This was in the exit of the corner where they are going around 90 - 110 mph (atleast i assume where he got spun). Lol, im still trying to figure out how he flipped because these cars are so low to the ground. The only way i can see it happening is if he lost a tire coming out of the corner, or if he was clipped by another driver in the right spot, or if he hit the wall going sideways and it just turned him.
Back then though, they were not that low to the ground. They had ground clearance of a regular car by just under a few inches back then.
You must be a new NASCAR fan, you think Mark Martin was arrogant in the 90's. The man help build Roush Racing, 40 Cup wins, 50 + poles, and he dominated IROC and those were built to run equal, do your homework buddy.
Dominated iroc ? PLEASE, can of like your comment about Nascar homeboy, fact is mark Martin was a pu--y therefore was never a champion, dale Earnhardt owned him like he did most of them, Martin was weak face it
@@jcearnhardt393 He probably won't see your comment after his post from 6 years ago. Earnhardt fans always lack intelligence, and have bad grammar apparently. Mark has more championships and wins in the IROC series than Dale. There's no comparison in NASCAR, but there's no comparison in IROC either.
Muhahahaha Incredible ,can't belive that's VARSHA, tuff crash
@chicagocub1988 is that why he doctor jerry punch????
I think Jerry is a GP who also did some emergency medicine, so he knew what to do. Jerry often helped in crash response because he was usually closer to the drivers than the infield care center doctors.
Russell would have won a lot more races if he had kept all 4 tires on the ground. Just sayin...
Haha Bob Varsha looks funny!!!