This weekend at EchoPark Speedway, like every other NASCAR race, each car making a pit stop must adhere to the speed limit while traveling on pit road. This is nothing new for drivers, teams and fans in the current era. Pit road speed limits have been a part of the sport throughout its recent history.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t always the case, and the origin of the rule can be traced directly to a tragic event that happened on pit road at the suburban Atlanta racetrack nearly 35 years ago.
Racing, by definition, is a contest of speed and in the early years of NASCAR, pit road was no exception. Cars would dive off of the track and come rocketing down towards their crew as fast as they could, only limited by the need to stop in the correct stall to be serviced. Often they didn’t, and sliding through their pit box was a common mistake, particularly among new, inexperienced competitors.
In hindsight, the practice seems absurd and borderline foolish. But crew members would remain perched behind the concrete pit wall, only exposing themselves when they were servicing their team’s car, so the risk was seen as minimal. Like so many other situations, things were thought to be all right until everything went terribly wrong.
Atlanta Motor Speedway, as it was known then, was in the fourth year of serving as the season finale, a tradition that continued through 2000. It was a 1.522-mile oval with two straightaways of equal length and a pit road that was separated from the racing surface by only a concrete wall.
As the series headed to the track in November 1990, Dale Earnhardt was closing in on his fourth NASCAR Cup Series championship. But with Mark Martin only six points behind him prior to the start of the final race of the year, naturally all of the attention centered around the only two drivers with a mathematical shot at the title.
The race began innocently enough, with Davey Allison, Rusty Wallace and Earnhardt trading the lead early on and a couple of minor incidents bringing out the caution. During the second caution on lap 58, there was another incident, this time on pit road.
Daytona 500 winner Derrike Cope completed a pit stop and, as he pulled away, collided with Brett Bodine. Both cars sustained damage, but neither lost control and no crew members were involved.
Then the race settled into a lengthy green-flag period, as the next 222 laps ran without interruption.
On lap 293, Earnhardt pitted while leading and took on two tires and fuel in just over 12 seconds. Interestingly, he emerged back on the track just ahead of race leader Bill Elliott, meaning that he made a green-flag stop on a 1.5-mile speedway without going a lap down. Not an unusual feat for the era, but it likely would be for anyone accustomed to watching racing after the implementation of pit-road speed limits.
Then on lap 297, Rick Wilson spun in turn 4, producing the third and final yellow flag of the race. With only 30 laps to go, the field headed to the pits to prep the cars for the run to the finish.
Race leader Elliott stopped in his box first, and the crew began working to change the right-side tires. As ESPN cameras transmitted the picture to a live television audience, Ricky Rudd‘s car was seen sliding sideways in the background. Rudd’s car slammed into the passenger side of Elliott’s car, knocking the visible members of the Elliott crew to the ground.
But just out of sight of the camera’s view, rear tire changer Mike Rich was on his knees, removing the right rear tire. Rich wound up underneath Rudd’s No. 5 Chevrolet when the collision occurred.
More than a dozen members of various teams rushed to the scene to try to get Rich out from under the car. As the gravity of the situation became apparent, the camera trained on the chaos panned up just slightly in a merciful attempt to spare viewers of what was certainly a disturbing visual.
In mere moments, the car was lifted up and Rich was freed. Longtime pit road reporter Dr. Jerry Punch was part of the ESPN broadcast that day and among those who attempted to render aid. After a few minutes, Rich was loaded into an ambulance taken to the infield care center and eventually flown to an area hospital.
Shortly after, Punch relayed the seriousness of the situation on the broadcast, as jackman Tommy Cole had been injured as well. While Punch identified Cole on the air, he referred to Rich only as the rear tire changer. He said that Rich was conscious at first, implying that he had lost consciousness at some point.
Bob Jenkins, also part of the ESPN presentation, lamented what he felt was a recent spike in similar incidents. He spoke about the potential for eliminating the competitive element of pit stops and having cars maintain their positions throughout the process. Regardless of the method, Jenkins implored that something be done.
Video replays showed that there had been no contact to initiate the spin. Rudd had approached his pit normally, and when he attempted to brake, the rear wheels locked up. This left Rudd with no control of the car as it slid toward Elliott’s helpless and completely unaware pit crew.
Rich died at an area hospital a few hours later from cardiac arrest brought on by his injuries. Ironically, the 32-year-old had earned that spot on Elliott’s crew after his predecessor had been injured in a pit road accident in 1987.
On the heels of the tragedy, NASCAR put an end to cars pitting at full speed. Starting in 1991, all sanctioned events would have a pit-road speed limit, to be determined by NASCAR based on the size of the track. Thankfully, there has not been another crew fatality on pit road since the loss of Mike Rich.
Frank Velat has been an avid follower of NASCAR and other motorsports for over 20 years. He brings a blend of passionate fan and objective author to his work. Frank offers unique perspectives that everyone can relate to, remembering the sport's past all the while embracing its future.
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