July 22--ANTIOCH -- A driver remained in serious condition Sunday after his winged sprint car crashed late Saturday night during a race at the Antioch Speedway.
Peter Murphy, of Clovis, was airlifted Saturday night to John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek, where he was listed in serious but stable condition Sunday afternoon.
Murphy was racing as part of the King of the West 410 Series, named for the 410-cubic-inch engines that power the compact, winged cars. The event is held at the Contra Costa County Fairgrounds.
Crowds in the bleachers stood up, alarmed as they witnessed the rollover, with one man saying, "that's not good, that's not good," according to video footage captured by onlookers.
Lead
racers were on their 15th lap of the oval course around 9 p.m. when Murphy's car rolled over, said witness Andrew Redman.
Though he did not see the impact, Redman said parts of the wing of the car "flew high into the air, and when everything stopped moving (the car) was upside down on the outside of the entry to the first corner."
"I assume he lost control on the front straight and contacted the wall," Redman added.
The race was immediately stopped, and several fire trucks and ambulances arrived, Redman said. Firefighters extricated the driver from the car after cutting off a large portion of the top of the roll cage.
Organizers did not restart the event after the crash.
Staff writer Katie Nelson
contributed to this report.
Copyright 2013 - Contra Costa Times
