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Associated PressDriver injured when his car strikes wall during Winston Cup practice.
RICHMOND, Va. - Winston Cup driver Jerry Nadeau was critically injured when he crashed in practice Friday at Richmond International Raceway.
The 32-year-old driver did not appear to be moving when he was removed from his car strapped to a backboard. He was being fed oxygen through a bag when he was placed in the ambulance.
NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter said Nadeau's condition was listed as critical at the Medical College of Virginia Hospitals in Richmond.
The Daily Press of Newport News, Va., reported Nadeau had a concussion and broken ribs. The newspaper said doctors would induce a coma so they could better treat Nadeau's injuries.
Nadeau's Pontiac struck the outside wall on the three-quarter-mile oval during the final practice session for tonight's Pontiac Excitement 400. The car skidded, spun halfway around and slammed driver's side first into the wall between the first and second turns.
After several minutes, rescue crews cut part of the roof off the car, climbed inside and removed Nadeau. He was wearing a head and neck restraint device made mandatory in the wake of the death of seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt, who was killed on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500.
Nadeau was taken by ambulance to the infield care center, then airlifted.
PONTIAC 400: Terry Labonte won his first pole in more than three years.
Labonte was surprised when the lap at 126.511 mph he posted early in the session withstood challenges from 31 drivers. It is his 27th career pole and first at Richmond since 1997.
"After I qualified, I thought, "Well, that probably could be a top 10,"' the two-time champion said. "Then, when I was sitting there watching, I thought, "Gosh, this could probably be a top five.'
"Then I got kind of nervous for the last two. I thought, "I'm going to be kind of mad if these two guys beat us. It's so close up there."'
Labonte bumped Hendrick Motorsports teammate Joe Nemechek to the outside of the front row for tonight's race. Nemechek's fast lap was 126.369.
HARDEE'S 250: Kevin Harvick took the lead with 51 laps to go, but he needed a late caution to hold off Scott Riggs and win the crash-filled Busch series event.
An event-record 14 cautions slowed the race for 93 laps, including a crash by Mike Bliss that brought out the 13th yellow flag after 241 laps. After a brief red-flag delay while the track was cleaned, Harvick had trouble pulling away from Riggs in a single-file restart.
But Ron Hornaday's crash with four laps to go ended the suspense. Busch races end under yellow if it comes in the final five laps.
SPANISH GRAND PRIX: Michael Schumacher drove his new Ferrari to the best time in prequalifying in Barcelona.
On a warm, humid day, the five-time Formula One champion was timed in 1 minute, 17.130 seconds on the 2.93-mile Circuit de Catalunya after finishing 15th in the morning free practice.
Prequalifying determines the order of today's official qualifying session. The drivers have one lap to post a time to determine the starting grid for Sunday's race.
Schumacher was driving the new Ferrari model F2003-GA, which made its debut after being delayed after a few crashes. SOUTHERN NATIONALS: Cory McClenathan led Top Fuel qualifying for the NHRA event at Atlanta Dragway. He covered a quarter-mile in 4.607 seconds at 318.32 mph.
Tommy Johnson Jr., Jeg Coughlin Jr. and Shawn Gann also posted top times.
CART EXPANSION: The series is considering staging races in China or South Korea by 2005, and adding a third event in Europe.
"What we're trying to do is create a marketing platform for companies who wish to sell primarily in North America. We can also give them value in Europe and in the Pacific Basin," Champ car series president and chief executive Chris Pook said.
"We believe it's important to come here (Europe) at least twice, maybe three times a year to bring our product over."