CHEWIN_DIRT
one six MAFIA
Mark Martin's plane blew two tires as it attempted to take off from an Arizona airport, leaving the NASCAR star scared but relieved he was unhurt.
Martin's twin-engine Cessna Citation blew one of its front tires as it was about to leave the runway Sunday night in Goodyear, Ariz., he disclosed Wednesday. Then it skidded, blowing the out the other front tire.
Martin, second in the Winston Cup standings, finished fourth hours earlier in the Checker Auto Parts 500K at Phoenix International Raceway.
``We stopped about halfway down the runway with two flat tires right on the edge of the runway,'' said Martin, whose father was killed four years ago in a plane crash. ``It was a scary ride.''
Martin, pilot Jason Simpson and business manager Benny Ertel were the only people on the plane.
It was the third aircraft mishap involving NASCAR competitors in the past two weeks.
A plane carrying crewmen from Petty Enterprises also blew a tire on takeoff after a test in Phoenix. The plane of points leader Tony Stewart hit a deer while landing to refuel at a rural Texas airport on the way to Phoenix.
There were no injuries in any of the accidents.
Martin said he was sitting in the cockpit with Simpson when he heard a loud thump.
``Jason and I have trained extensively in a simulator for that airplane and had every kind of emergency and malfunction in the air and on the ground,'' Martin said. ``When we stopped, he and I just looked at each other for like, `What happened?' It really happened fast.
At first, Martin thought the left engine had gone out. He and Simpson had trained for that.
``That's typically the most dangerous situation, loss of an engine on takeoff,'' Martin said. ``This was very much like that.''
Martin hitched a ride to his home in Daytona Beach, Fla., in a NASCAR plane while his aircraft was taken for repairs.
``It didn't even really tear up the airplane,'' Martin said. ``But it's been kind of awkward. You forget how reliant you are on your aircraft.
``I had to fly yesterday and (have) got to fly twice on Friday and then fly on Sunday and Monday and Tuesday of next week. I hope we'll have the plane back, at least for next week.''
Martin's father, Julian, the racer's stepmother, Shelley, and the couple's 11-year old daughter, Sarah, died in the crash of a private plane near Ely, Nev., in 1998. The elder Martin was piloting the plane.
Martin trails Stewart by 89 points. They will settle the title Sunday in the season-ending Ford 400 in Homestead, Fla.
Martin's twin-engine Cessna Citation blew one of its front tires as it was about to leave the runway Sunday night in Goodyear, Ariz., he disclosed Wednesday. Then it skidded, blowing the out the other front tire.
Martin, second in the Winston Cup standings, finished fourth hours earlier in the Checker Auto Parts 500K at Phoenix International Raceway.
``We stopped about halfway down the runway with two flat tires right on the edge of the runway,'' said Martin, whose father was killed four years ago in a plane crash. ``It was a scary ride.''
Martin, pilot Jason Simpson and business manager Benny Ertel were the only people on the plane.
It was the third aircraft mishap involving NASCAR competitors in the past two weeks.
A plane carrying crewmen from Petty Enterprises also blew a tire on takeoff after a test in Phoenix. The plane of points leader Tony Stewart hit a deer while landing to refuel at a rural Texas airport on the way to Phoenix.
There were no injuries in any of the accidents.
Martin said he was sitting in the cockpit with Simpson when he heard a loud thump.
``Jason and I have trained extensively in a simulator for that airplane and had every kind of emergency and malfunction in the air and on the ground,'' Martin said. ``When we stopped, he and I just looked at each other for like, `What happened?' It really happened fast.
At first, Martin thought the left engine had gone out. He and Simpson had trained for that.
``That's typically the most dangerous situation, loss of an engine on takeoff,'' Martin said. ``This was very much like that.''
Martin hitched a ride to his home in Daytona Beach, Fla., in a NASCAR plane while his aircraft was taken for repairs.
``It didn't even really tear up the airplane,'' Martin said. ``But it's been kind of awkward. You forget how reliant you are on your aircraft.
``I had to fly yesterday and (have) got to fly twice on Friday and then fly on Sunday and Monday and Tuesday of next week. I hope we'll have the plane back, at least for next week.''
Martin's father, Julian, the racer's stepmother, Shelley, and the couple's 11-year old daughter, Sarah, died in the crash of a private plane near Ely, Nev., in 1998. The elder Martin was piloting the plane.
Martin trails Stewart by 89 points. They will settle the title Sunday in the season-ending Ford 400 in Homestead, Fla.
