NASCAR’s Roush injured in Wisconsin plane crash
By CHRIS JENKINS, AP Sports Writer
7 hours, 12 minutes ago
MILWAUKEE (AP)—NASCAR team owner Jack Roush was in serious
but stable condition after walking away from a plane crash in
Wisconsin on Tuesday night.
“There are injuries. Possible surgery,” Roush Fenway
Racing president Geoff Smith said in a text message to The
Associated Press. “But he walked out of the plane.”
Smith confirmed that the plane belonged to Roush, and he was flying
it. Smith said Roush’s injuries include facial
lacerations.
Roush, an aviation buff, was attending the Experimental Aircraft
Association’s annual AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wis., this
week.
In a statement on the EAA Web site, officials said a Beechcraft
Premier business jet registered to Roush Fenway Racing, LLC was
involved in a landing accident at Wittman Regional Airport in
Oshkosh.
The accident occurred at approximately 6:15 p.m. CDT, the statement
said.
According to the EAA, the National Transportation Safety Board and
Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department confirmed that two
occupants on board were Roush and Brenda Strickland of Plymouth,
Mich. Strickland is a friend of Roush’s.
“Each exited the aircraft following the accident,” the
statement said. “Both were transported to local hospitals,
with Roush in serious but stable condition and Strickland with
non-life threatening injuries. The NTSB is leading the
investigation into the accident.”
According to a statement from the team, Roush was landing his plane
when the accident occurred.
“Dr. Kevin Wasco, the attending physician, says that Roush is
in serious but stable condition,” the team’s statement
said. “His injuries are not life threatening.”
It is the second close call for Roush, who crashed a plane into a
pond in Alabama in 2002 and nearly drowned before being rescued by
an ex-Marine who lived nearby. Despite sustaining serious injuries,
Roush continued flying.
Roush owns several aircraft, including a World War II-vintage P-51
Mustang.
After having success in dragsters and sports car racing,
Roush—a former Ford engineer and college physics
teacher—founded his NASCAR team in 1988. Known for his
trademark Panama-style hat, academic speaking style and love for
tinkering with anything mechanical, he won championships in
NASCAR’s top series with Matt Kenseth in 2003 and Kurt Busch
in 2004.
Since 2007, Roush has partnered with the Fenway Sports Group, the
sports marketing arm of the Boston Red Sox’s parent
company.
The team currently fields cars in the Cup series for Kenseth, Carl
Edwards, Greg Biffle and David Ragan.
"For when the One Great Scorer comes
To write against your name,
He marks-not that you won or lost-
But how you played the game."
-Grantland Rice