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remarked, saying it's not a bad record. "I'd like to have zero."
In 1991, a driver died at the track, he noted.
He said state legislation would "not really” make Virginia drag racing tracks any safer.
"It tears my heart out that this lady ' got hurt,” Curtis said, adding, "I'm glad the little boy's doing better."
Warrenton auto racing enthusiast Lynn Windingland and his wife Judy, though, have grave apprehensions about the safety of the Sumerduck Dragway, which is more than 30 years old.
"Racing is a.risky sport. There is no doubt that there's risk," said Windingland, "but when you look at it from a spectator safety perspective, Sumerduck falls short."
Mrs. Windingland agreed, "You never expect a spectator accident like that," she said. '
The couple's son races at Sumerduck, and was in line to race soon after the wreck occurred. "I would have expected to see him break his car before a 36-year-old woman spectator die," Mrs. Windingland said.
The crowd was "stunned," according to Mrs. Windingland. "You don't expect to go out on a Sunday afternoon to a racetrack and see a car flip onto people," she said.
"It sure makes me nervous, and I can tell you right now .. I want to be sure that if my son's going to race, he’s at a track with some safety measures."
Numerous attempts to reach representatives from the race track were unsuccessful as of press time.
Bill Holt of the National Hot Rod Association — which inspects the track to determine whether it meets their safety standards — said he does not know when the track was last inspected.
He refused to discuss the matter further. "The incident's currently under investigation. I can't comment," he said.
The Windinglands stressed that they know a safe race track when they see one, having been auto racing enthusiasts for 30 years. "This is not just some people in the community complaining. We were there. We saw it. We've been there before," Windingland said.
"It's certainly my opinion that the track should be closed." Mrs. Windingland said, calling Sunday's fatal wreck "an accident that did not have to happen."
The couple explained that there are a number of unsafe conditions at the track, stressing that the only barrier standing between the track and the audience is a short, metal guard rail and a
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