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Gatorade Spill Red Flags Race

MUDCAT FALLS -- Saturday night's feature race at the Spider Rapids Speedway saw a revival of the running blood feud between drivers Humpy McCoy and Fireball Richards heat up as the two tangled, jockeying for the lead and those precious points in the season's neck-and-neck Cup competition. Amidst the smoking wreckage, the two came to blows in the middle of turn four which forced race officials to red flag the rest of the field to a stop.

"That sum bitch took me out on purpose," fumed Fireball, as it took three of his pit crew to hold him back from throwing another fusillade of punches at his arch rival's helmeted head. "The Baghdad Bar-B-Q Thirty-One Car was running circles around that snake. I had him fair and square on a low line and he came down on me."

"Aw shucks, it's just racin', ya all," responded Humpy with a grin and a chuckle, chomping on his ever present Tip-O-Rillo while deflecting the gloves, water bottles, and lug nuts tossed at him by Fireball from his pit area. "The Tornado Alley Power Co-Op Ford was running good, especially on the long runs, and the Twenty Car crew was on top of their game. I reckon we were just getting on Ol' Mr. Fireball's nerves a bit. He should learn to relax a bit and enjoy life."

When asked about what appeared to be flipping Fireball "the bird" as he passed him on lap 73, Humpy said, "I was just tryin' to tell him he was still Number One in my heart."

Humpy leads Fireball by a slim sixty-seven points in the series championship. Their animosity dates back to the 1992 Falls Firecracker 250, when Humpy appeared to block Fireball's pit box during the race's final splash-and-dash, giving him the lead and eventually the victory in the Independence Day classic. Fireball's crew chief protested, but race officials refused to black flag Humpy because of the incident. Fireball T-boned Humpy on his way to Victory Lane, earning him a two race suspension. The two have not spoken directly to one another since.

Amid the cursing, finger pointing and flying Craftsman tools, a fan stepped forward to apologize for accidentally spilling his son's red Gatorade off the retaining wall and onto the track surface of the back straight-away, causing Humpy's car to get loose and clip Fireball's Chevy. "I was just reachin' for my Bud and didn't really mean to do it," explained Eddie Dixon with his thirsty son Mason at his side. "But damn that was one hell of a wreck."

Fireball's car rolled seven times before bouncing up and over Humpy's Ford. He was unhurt, except for minor cuts and abrasions on his knuckles from attacking his helmeted nemesis. Boom-Boom Messina eventually won the race after the restart.

A spokesman for Gatorade denied that the sports drink represents a road hazard, but expressed appreciation for the attention their product has received as a result of this incident.




©2002 MFTHPPPGT




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