ATHENS, Ala. -- KVRA driver Roger Brewer was seriously injured in an accident at car owner Tom Richardson's Athens, Ala., shop Tuesday morning.
A winch slipped out of gear, allowing the liftgate on Richardson's hauler to fall. Brewer tried to get out of the way, but was hit by the gate. He suffered a broken femur, broken ankle and crushed vertebrae. He was in the intensive care unit at Huntsville (Ala.) Hospital, where he was transported by air ambulance, Tuesday night.
KVRA competitor Larry Bailey, also of Athens, said it appeared Brewer may be paralyzed from the waist down.
"We're just keeping him in our prayers," Bailey said. "It just makes you sick. It's just such a freak thing."
Brewer drove in the 2009 season opener at Paducah (Ky.) International Raceway April 3. He finished second in a heat race, but slipped to 13th in the feature when the No. 261 car, a 1935 Plymouth coach with an inline 6-cylinder Ford engine, began spewing steam.
Bailey said they believed the engine had blown a head gasket, and were preparing to unload the car Tuesday morning to work on it when the accident happened.
Brewer began competing in KVRA events in 2007, the series' inaugural season. He won four heat races last season and posted five top-five finishes in 10 feature race starts. His best feature finish was second, at Clayhill Motorsports in Atwood, Tenn., on Sept. 13.
Brewer, 54, is a veteran racer with a track championship title to his credit at Thunderhill Raceway in Summertown, Tenn., in 2006. He is a second-generation racer. His son, Randy, competed in two KVRA events last year, winning a heat race at Checkered Flag Speedway in Hohenwald, Tenn., in Bailey's No. 89 1933 Chevrolet sedan.
Brewer has two other children, son Mark and daughter Olivia.
ATHENS
Let us keep Roger in our thoughts and prayers
We are Roger's nephew, neice, great niece, and great nephew. For anyone who has ever known Roger you know like us that he is an awesome, giving, plain spoken, loving, and wonderful person. He loves people and has an unreal ability to communicate with children.
Roger is taking all of this with unbelieveable strength and gratefulness. He told us, "Don't you cry about this, girl! The Lord has been good to me and I will just have to play the cards he dealt me."
We love him dearly and are very thankful to see that there are hundreds more people that see just what a wonderful person he is.
We are in the process of creating a blog that will keep everyone up on his progress.
He is now in Atlanta at a rehabilition center for 4 to 6 weeks. He says, "If it is possible, I Will Walk again. If not then I will adjust." He seems to be so
accepting of the whole situation. So we all have no choice but to do the same! He's a sweetheart. We love him very much. Thank you all for the outpouring of support for him and all of us.
Todd, Anna, Jessy, and Preston Clemmons
Sorry to hear about your accident. Hope you are feeling better soon. If there is anything that I can do, please let me know. Hopefully you will at the Duck River racetrack soon. I wll try to keep from wrecking old No. 7 and will give you and Ozzie Howard a salute at the start of the race. I wll keep you in my prayers.
I love you, Uncle Roger and hope we can get down there to see you soon!!
We now have Uncle Roger an email and myspace page setup! His e-mail address is rogerbrewer261@yahoo.com
He seems to really be enjoying it in the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Georgia!
I had a nice conversation by phone with Roger last night. He is making progress and he has an absolutely inspirational attitude. He is one heck of a great guy, as the comments above this one suggest, and we miss him dearly at the track.
Likewise, we miss Tom Richardson and the 261 car that Roger drove. I also chatted with Tom and assured him that the KVRA family knows he was a victim of the accident the same as Roger. We are keeping both men and their families close to our hearts, just waiting impatiently until they're back in action with us again.