GR Smith

[BTExpress]

He was back in his own equipment and ran with The World of Outlaws last night at Williams Grove. Unfortunately he got up on two wheels in his heat race and slammed into the guard rail. The incident did not look too bad, but he was taken to hospital for his injuries.

[bleedblue55]

The car took a big hit. Guard Rail ran into the guard rail

[jog49]

I've watched dirt late mode racing for far too long, seen them all, and would rate G.R. Smith very high on the list of SLM drivers who punish their cars for speed; sometimes going over the line. When Dublin Motor Speedway was reopened by Mike McLaurin in the early 2000s, it was a fast 4/10 mile right out of the box and competed with The Dirt Track at Charlotte in qualifying times and speeds. Shaun Beasley, who none of you know but was the first choice for the Dunn-Benson ride) set the first record at 15.28 and Charlotte, at the time, was at 15.27. Charlotte brought in the experts on track prep and their times started dropping while Dublin's record stagnated. Then, Chris Ferguson came in and lowered the record significantly on two separate occasions. That stood for a good while until towards the end of Dublin's life, G.R. Smith came down from Charlote, absolutely blistering the track and knocking the record down in the 14s. In my opinion, any faster and the car would not have stayed on the track at speed. Only one other instance was a car running at a similar speed although not on the clock. Once, Larry Blankenship was very late for a big SLM race with only time to unload in the spectator parking lot and rushing to the track. The owners decided to give him a half dozen courtesy laps for his effort to get to the track. He never lifted for 6 laps and I remember everyone standing up watching with amazement on their faces. I don't know how fast he was going but he was going! Officially though, G.R. burned the place down shortly before it closed. When he had Grandpa's financial backing, he was fast, fast, and more fast. Maybe not today, but he knows only one way to drive a car.

[dirtcrazy4u]

Car got up on 2 wheels, if he doesn't turn the wheel right he was going over. At that speed, he hit the wall pretty square and I'm sure he felt that one. I'll go as far to say that one was junk after that.

[Barbecueboy]

I didn’t know that about Shawn being tabbed for the DB ride….that’s pretty interesting.

Thanks for that info Jog.

[One Man Gang]

According to G.R’s Wikipedia page the G.R is a nickname that stands for Great Racer

[ImCryn2]

When he had Grandpa's financial backing, he was fast, fast, and more fast. Maybe not today, but he knows only one way to drive a car.

He doesn't come across as lacking in the financial department now.

[Jb1390]

I was up on beer hill last night and it was a good loud thud so you could tell it was pretty hard but not nearly the worst I have heard… I ran to food stand and when I got back my father in law told me he was laying on the ground after he got Out the car then they announced that they were taking him to hospital so he must of just hit at the wrong angle or something… seeing Bryan bernhiezel last year at the other end of that track bicycle and flip out of the park and mess up his spine hopefully g.r makes out better for choosing to keep it on the ground

[zyoung25]

Any update on GR? The wreck was similar to Bryan's. They said Smith was complaining of back pain also.

[Dlmfan123]

Any update on GR? The wreck was similar to Bryan's. They said Smith was complaining of back pain also.I heard broken vertebrae in his back

[Rajflyboy]

As I said on another thread I don’t like Armco barriers on dirt tracks. Let’s hope GR Smith recovers from this real soon.

[dirty-white-boy]

I heard broken vertebrae in his back

Maybe having Winger drive your car was not such a bad idea after all?

[ZERO25]

According to his FB, 2 fractures,t11 and 12, and will be fitted for a back brace for 6-8 weeks!

[Rajflyboy]

According to his FB, 2 fractures,t11 and 12, and will be fitted for a back brace for 6-8 weeks!Thanks for the update. Yikes