How did Ray Hill describe the resulting aftermath of this crash? “I was a martini,” he said. “Shaken, not stirred.”
The melee occurred at Marshalltown Speedway. It started during the IMCA hobby stock heat race as the field made its way on the backstretch.
“I saw the guardrail coming at me — that is the last thing I remember,” Hill, of Marshalltown, Iowa, said. “When I came to, the car was on its side, driver’s side door down. I remember asking the crew to put the car on its tires so I could get out.”
The crash started with contact from another car.
“I do remember getting low, when the car behind me got its nose between me and the outside wall — I left him plenty of room,” Hill said. “In turn two, that car came down a little. I moved down and the car on the inside of me hit my left front.”
That spun Hill straight into the wall head on. Others then hit his car, causing his hobby stock to barrel roll. The crash briefly knocked Hill out.
“Once I got my bearings back, I was okay,” Hill said. “I didn’t want a ride in the ambulance.”
Hill sat in an Ultra Shield full-containment seat, with a RaceQuip five-point harness. He wore a Zamp carbon fiber helmet paired with a RaceQuip neck collar.
After towing his car to the pits, Hill found he had plenty help to load up the wrecked ride.
“Levi, the Marshalltown tow truck guy, picked the whole car up and we backed the trailer underneath,” Hill said. “Really good people — some who I didn’t even know — pitched in to help me tie the car down. My ribs were hurting, so I appreciated the help.”
Hill had been racing his daughter’s car that’s been for sale. He took it to the frame machine this week. The Scott Davis-built chassis incurred damage on all four corners.
“I won my first heat race in that car a week earlier,” Hill said. “We will repair it if we can. If we can’t, I have another car waiting. I will be at the track on Friday night. Racing is just a good time for me.”
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
