Driver Critical After Accident At Galesburg Speedway

GALESBURG (Newschannel 3) - A West Michigan race car driver is in critical condition after crashing his car head-on into a wall at the Galesburg Speedway.

It happened Saturday night when 45-year-old Donnie Nelson was driving his own late-model race car in a race. He was just crossing the finish line when it's believed something in his car locked up, and he was unable to stop.

Rescue crews were able to get to Donnie in seconds, but that couldn't undo the damage caused by the accident -he is battling severe spine ad skull injuries.

Now, Nelson's family is waiting and hoping he can pull through.

"He touched the brakes, just going too fast, then the throttle stuck, went even faster," said Don Nelson Sr., Donnie's dad.

Seconds later, Don Sr. watched helplessly as his son's car plowed into a wall.

All drivers racing at the Galesburg Speedway are supposed to wear a five-point helmet and five-point harness, but Don Sr. says his son didn't have a neck brace.

Ralph Warning, the speedway owner, says Donnie's injuries are similar to those that killed NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt.

"We've had accidents like this, but not that bad, this is the worst we've had," he said.

Warning says that drivers know the dangers that go along with racing, but it's a passion.

"It's in the adrenaline, it's in your blood," he said. "Once you are in, you never lose it."

Donnie's dad agrees, that his son lived for the power and thrill of it all.

"That's what he wanted," said Don Sr. "He loved to race."

After Dale Earnhardt died, NASCAR made it mandatory that drivers wear head and neck support devices, referred to as hans devices. But Newschannel 3 was told by racers at Galesburg Speedway that only some drivers use the devices at the track.

Now Warning says he's considering how to better promote the use of safety equipment for drivers.