Page 2 - Combined_175_OCR
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Sports Editor                          1-D                                  18, 1969




                                                                                   WORDS



                                                                                           Continued From Page 1-D
                                                                                     ' three weeks ago, when Dodge
                                                                                      driver Bobby Isaac complained
                                                                                      of physical discomfort after a
                                                                                      series of tests with Chrysler’s
                                                                                      new racing stock car. the Dodge
                                                                                      Charger Daytona.
                                                                                        ? - < i i re : :>und it difficult
                                                                                       :: see : a the bumpy areas
                                                                                      ~aav running at speeds of 195
                                                                                       a. ; h. plus. As the driver was
                                                                                      not in the car for extended pe­
                                                                                      riods of time, nothing further
                                                                                      was discussed.
                                                                                        But when practice and quali­
                                                                                       fying began at Talladega last
                                                                                      week, new, more alarming
                                                                                      symptoms were reported. An-
                                                                                      u.r-er iSodg?       Charlie
                                                                                      Glotzbach, after pulling into the
                                                                                      pit area, exclaimed, “Hell, I
                                                                                      don’t know where I’m going. I
                                                                                      can’t see.” Pressed further,
                                                                                      Glotzbach admitted that, for a
                                                                                      few brief seconds, he experi­
                                                                                      enced momentary blindness
                                                                                      while going through certain
                                                                                      aaas oc the track.
                                                                                        Tas revelation rang a bell
                                                                                       --bin Bill Wright’s mind. He
                                                                                      recalled that, during the Gemini
                                                                                      test program, astronaut Tom
                                                                                     I Stafford and other personnel
                                                                                     : aboard the test crafts had been
                                                                                     | affected by a temporary loss of
                                                                                      sight, pains in the chest, person-
                                                                                      el discomfort such as nausea
                                                                                          ::na..y, loss of conscious-
                                                                                                            phe-
                                                                                            " came was Arced
                                                                                                    a vibrations
                                                                                                       '  - the
                                                                                      5 — a      :: tne astronauts.
                                                                                       Additional convincing
                                                                                      Tfii r was diiaWiWMMri -Aden. ait-
                                                                                                    raged"11
                                                                                      meh a a record—all but
                                                                                      :r.’-:e lavers s aid they were out |

                                                                                       The unaffected drivers were;
                                                                                      Richard Petty. Cate Yarborough!
                                                                                      arc Ta .T ■  • ?n. Bill Wright
                                                                                      :axaa tn a. because these men
                                                                                      ke a themselves in top physical
                                                                                      condition, they could withstand
                                                                                     I the peculiar stress.
                                                                                        Engineer Bill Wright now
                                                                                     ' elected to telephone astronaut
                                                                                      Stafford at the Houston space
                                                                                      center. Stafford concurred that
                                                                                      me -range physical reactions
                                                                                          ne racing drivers were in­
                                                                                      deed similar to his own experi­
                                                                                      ences in the NASA test vehicles.
                                                                                      His advice to Wright: “If I were
                                                                                      at Talladega, I would not try to
                                                                                      race tomorrow.”
                                                                                        The Ford racing people also
                                                                                      have suggested that Lee Roy
                                                                                      Yarbrough be checked out by a
                                                                                      specialist for any possible after­
                                                                                      effects. Yarbrough might be
                                                                                      sent to the Houston Space Ceil-
                                                                                     1 ter for tests.
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