Eddie Marshall Not Slowing Down After Hard Wreck At Lebanon Valley
Column By: BOBBY CHALMERS / RPW – RIDGEFIELD, CT – Eddie Marshall is a veteran campaigner in the Big Block Modified ranks, a former Small Block Champion at Lebanon Valley and someone who’s respected by every driver in the pit area. However, last Saturday evening is a night he would like to forget.
That was because he was involved in a vicious accident during the first of two Modified features which saw him destroy his #98 Modified.
“I slid out into the fence before the pit opening coming off turn four,” he said. “Unfortunately, that turned into the open end of the entrance.”
His Teo Pro Car was then launched across the speedway. JR Heffner narrowly missed having his machine land on the hood of the #74 before others came along.
With Marshall sitting still in the middle of the track, amidst a cloud of dust, the cars of Denny Soltis, Paul Gilardi and Steve Hough were baring down on him. Soltis went right, Hough went left, and Gilardi had no where to go, catching the #98 in the right side door while collapsing the front end on his HigFab Chassis.
Then, everyone else began to pile in.
“I lost the nose of my car (the car pushed) off the corner some before I hit the wall,” he said. “From that point on, I was just glad I was sitting the right way and didn’t see this hits coming.”
Several drivers were collected including Andy Bachetti, Kyle Armstrong, Gilardi, Mike King, Elmo Reckner, Wayne Jelley, Chad Jeseo and Rob Pitcher. Many cars torn up, and while there were some sore drivers, thankfully, all walked away. Eddie is feeling good physically as of Monday afternoon, but the fact that so many were involved really bothers him.
“I knew I was in a bad spot on the track,” Marshall said. “Unfortunately, it put a lot of drivers in just as bad a position. That’s the worst part of the whole situation. I hate what it did to them and I’m really sorry for that.”
Now comes the rebuilding process. The chassis he ran on Saturday is a total loss. A good portion the parts from the car were junk as well. But, a new Chassis was ordered from Teo Monday and the team hopes to be back on track very soon.
“We’ll miss the next race, but our hope is to have it ready for the following weekend,” he said. “We were able to save some parts from the wrecked car and have a lot of good spares ready to go. If all goes well, we’ll be back by the first week of June.”
You’ll never be able to deny the determination of Eddie Marshall. No matter the situation, he always works hard, pushes forward and does his best to come out on top. While he’s liked by his peers, he’s also a true fan favorite. Now there will be even more reason to celebrate the next time he pulls into victory lane.
