After Totaling his one-and-only car, 21-year-old Adam Bates of Warner has been aboard a loaner for two weeks in the Pro All-Stars Series and decision time is nearing. Could one crash in this economy end an asipring pro’s career?
Two weeks ago, Bates held the PASS championship points lead for the first time in his three touring pro seasons. He was headed for a likely top-three finish at Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway with 20 laps to go when disaster struck.
“Rubbin’s racin’” and that’s what Bates was doing when he cut a tire and crashed into the wall. Thompson is one of the fastest tracks for the high-horsepower, fiberglass-bodied pro stock series.
“I’ve never hit that hard,” said Bates, who was unhurt. “It was a pretty blunt blow. It shook me up.”
“Everything was crunched,” he continued. “The frame was pushed right up to the engine. The headers were torched, the valves broke. It caught on fire because I broke the fuel pump. It was just a bad scene, bad luck.”
“I’d love to make the next step into NASCAR Camping World East or trucks or ARCA, anything but they’re all money, money, money,” said Bates, a reality he now knows initimately.
“I want to win more than anything, just because of what happened,” he said.
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