Gov. Easley Unhurt After Race Car Rams Wall

Gov. Mike Easley slammed a race car into a retaining wall at about 120 mph, crumpling the vehicle but leaving him unhurt and “a little embarrassed.”

Easley, driving the car of Winston Cup driver Jimmie Johnson, hit a wall at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, which is covered with plastic foam to absorb impact. He was wearing a neck and head restraint system that NASCAR made mandatory after Dale Earnhardt’s fatal crash in 2001.

Easley was doing laps to raise money for an anti-dropout program, Communities in Schools.