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Hamrac Puts Horrific Crash in Past, Looks to Go Back-to-Back in Modifieds 50 Lapper on Friday

By Chuck Corder

It was quite the triumphant scene April 13 at Five Flags Speedway.

Donnie Hamrac accepting hugs around his neck and other congratulations for a season-opening, 50-lap Modifieds win while sharing emotional embraces with family and friends.

Ten months after he suffered one of the most gruesome crashes in track history, the 39-year-old driver from nearby Semmes, Ala., was back at Pensacola’s high banks.

Better yet, Hamrac was standing outside his red No. 8 in Victory Lane with the winner’s trophy clutched in his hands.

Hamrac will try to recreate that memorable script when the Modifieds return for the second 50 lapper Friday night at Five Flags. The winner earns $1,500.

Also returning will be the daredevils on Motorcycles, the Sportsmen and the Bombers when the gates open at 5 p.m. Friday.

Admission to the grandstands is as follows: $15 Adults; $14 Seniors; $12 Military/Students (12-17); $5 Children (6-11); Under 6 is Free. Passes to get into the pits are $25.

Hamrac’s victory culminated a cumbersome comeback from the violent hit he sustained at the top of the track between turn Nos. 1 and 2 during a late model race last June.

Hamrac was trapped and track officials had to remove the roof while emergency personnel tended to the veteran driver.

“As soon as I hit, I knew I was something bad off,� he said.

Hamrac had his senses, thankfully, but his lower back was throbbing unbearably.
“When I hit the wall, I got my marbles straight, caught my breath, looked down, and tried to move my feet and toes because my back was hurting so bad,� he remembered. “I knew I wasn’t paralyzed, and that was a big relief, but it was painful.

“Once we got to hospital and I was told I would be able to walk again, I was all right from there. I knew I could get back in the car. I didn’t know how long it would take, though.�

Twelve weeks. That’s how long Hamrac was laid up for. He had a compressed fracture of his L1 vertebra and was forced to miss 3 months at his job as a service technician at Mobile Gas.

“My back was hurting all the time,� he said. “It still hurts today, but you have to live with the pain. It’ll never be back like it used to be.�

That’s enough to make Teri Hamrac pause every time her husband of 7 years climbs into a stock car.

“She didn’t encourage me, but she didn’t talk me out of it either,� Donnie Hamrac said with a laugh. “She knows what I’m driven to do. I love racing. It’s worse than a drug; it’s addictive.�

Hamrac has raced since he was 15, mostly at his home track of Mobile International Speedway.

He boasts six track championships between Super Stocks and Modifieds series.

Hamrac’s crowning achievement came when he won the Super Stocks Snowball Derby title a few years back.

His April win was his first Modifieds feature win in his long, distinguished career at the famed half-mile, asphalt oval.

He pounced late in the race as the leaders began falling by the wayside because of inexperience and faulty tire management.

Seasoned veterans, such as Hamrac, know preservation is the name of the game at Five Flags.

“Pensacola, you gotta have your stuff at the end,� he said. “Whatever racetrack we go to, you watch Bubba Pollard, you watch Chase Elliott — especially Chase — they sit there and ride and save their tires.

“Then with 40 laps to go, here they come. You could learn a lot watching other people race.�

Young drivers would be wise to watch Hamrac, as well. And not just when he’s on the racetrack.

In the face of adversity and fear, Hamrac remained humble and kept focused through his lengthy recovery period.

He achieved his goal to drive again. Now the nightmare that once was has faded to a blur in Hamrac’s rearview mirror.

“It’s easy to forget about it,� he said. “You have to. Cranked up, I’m more concentrating on the car, hitting my lines, and trying to win the race. I don’t really think about it.�

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