Drivers fight, end up getting tased after ugly wreck at Indiana speedway
An on-track dispute escalated in a hurry Saturday night, going from simple paint-trading to a police tasing and two arrests.
Jeffery Swinford (black car) and Shawn Cullen (No. 33) were driving in a figure-8 race at Anderson Speedway in Indiana when they collided, sending Swinford to the grass. He responded by challenging Cullen and then driving his car up and onto Cullen’s hood. That doesn’t tend to go over well with a driver, and so Cullen got out of his car to have words.
A police officer arrived, and for whatever reason—the fan video is blocked by the cars from whatever happened next—Cullen ended up on the pavement getting shocked with a Taser stun gun. Police eventually detained both drivers.
“It is absolutely totally, dangerous,” Anderson Speedway Owner Rick Dawson told a local ABC station. “It is a 3500 pound race car going after an individual. It’s no different than a gun or a knife, or a bomb, as far as I’m concerned. It’s going to have the same results of things don’t go right.”
Swinford’s brother and car owner Mike defended Swinford’s actions, placing the blame on Cullen. “You run into us not once, but twice in the same race,” he said. “What are you going to do, back up and quit? It’s racing. Is racing a sport where you are gonna back up and let the other [guy] go because he is beating your car?”
A Madison County (Ind.) prosecutor referenced one of the uglier short-track incidents in recent years. “We’ve seen event with Tony Stewart, somebody got killed in that incident,” said Rodney Cummings. “It’s a dangerous place to be and injuries can occur. Don’t let your temper get the better of you. That would be the moral of the story.”
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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports and the author of EARNHARDT NATION, on sale now at Amazon or wherever books are sold. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter or on Facebook.
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