NASCAR Driver Wrich Dies From Crash Injuries

NASCAR driver Dwight Wrich died of injuries suffered in a weekend crash at the Crawford County Speedway in Denison, Iowa.

Wrich, of Omaha, Neb., died at about 9 p.m. Sunday at St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Lincoln, Neb. He was 38.

Wrich was injured when his car went out of control, flipped five times and caught fire Saturday night during the O’Reilly Auto Parts Hawkeye 100.

“They got him out as soon as they could, but fuel was pouring all over him,” track operator Howard Mellinger said.

Track officials said Wrich and two other cars were jockeying for the lead at about 100 mph when the accident occurred.

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The Costa Mesa Speedway, site of speedway motorcycle racing for 33 consecutive years, has received a year’s extension of its contract with the Orange County Fair and Exposition Center Board for 2001, according to Brad Oxley, promoter of International Speedway, Inc.

Oxley had said earlier that this would be the final year of Saturday night racing at the Orange County Fairgrounds track because of escalating overhead.

Soccer

Wanderley Luxemburgo was fired as coach of Brazil’s national soccer team, a week after he led the country’s junior team to a poor showing at the Olympics. Brazil was eliminated in Sydney when it lost to Cameroon in overtime, 2-1, in the quarterfinals despite holding a two-man advantage. . . . Estranged Leicester striker Stan Collymore was charged with violent misconduct by the English Football Assn. after a scuffle with an opposing player. Video of the incident shows Collymore stamping on Paul Gascoigne’s thigh after being tackled by the Everton midfielder during a Sept. 24 match. Collymore then appeared to throw an elbow as his opponent shouted at him. The charge calls for a minimum three-match suspension and a fine of two weeks’ wages. . . . Dumitru Dragomir, a top soccer official who has been accused of anti-Semitism by the Anti-Defamation League, was reelected chairman of the Romanian soccer league.

Miscellany

Chris Markwood, a freshman basketball player at Notre Dame, is expected to be sidelined 12 weeks after surgery on his left knee. . . . Antwan Jones, a junior college star expected to play basketball at Cincinnati this season, underwent foot surgery but might be ready by the start of the season. . . . Carrie Bacon of the Wyoming women’s basketball team will sit out the season because of recent back surgery.

Second-seeded Tim Henman of Britain advanced to the second round of the Salem Open at Hong Kong by rallying for a 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory over Harel Levy of Israel. . . . Fifth-seeded Amy Frazier defeated Fabiola Zuluaga of Colombia, 6-2, 6-1, to advance to the second round of the Toyota Princess Cup at Tokyo.

Teddy Mitchell of Alamosa, Colo., has been awarded the victory in Sunday’s Duke City Marathon at Albuquerque after the winner was disqualified because he was helped by a bicyclist during the race. Barner Colmenares of Venezuela finished the race in less than 2 hours 20 minutes. However, he was accompanied by a man on a bicycle who sprayed him with water, handed him water bottles and paced him from behind. Mitchell was awarded the victory with a time of 2:28:24. . . . Frank Thomas, the technical director of the U.S. Golf Assn., resigned after 26 years of leading the organization through sweeping changes in golf equipment. Thomas, 61, is best known for developing the Overall Distance Standard and Indoor Test Range for reviewing golf balls. . . . Boxer Billy Peacock, a leading bantamweight contender while based in Los Angeles in the 1950s, died Friday in his hometown of Philadelphia. He was 67.