Mcduffie `Loved To Race' -- Nascar Veteran Killed In Glen Crash

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. - J.D. McDuffie started 653 NASCAR Winston Cup Series races, fifth most all-time, without winning.

Yesterday, he died in a violent crash during a race at Watkins Glen International.

McDuffie, 52, of Sanford, N.C., was remembered by members of Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt's team - crew chief Kirk Shelmerdine and Danny "Chocolate" Myers.

"Poor ol' J.D. He just loved to race so much," Myers said. "He kept trying, although he never quite had enough money or the right equipment to be competitive. J.D. was just a good ol' likable, easygoing boy who minded his own business. And that makes this all the sadder and tragic."

Said Shelmerdine: "If there was a race, J.D. was always there, trying his best to make the field. If there was a race, J.D. was there, just like the air."

Television replays appeared to show that McDuffie's left front tire came off, triggering a 160-mph slide off the track at the end of a long straightaway.

His car skidded through the grassy area in turn No. 5 and flipped into the air. The driver's side slammed into the tirewall and adjoining guardrail before the vehicle came to rest on its roof.

McDuffie was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy was scheduled today to determine the specific cause of death.

The race was red-flagged for 1 hour, 48 minutes after the crash.

Ernie Irvan overcame a stiff challenge from Mark Martin to win the race.

NOTES -- Ayrton Senna of Brazil drove his McLaren-Honda to victory in the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest, pulling away from Britain's Nigel Mansell in the last 25 laps.

-- Chip Hanauer of Seattle and John Morton of El Segundo, Calif., teamed to finish fourth in the two-hour Firestone Firehawk Endurance Championship at Watkins Glen.

-- Monte English of Port Angeles, a second-year NASCAR Winston Northwest Tour driver, won a race in the All-American Challenge series for late-model stock cars Saturday night in Portland.