Posted (09/21/2001) -
After six agonizing months Joe Nonnamaker got a chance to drive at a recent Daytona test.
In March, Planet Earth Motorsports team owner Joe Nonnamaker suffered injuries to his neck after a high speed incident at Homestead International Speedway. Nonnamaker has since made a full recovery, and received his doctor's clearance to drive at Daytona last week.
The race was cancelled due to the September 11th tragedy, but there were there was an opportunity for Nonnamaker to drive in test days on Wednesday and Thursday. Nonnamaker, who normally drives the thunderous USFilter Plant Earth Corvette, chose to make his return to racing this fall in one of the team's fleet of Acura Integras.
Nonnamaker shared with us his impressions of the Acura: "These cars are really fun to drive! The track was still really slick in my first session from rain the day before, but on Thursday the car was stuck to the ground. The Integras are very forgiving, and I really enjoyed driving these cars. It is going to be really fun to drive these cars at Daytona on November 2nd for our rescheduled finale."
Joe Nonnamaker will be joined in the USFilter Planet Earth Driver lineup by his sons, Will Nonnamaker and Wayne Nonnamaker, as well as Bill Pate and rookie sensation Gator Mitchell.