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"Doctor in the Pits: The Impact of Jerry Punch"

Posted by nascarman on June 5, 2017

Viewed 44626 times Tweet Jerry Punch worked his first assignment for ESPN at the 1982 Atlanta Journal 500; on Sunday he worked his last. Throughout those 35 years, Punch proved himself as one of the most respected reporters for his skills in front of the camera. But beyond his media work, he became one of the most revered individuals in the racing community for his medical skills as well. In those three decades holding an ESPN microphone, Punch used his knowledge to save the lives of three separate drivers.



On February 9, 1982, 1970 Cup rookie of the year, Bill Dennis was qualifying for the Daytona 500. As he entered turn three, the back of his car stepped out and he spun to the inside. Upon hitting the apron, the car overcorrected and turned hard to the right.



"I knew I was going to die," Dennis said. "I'd seen people killed in wrecks not nearly that bad, so I knew I was in deep trouble. I hit the (engine) kill switch and jammed the brake pedal so hard it broke my foot. Then I got my best hold on the steering wheel."





Dennis is Treated in His Car (Daytona Beach News Journal)



Dennis' Pontiac hit the wall head-on and came to rest at the exit of turn four. The wreck was devastating and by his own account, Dennis was killed instantly. He later spoke of the sensation of leaving his body and floating through clouds toward a white light. His body was removed from the car and rushed to the track medical center where Jerry Punch (then an MRN reporter) and Dr. A.J. Adessa were waiting.



"He didn't have any vital signs of life," Punch said. "There was no pulse, he wasn't breathing and he had that cold, clammy feel. It looked very bleak." After the two physicians administered oxygen and performed CPR for several minutes, Dennis was revived.



"Suddenly, Bill gasped and his eyes shot open," Punch recalled. "He had the most horrified look on his face, like he'd seen a ghost. He couldn't breathe well, he couldn't speak and he couldn't move. He was totally disoriented." Dennis suffered a crushed larnyx, damaged voicebox, dislocated shoulder, broken foot, and other internal injuries. His voice was forever reduced to a soft whisper, but he still lives.







Six years later, Punch was credited with saving the life of NASCAR Hall of Fame member, Rusty Wallace. In practice for the 1988 Busch 500 at Bristol, Wallace cut a tire and hit the fourth turn wall. The car climbed the wall and flipped five times down the frontstretch. Standing on pit road, Punch ran to the crumpled race car and found Wallace not breathing in respiratory arrest.



"Rusty isn't moving, he's unconscious and he's not breathing," Punch described the situation. "The roof was crushed down to about 6 inches, so all I could do was reach through the net and pull his jaw forward with the end of my fingers enough to establish an airway. Dale Earnhardt Sr. sticks his head in the other window and screams, 'What can I do?' I said, 'We've got to get this roof off.' There's blood trickling out of both sides of Rusty's mouth. His chest isn't moving, and I know he's in respiratory arrest."



"That leads to cardiac arrest," Punch said. By the time the roof was cut off, Wallace had begun breathing on his own again and was otherwise uninjured.



"I remember Earnhardt kicking my windshield and trying to jerk it out, yelling, 'Don't die on me now!'" Wallace said. "I don't know how much longer I could have held on. Jerry basically saved my life."





Punch Reaches into Wallace's Car (Photo by J.C. Hayes)



Three months later, Punch saved another driver, this time ARCA racer, Don Marmor. On lap 55 of the season finale race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Lee Raymond hit the fourth turn wall. Out of control, Raymond came across the track and side-swiped Marmor passing to the inside. Marmor's car was redirected and hit the end of pit wall, protected by two tractor tires filled with sand. The force of the impact was much greater than the barrier was built to withstand. When Marmor hit it, the bottom tire collapsed and the top tire nearly went through his windshield. The crash was so severe, it sent the 500 pound tire nearly 50 feet into the air and flipped Marmor's car twice at the entrance to pit road. Punch had been working pit road for ESPN and the race would be aired at a later date. Despite not seeing the wreck himself, Punch was on the way to lend a hand.



"I got about midway down pit road, and I see an ARCA official," Punch said. "I asked him: 'Hey, what happened?' He said: 'A boy hit the pit road wall head-on. He's gone.' I said: 'What?' He said: 'He's gone.' I took off running."



When Jerry reached the car, he climbed through the broken windshield and found the steering wheel was pushed back into Marmor's chest. He quickly opened an airway and inserted an IV into the driver's heart.



"Putting a line to feed a catheter into the heart of a guy sitting in a race car is risky, but you're dealing with life and death," Punch said. He was brought to the infield care center and airlifted to Georgia Baptist Hospital. ESPN cameras captured their employee at Marmor's side as the injured man was wheeled away on a stretcher.







Marmor arrived at the hospital in very serious condition. He suffered fractures of the left leg in 14 places, cracked ribs, a detached retina, a fractured right foot, fractures of every bone in both hands, bruised lungs and loss of memory. He was unconscious for three weeks and was hospitalized until the following March. Marmor never raced again but still lives in Illinois and works as a bodyman.



"I'm very lucky that Jerry Punch was working the race that day," Marmor told an interviewer in 2011. "He got my heart going. It's because of him that I'm still around."



Those three drivers were revived after accidents because of Jerry Punch's knowledge. His reporting career has informed viewers and saved competitors. Whatever comes next for his career, Jerry has left an impact greater than almost all of his peers.



References:

*"Auto Racing." Washington Post. November 21, 1988.

*Doyle, Bill. "Racing's Doctor Will Be Walking Football Sidelines." Telegram & Gazette. December 28, 1989.

*Markus, Robert. "Don Marmor is Finally Back Home." Chicago Tribune. April 2, 1989.

*Miller, Bryce. "How Jerry Punch saved Rusty Wallace's life after 1988 crash." Des Moines Register. June 9, 2013.

*Minter, Rick. "Life in the fast lane: Reporter, physician has been witness to and participant in special moments at AMS." Atlanta Journal. September 4, 2011.

*"Odds & Ins." Chicago Tribune. February 24, 1989.

*Pierce, Al. "Langley to Honor Dead (Almost) Racer." Daily Press. May 13, 1989.

*"WALLACE WINS RACE, ELLIOTT WINS NASCAR TITLE." Chicago Tribune. November 21, 1988.

*Woody, Paul. "Dr. Jerry Punch has finger on NASCAR's pulse." McClatchy-Tribune Business News. September 10, 2010.



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