More details emerge in beating of Mike Wallace, including 911 audio tapes

56 Comments

The youngest of three men arrested in the beating of Mike Wallace and his family struck Wallace in the face, while the oldest of the trio kicked Wallace’s daughter, according to court records.

Also Tuesday, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police released audio tapes of three 911 calls that included one person saying “there’s blood everywhere.’’

An attorney representing Lucas Lawn & Landscaping, which employed one of the three men arrested, issued a statement that it has been unfairly treated by the public and that “(Mike) Wallace and his supporters intend to have this matter resolved in the court of public opinion.’’

Wallace was beaten in a parking lot after attending the June 17 Rascal Flatts concert at PNC Music Pavilion in Charlotte, North Carolina. His daughter and her husband also were beaten.

A Magistrate’s Order state that 29-year-old Paul Lucas, who was charged with a misdemeanor assault on a female, kicked Wallace’s daughter, Lindsey, in the ribs, left arm and leg. She shielded her father after he was knocked to the ground.

Court records state that 22-year-old Nathan Lucas, charged with misdemeanor assault, struck Wallace in the face with a closed fist.

Court records state that 24-year-old Randolph Taylor Magnum, charged with misdemeanor assault, struck Mike Wallace’s son-in-law with his feet and hands.

Paul Lucas, Nathan Lucas, and Magnum all face July 22 court dates.

Wallace has stated that he spoke to those parked nearby, asking them what they thought of the show when one member of that group became belligerent. Wallace asked what that person’s problem was and was struck shortly after that.

Wallace and his daughter were taken to a local hospital where they were treated and released. Wallace, who has made more than 800 NASCAR starts but not raced since Feb. 2015,  posted pictures of his bloodied, bruised and bloated face after the incident.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police released three 911 calls related to the  incident. In one, a person reported a fight and stated “they said there’s blood everywhere out here.’’

In another 911 call, a person said: “There’s a huge fight.’’  Another call reported a “big-ass fight.’’

PNC Music Pavilion issued a statement Tuesday that it has terminated its services with Lucas Lawn & Landscaping.

“We were saddened by the regrettable events that took place on Friday, June 17.  Upon learning that the offensive actions were taken by patrons who also happened to be employed by Lucas Landscaping, one of our service providers, we took swift and immediate action to terminate services provided by Lucas Landscaping at PNC Music Pavilion.”

Lucas Lawn & Landscaping issued a statement through attorney Kenneth A. Swain, condemning the treatment it has received since the incident.

The statement did not say which of the three men arrested works for the company. Paperwork filed with the North Carolina Secretary of State listed Paul D. Lucas Jr. as president of the company. The Charlotte Observer reported that the accused Paul Lucas is the son of the company’s president.

The statement read:

On Friday, June 17th one employee of our company was accused of being involved in an assault upon one Mike Wallace and Lindsey Wallace Van Wingerden.  Since that time Mr. Wallace and various other individuals have chosen to post statements, comments and opinions regarding the circumstances on social media websites.  This has resulted in verbal attacks upon our business, suggestions that our clients abandon our company and innuendo regarding our business that we believe is designed to both frustrate the proper administration of justice within our court system and prevent our company from continuing to do business where we employee (sic) over 70 individuals who work hard and depend upon their jobs to support themselves and their families.

This situation arose at an event that did not involve our business or the operation of the business in any way.  The efforts being made to disparage our business and negatively impact its hardworking employees is both disturbing and uncalled for.  This is, in our opinion, a mechanism being used to point blame at those who had no involvement in the matter and, simultaneously, deflect any inquiry into the actions and behavior that may have occurred at the time the situation arose by those making the accusations.

Our company takes the actions of its employees, both on and off the clock, seriously and we plan to diligently and appropriately evaluate all of the accurate and undisputed information.  However, we respectfully ask that those who rely on social media postings and one sided representations of fact CONSIDER the motivations behind those efforts.  No one at our business would expect those who patronize the business of another to vilify or otherwise judge that business based upon what are solely accusations and finger pointing at any one or more of their employees.  We feel certain that if a similar situation were occurring to Mr. Wallace, he would be asking for a fair and reasoned approach that included both sides of the equation, not just the one desired by the complaining party.  We ask that a rational and objective assessment of the matter be considered before taking actions, as suggested by others, that would harm our professional activities and the families who gain support from our business operations.

We are saddened that we have felt the need to engage in this release but it does, unfortunately, appear that Mr. Wallace and his supporters intend to have this matter resolved in the court of public opinion.  This is NEITHER FAIR NOR appropriate for any of the parties involved to include mr. Wallace himself.  This is especially true related to our business which had absolutely no involvement in the matter.  We hope that the public will do as we intend, by gathering facts that are properly vetted.

Our company supports our system of justice and believes that it will operate in an unbiased and objective manner in determining just which individuals may have been at fault in this situation.  As suggested above, we believe that efforts to undermine our system, including the verbal attacks on our business, should be viewed dimly and questioned wholeheartedly.

Listen to the 911 calls below:

NASCAR Saturday schedule at Sonoma Raceway

0 Comments

Cup and Xfinity teams will be on track Saturday at Sonoma Raceway.

Cup teams will practice and qualify for Sunday’s race. Xfinity teams will qualify and race Saturday on the 1.99-mile road course in Northern California.

Sonoma Raceway

Weather

Saturday: Mostly cloudy with a high of 75 degrees. Forecast is for mostly cloudy skies, a high of 71 degrees and no chance of rain at the start of the Xfinity race.

Saturday, June 10

(All times Eastern)

Garage open

  • 12 p.m. – 8 p.m.  — Cup Series
  • 1 p.m. — Xfinity Series

Track activity

  • 3 – 4 p.m. — Xfinity qualifying (FS1)
  • 5 – 6 p.m. — Cup practice  (FS2)
  • 6 – 7 p.m. — Cup qualifying  (FS2)
  • 8 p.m. — Xfinity race (79 laps, 156.95 miles; FS1, Performance Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Alpha Prime Racing’s road woes don’t keep team from competing

0 Comments

SONOMA, Calif. — Alpha Prime Racing owner Tommy Joe Martins laughs. He can. His Xfinity Series cars all are here at Sonoma Raceway.

At one point last week, it was not certain if his team’s cars would make it to Portland International Raceway.

“It was probably the toughest professional week I’ve had of my NASCAR career,” Martins told NBC Sports on Friday at Sonoma.

MORE: Kyle Larson leads Xfinity practice at Sonoma

The Alpha Prime Racing team had both its trucks break down and one of its haulers have mechanical issues last week on the way to the Pacific Northwest.

“We basically sent four pieces of equipment on the road and three of them broke,” Martins said.

For a time, the car Sage Karam is driving this weekend at Sonoma was left in a hauler in Kansas City because there wasn’t room in the dually Martins sent. It had room only for the car that was needed at Portland and other equipment. Karam’s car, which was to be a backup at Portland, was left behind.

“It’s a very helpless feeling when you feel like your stuff is stuck on the side of the road,” Martins said.

He still has one truck still in St. Louis and another in Oregon. Martins estimates the mechanical issues will cost his team about $50,000 when everything is totaled.

Trouble started well before the team left its Mooresville, North Carolina, race shop for Portland.

The Xfinity Series race at Charlotte was scheduled to run May 27. Rain forced that event to be rescheduled to May 29. Martins said the team had planned to send its trucks to Portland on May 28. With the race pushed back to the 29th, the travel schedule tightened.

It got worse.

After the Xfinity race started, rain came. With the Coca-Cola 600 scheduled for 3 p.m. ET that day – after being delayed by rain from Sunday – the rest of the Xfinity race was pushed back until after the 600. That further tightened the window on Xfinity teams to make it to Portland.

The Xfinity race ended around 11:30 p.m. ET on May 29. Alpha Prime Racing’s haulers left the shop around 6 a.m. ET on May 30.

The two trucks traveled together until issues in St. Louis.

The truck hauling the Nos. 44 and 45 cars had engine issues in St. Louis. The other truck kept going until it had mechanical issues with its hauler in Kansas City. The air bags on the hauler failed.

So, Alpha Prime Racing had a truck that worked in Kansas City with a hauler that didn’t and a truck that didn’t work in St. Louis with a hauler that did.

The truck in Kansas City went back to St. Louis to attach to the hauler and take those cars and equipment to Portland. Martins then had to find something to haul the stranded equipment in Kansas City and a driver. He eventually did. A dually left North Carolina for Kansas City. Once there, what fit in the dually was taken to Portland and what didn’t, including Karam’s Sonoma car stayed behind.

Yet, more trouble was headed for Martins and his team.

The truck that had gone back from Kansas City to St. Louis to take hauler that worked then broke down about 200 miles from Portland.

“I laugh knowing that we’re on the other side of it,” Martins said Friday of all the issues his team had transporting cars and equipment across the country.

“We’ve started to make plans and corrections for it not happening again,” he said.

That hauler that was left in Kansas City? It was repaired and transported to Sonoma, arriving earlier this week.

“Our guys are troopers,” Martins said. “Both of our (truck) drivers were just awesome about the whole thing. … They went through hell week as far as driving somewhere, fly back and pick something up, drive again and now are going to have to do the same thing getting back.”

When the garage opened Friday at Sonoma, Alpha Prime Racing had all its cars.

“I don’t think we had any major issues here, so that was good,” Martins said.

The focus is back on the track. Karam was 24th on the speed chart in Friday’s practice, leading Alpha Prime Racing’s effort. Dylan Lupton was 32nd. Jeffrey Earnhardt was last among 41 cars.

After Saturday night’s race, the team heads back to North Carolina for a well-earned weekend off.

Kyle Larson leads Xfinity practice at Sonoma

0 Comments

SONOMA, Calif. — Kyle Larson posted the fastest lap in Friday’s Xfinity Series practice at Sonoma Raceway.

This is the first time the series has raced at the 1.99-mile road course in Northern California. Teams got 50 minutes of practice Friday.

Larson led the way with a lap of 90.392 mph. He was more than a second faster than the rest of the field.

MORE: Xfinity practice results Sonoma

Sheldon Creed was second on the speed chart with a lap of 89.066 mph. He was followed by AJ Allmendinger (89.052 mph), Cole Custer (89.020) and Ty Gibbs (88.989).

Larson, Allmendinger and Gibbs are among seven Cup drivers are entered in the Xfinity race. Aric Almirola was seventh on the speed chart with a lap of 88.750 mph. Ross Chastain was ninth with a lap of 88.625 mph. Daniel Suarez was 16th with a lap of 88.300 mph. Ty Dillon was 33rd with a lap of 86.828 mph.

Anthony Alfredo will go to a backup car after a crash in practice. He was uninjured in the incident that damaged the right side of his car.

Qualifying is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET Saturday. The race is scheduled to begin at 8:20 p.m. ET Saturday.

Anthony Alfredo’s car after a crash in Xfinity practice Friday at Sonoma Raceway. He was uninjured. (Photo: Dustin Long)

Saturday Sonoma Xfinity race: Start time, TV info, weather

0 Comments

The Xfinity Series will compete for the first time at Sonoma Raceway this weekend. This is one of eight road course events on the Xfinity schedule this season.

Seven Cup drivers are scheduled to compete in Saturday’s race, including AJ Allmendinger, Kyle Larson and Daniel Suarez, who won last year’s Cup race at this track Allmendinger has won 11 of 25 career road course starts in the Xfinity Series.

Details for Saturday’s Xfinity race at Sonoma Raceway

(All times Eastern)

START: Golden State Warrior Patrick Baldwin Jr. will give the command to start engines at 8:08 p.m. … The green flag is scheduled to wave at 8:20 p.m.

PRERACE: Xfinity garage opens at 1 p.m. … Qualifying begins at 3 p.m. … Driver introductions begin at 7:35 p.m. … The invocation will be given by Earl Smith, team pastor for the Golden State Warriors and San Francisco 49ers, at 8 p.m. … The national anthem will be performed by 9-year-old Isis Mikayle Castillo at 8:01 p.m.

DISTANCE: The race is 79 laps (156.95 miles) on the 1.99-mile road course.

STAGES: Stage 1 ends at Lap 20. Stage 2 ends at Lap 45.

STARTING LINEUP: Qualifying begins at 3 p.m. Saturday

TV/RADIO: FS1 will broadcast the race at 8 p.m. ... Coverage begins at 7:30 p.m. … Performance Racing Network coverage begins at 7:30 p.m. and can be heard on goprn.com. … SiriusXN NASCAR Radio will carry the PRN broadcast.

FORECAST: Weather Underground — Mostly cloudy with a high of 72 degrees and a zero percent chance of rain at the start of the race.

LAST TIME: This is the first time the Xfinity Series has raced at Sonoma.