By Jenna Fryer
The Associated Press

CONCORD, N.C. - Deborah Renshaw's racing career was on a fast track, pushed along by attention received when other drivers protested against her in a midsummer race.

Now it's taken a terrible turn, one that could halt her career.

Renshaw, of Bowling Green, Ky., set to move up to NASCAR's Busch series next season, was practicing for an ARCA series race at Lowe's Motor Speedway on Wednesday when she broad-sided the disabled car of Eric Martin, instantly killing the 33-year-old driver.

She also was injured in the accident. Renshaw was in fair condition Thursday after undergoing surgery at a Charlotte hospital for multiple fractures in her left foot and ankle.

The accident has raised a flurry of questions, many of them directed at the 25-year-old Renshaw.

Witnesses have said Martin wrecked at least 15 seconds before Renshaw hit him, leading some to wonder if her spotter was aware of the wreck ahead, if Renshaw saw Martin's car, and if she was qualified to be racing on Lowe's 11/2-mile oval.

"With the communication we have right now, it's pretty incredible that something like this can happen," track president H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler said Thursday. "You just don't know what the spotter saw, what she saw, how this could have happened."

Renshaw and car owner Bob Schacht, also her spotter, have been unavailable for comment since the accident.

Martin spun out exiting the fourth turn and the back of his car hit the outside wall. As his car idled on the track, the front pointing down the banking, Renshaw came through the turn going at least 160 mph and plowed into Martin's car on the driver's side.

Because witness accounts estimated Renshaw hit him 15 seconds after his wreck - Martin had radioed his crew "I'm all right" after hitting the wall - it's believed Renshaw probably was exiting the second turn on the backstretch when Martin hit the wall.

"It takes about 30 seconds to run a lap here, so she was probably a half-lap away when he first wrecked," said Winston Cup driver Bobby Labonte. "That's a good distance, and a long time not to know what's up ahead."

Spotters are not required to climb onto the grandstand roof during practice to help a driver navigate the track. Instead, the spotters watch from the top of the haulers inside the infield, leaving them several blind spots. Schacht was on top of the team's hauler, but it's not clear how much of the track he could see.

"When we spot from the trucks, you can't see anything from our location in turns 1 and 2," said Doug Randolph, crew chief for Jimmy Spencer in the Winston Cup series.

Most Winston Cup teams place a spotter on the roof anytime their car is on the track, but crew chiefs still watch over practice from the top of their trucks.

"We've got a spotter up every single time I am on the track, but some teams don't and in ARCA, sometimes the spotter has a lot of other duties to take care of and can't go up on the roof," said Dale Jarrett, whose son Jason races in the ARCA series. "I think it's got to be mandatory that spotters are working from the roofs."

Others wonder if Renshaw was ready to be racing at Lowe's.

She first gained attention in July when fellow drivers plotted to ruin her Late Model Series title chances at Nashville's Fairgrounds Speedway. They pooled their money, had a driver intentionally finish behind her during a race and paid for him to protest her finish.

She was disqualified when her car failed inspection. But the protest led to a ton of attention and caught the eye of Rick Goodwin, who planned to put Renshaw in a Busch series car next season.

So she'd been readying herself by competing in ARCA races - which use Winston Cup-style stock cars and travel 60-80 mph faster than the Late Model cars she was used to driving.

"That's a big jump in speed," driver Ricky Rudd said. "Who's to say if someone can handle that? Who's to say if someone knows how that speed relates on the race track when you're closing in on another car?"

But Renshaw had a successful run at Talladega Superspeedway last weekend - finishing 11th in the ARCA race on the 2.66-mile track.

ARCA president Ron Drager said the series evaluates the racing background of any driver who wants to participate.

"If the level the driver is approved to compete at falls short of where the driver wants to race ... we would then set up a list of things that would have to be accomplished to become approved to race at Lowe's," Drager said.