Donovan Williams presented with Hendrick Motorsports Spirit Award by Chad Knaus, FOX’s Amanda Busick

CONCORD, N.C. – The Hendrick Motorsports Spirit Award is bestowed only on rare occasions.

Certainly, the sacrificial and heroic actions of crewman Donovan Williams made him deserving of such an instance.

On May 16, teams were setting up for qualifying in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series at Dover Motor Speedway when a pit cart weighing around 4,000 pounds broke loose and barreled toward FOX Sports pit road reporter Amanda Busick. Williams quickly jumped in front of Busick, taking the brunt of the blow as the cart toppled both of them to the ground before coming to a stop. The incident left Busick with bumps and bruises while Williams was taken to the hospital for a deep laceration as well as significant road rash on his hand.

The Spirit Award is highly regarded within Hendrick Motorsports. It’s reserved for extraordinary effort, impact, and results that are exceptional. It’s a reflection of the meaningful difference the recipient has made to Hendrick Motorsports and the people around them.

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Preparing to return to the track this weekend with the No. 7 Spire Motorsports team as the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Michigan International Speedway, Williams was surprised and presented with the Spirit Award presentation during an athletics department luncheon on Wednesday afternoon in the Atrium Health Motorsports Athletic Center on the Hendrick Motorsports campus. Vice president of competition Chad Knaus gave an opening speech and was followed by the team’s athletics director, Evan Kureczka, who announced Williams as the recipient.

“He went ahead and put his life at risk to help someone else that could’ve been injured severely,” Kureczka said. “Not everybody in that time is going to necessarily do that. You may be more worried about yourself, your family but Donovan took the time to worry about a person he didn’t even know at the time, and he wanted to make sure she was going to be OK.”

Kureczka then introduced Busick, who made a surprise appearance at the event alongside her mother, Donna. Taking the microphone, Busick read an emotional text message from Donna from later that evening. The two were on the phone when the incident occurred:

“I am so in awe that he risked his life and so grateful that he saved yours. It had to have been the most frightening experience for you. It was terrifying for me,” Busick read. “I am forever thankful that he acted so quickly without thought for his own safety. He will forever be my hero – I love you, sweetheart and I can’t imagine what life what have been like if that had happened to you. I would never be the same again.”

It was one of several emotional moments from Wednesday’s ceremony. After receiving his prize, Williams spoke to HendrickMotorsports.com.

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“At first, when it happened, it was one of the scariest moments for myself, personally, and I know the shock that Amanda was probably in as well,” Williams said. “When it initially happened, I was just lying there, hearing the comments around me. ‘There’s a lot of blood, I see bone.’ I didn’t know what it could’ve been.

“Once I was able to get moving and realize I would be OK, it was a relief. But just the entire process, the entire event has been surreal because my intention was never to be a hero. I was just reacting in a sticky situation, and I can’t take too much credit. I thank God it wasn’t worse for anybody.”

The tale is certainly a harrowing one for Busick.

“Honestly, it’s the longest half-second of your life because literally, your brain is looking for any possible exit strategy,” Busick said. “I had a tire wall on one side of me, I had other things on the left side – there was nowhere to go. And I see Donovan fighting as hard as he can but that pit box with speed, there was nothing he could do. He was trying to hold it, get me out of the way, we collect and slid probably five-to-10 feet and come to a stop. Donovan is on top of me, the pit box is on top of him and then you try to slow down and take inventory of yourself – am I OK?

“Then, I’ll never forget, above me on my right side is [Spire crew chief] Brian Pattie and he reaches down and pulls me out of the carnage and then you’re just sitting there confused. And that’s when I came to and remembered that I’m on the phone with my mom, and so then I’m also searching for my phone because I know she’s terrified. But the whole thing, it’s so fast but so slow at the same point. I guess that’s what adrenaline is but I’m good for my one near-death experience, so we can move on from those.”

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Quickly, a video of the incident went viral on social media and reports quickly spread. After his stint in the hospital, Williams was back at home in time to watch the NASCAR All-Star Race, which took place at Dover the day after the incident.

Surrounded by his mother, wife, daughter and a family friend, it began to dawn on Williams the significance of what he’d done and the reach it was having across the sport and beyond.

“I’m recovering, watching the All-Star Race and they had mentioned my name a few times and it’s pretty cool to be mentioned in a positive light that way,” Williams said. “Seeing all the comments and everyone reaching out to me via text and on Instagram – teammates, friends, family – it was super heartfelt.”

As for Wednesday’s proceedings, Williams said he was in the dark, even as Knaus and Kureczka explained the award and its significance to the pit department before introducing him as the winner.

“Extremely surprised, that was not my list,” Williams grinned. “I was thinking it could be anybody in the room and it’s only my fourth year, so I was thinking more of someone with more experience, who’d done more community work – something like that. It was super surprising.”

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As for Busick, there was never a doubt that Williams’ actions that day warranted such an honor.

“I found out two weeks ago that I was going to come in town and how they explained to me the Spirit Award,” Busick said. “It’s to recognize a good deed or excellence within the company and hearing more about the award, there’s no question to me that Donovan deserves it but also, that he gets the recognition of his employer and coworkers too is really cool.”

Now, life is set to return to normal for Williams. Even still wearing bandages on his right hand, he’s been cleared and is excited to get back onto pit road and back with his teammates.

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While everyone involved with the incident has come out OK, Williams’ example of noble sacrifice is one that won’t be forgotten anytime soon. And while it may have won him an award, Williams had some final, parting words to help ensure that such occurrences remain a rare, freak accident.

“Just be as smart as you can be, understand your surroundings and circumstances with where you’re working at the track,” Williams concluded. “Our job is to move equipment. Big, heavy equipment each and every weekend – set up, tear down in postrace, and there’s so much going on – on pit road. Be as diligent as possible.

“And unfortunately, if somebody is in a situation like that, just try to make sure everyone around you is safe, yourself included, and do the best job you can do.”