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.
...
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."