SPRING VALLEY, Minn.—If you're looking for Joe Duvall when big news breaks, there's one place to check first: The hospital.

Strange as it may seem, the 43-year-old United States Modified Touring Series regular has watched some historical—and tragic—moments in U.S. history play out from a hospital bed.

"Every time I've been in a hospital and hurt pretty good, something crazy has gone on," said Duvall, from Claremore, Okla.

Duvall's racing career didn't begin racing cars on dirt tracks. It began on flat tracks, racing motorcycles.

That career choice led to a hospital bed on multiple occasions, including mid-June, 1994, when he watched the California Highway Patrol and Los Angeles Police Department chase O.J. Simpson's white Ford Bronco across L.A. freeways.

Just more than seven years later, Duvall was in a wreck during a race on the East Coast and wound up in a hospital approximately two hours from New York City. The day after he was admitted to the hospital was Sept. 11, 2001.

"I remember the day before that, I was bored, watching a John Wayne movie marathon because there was nothing else to do," Duvall said. "The next day a friend from California called me and told me to flip the news on.

"I had some friends with me who were planning to go New York City that day. They overslept and didn't make it. It's crazy how those things happen. Divine intervention."

The wrecks, coupled with the time in hospital beds, eventually led Duvall to give up his motorcycle for a dirt modified.

"I wish I'd have done it sooner," Duvall said. "I had a lot of family who raced cars. I grew up in a car-racing family, so I was somewhat of an outlaw. In 2004, I was ready to be done (racing motorcycles) and move on to something else."

Duvall, who has been given the nickname "Big Daddy," said he adjusted somewhat slowly to driving a modified, leaning on family members for advice.

In recent seasons, Duvall has made his mark in the USMTS. He'll be at Deer Creek Speedway this week racing in the 17th Annual Featherlite Fall Jamboree. Racing begins Thursday and runs through Saturday, when the Jamboree champion will be crowned and will drive away with $10,000.

Duvall is one of three USMTS regulars selected this year to be part of the Casey's Crew, a program in which drivers receive extra sponsorship from a product sold at Casey's General Stores and compete in the entire 15-race Hunt for the USMTS Casey's Cup powered by S&S Fishing & Rental. Duvall's No. 91 Modified is sponsored by AMP Energy Drinks.

He sits eighth in the points standings entering the final race and would like to secure a top-10 finish.

"We started The Hunt off a bit behind, for whatever reason," Duvall said. "We had everything prepared, but some nights didn't go our way.

"The last couple weeks we managed to turn some stuff around and get back up into the top 10. It was a major confidence boost to run in the top 10 at Deer Creek (a fifth-place finish on Sept. 5). We've only raced here a few times, but it seems to be a good fit for my program."

Duvall said, win or lose, he enjoys the hospitality of southern Minnesota and the quality facility and track at Deer Creek.

"I've been a racer for a long time," he said. "Before I was a racer, I was a fan. It's a bummer if you don't make the feature because they give you a top-notch track. But even just to watch, it's a great event."