Restrictor Plates

NASCAR must find a way to slow the cars at Talladega and Daytona other than restrictor plates. Once again, on Sunday, tragedy was narrowly avoided. Seven people in the stands were treated for injuries. The catch fence held this time. If you watch the replay you can see the angle that Carl Edwards’ car hit the fence was not as direct as it could have been, more like a glancing blow. It’s scary to think what a more direct hit might have done.

Carl’s quote after the race says it all: “NASCAR puts us in this box and we’ll race like this until we kill somebody, then (NASCAR) will change it.” I think Carl was referring to the drivers. Two ‘big ones’ decimated the field and then this one at the finish probably made Carl feel lucky that he could climb out of his car and run to the start/finish line. I wonder if Carl has received a ‘talking to’ from NASCAR about his comment.

There is no doubt that restrictor plate racing was largely responsible for the death of Dale Earnhardt Sr. Cars cannot run together at those speeds without making contact. It’s as simple as that. Dale’s death made NASCAR belatedly address safety problems that had been around for years. The introduction of soft wall technology and the use of better restraining devices certainly have reduced driver injuries. But, NASCAR has not addressed the restrictor plate racing problem.

There are two reasons for that. First, there is no simple, cheap solution. If there was, NASCAR might feel compelled to implement it. Second, we fans have liked this close racing far too much. Some of the best attended and most watched racing is at Talladega and Daytona. Are we blood thirsty? Do we dare give critics more ammunition when they say that NASCAR is just a blood sport?

I’m a big believer that ‘rubbing is racing’ in full bodied stock cars. But, contact cannot be made when racing with restrictor plates. I used to hold my breath watching those races, now I just wait to see which of my favorites are going to be knocked out of the race, many times for no fault of their own.

The only reasonable solution put forth so far is to knock down the banking at one end of those two tracks. The idea is that drivers will have to slow down so much for the lowered turns that restrictor plates will not be needed. It will be an expensive solution. International Speedway Corporation (ISC) owns both tracks, and since NASCAR and ISC are, more or less, one in the same, I don’t expect any action unless more fans speak up. I hope NASCAR doesn’t wait for serious blood to be spilled or for more deaths to occur.