NASCAR at Talladega

The recent races at Talladega were quite a spectacle. NASCAR and the media were giddy after the races as a result of all the lead changes, the three exciting green-white-checkers it took to decide a winner in the Cup race, and the wild crash at the end of the Nationwide race. I saw things much differently. I saw incredibly close racing that was dangerous to the drivers, crews, and fans.

NASCAR has totally given in to the fan. Television ratings and track attendance is what is driving NASCAR. They have, once again, been lulled to sleep by the safety improvements that seem to have made the drivers, crews and fans immune to injury. The fact is NASCAR has been nothing but very lucky.

What I saw was a demolition derby. When they wrecked, the cars looked like pin balls in a video game. Fans at home and in the stands are so mesmerized by these wrecks that they seem to have lost a sense of just how hard and dangerous these impacts are.

These cars are not foolproof safety wise. The drivers are still vulnerable. The fencing meant to protect the fans will not always hold. A picture of the fence after Dennis Setzer’s impact left me wondering how many fans would have been injured if there were grandstands located near that section of fencing.

NASCAR will continue to roll the dice at Talladega and Daytona until injuries (or worse) happen again. At some point NASCAR will roll craps and charges of blood sport will be heard again. It’s time to lower the banking at one end of these tracks so the restrictor plates can be removed resulting in breaking up the packs of cars. ESPN’s Andy Petrie said that, as a crew chief, he had many times brought cars home “in a box” from Talladega. I contend that NASCAR needs to make changes before it’s the people that are brought home “in a box”.