A blind man could see that restrictor plate racing at Talladega Superspeedway has been a disaster waiting to happen.
Sunday, those of us with normal vision came far too close to seeing that disaster play out, something I pray we never get close to seeing ever again.
For more than 20 years, NASCAR has utilized horsepower robbing restrictor plates on carburetors to make racing “safer” at Talladega and Daytona by slowing down cars and taking speed control away from drivers, essentially making all cars artificially controlled.
In the process, the continued use of restrictor plates has actually made racing, particularly on Talladega’s 2.66-mile, high-banked and high-speed oval, more dangerous. Some have gone so far as to call racing at ‘Dega a tragedy waiting to happen.
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In Sunday’s Aarons 499, we came far too close for comfort – arguably closer than we ever have since plates came into use in 1988. How many more brushes with disaster does NASCAR need? It’s time the sanctioning body finally does something to fix the problem.
Sure, we’ve all ooohed and aaahed at some of the spectacular wrecks that have occurred at ‘Dega over the years. The track could easily start its own Who’s Who of drivers that have had horrific, end-over-end wrecks there, including now-retired Rusty Wallace, Ricky Craven and Bobby Allison, as well as the late Dale Earnhardt, Elliott Sadler, Ryan Newman, and even as recently as Saturday’s Nationwide Series race, when Cup regular Matt Kenseth went on one of the biggest rides of his life.
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Most drivers have even walked away unscathed after their death-defying wrecks.
But Sunday, we barely avoided turning Carl Edwards into a cripple or worse (more on that later), let alone put several innocent fans in the hospital.
“NASCAR just puts us in this box,” Edwards said after the race. “We’ll just race like this until we kill somebody and then they’ll change it.”
NASCAR may have the insolence to think that with all the safety innovations that have arisen since the death of Dale Earnhardt in 2001, that the sport is virtually bulletproof. And watching how Edwards walked away from the most terrifying wreck of his career once again proved just how effective those safety improvements have been.
But Sunday showed tragedy is still possible, not just on the racetrack, but in an area that is supposed to be immune from on-track damage: in the stands.
That several fans were lucky enough just to be injured – and thankfully, not killed – at the end of Sunday’s race is both a miracle and hopefully the wake-up call that chairman Brian France and NASCAR need.
Sure, France or one of his spokesmen can lament that the way Edwards’ car went airborne, almost crashed through the catchfence and showered fans in the first few rows with hot metal, shrapnel and assorted parts and debris was merely a freak occurrence.
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Try to use that as comfort to the families of those fans who went to the track Sunday morning anticipating an exciting race and finish, likely never dreaming that they’d leave later that afternoon in either an ambulance or medical helicopter.
It’s a miracle some didn’t leave in a body bag or hearse.
Sure, NASCAR and speedway officials can fall back on legalese and say that every ticket has a small-print disclaimer that says the sanctioning body, the track and anyone associated with either is immune from negligence or blame in the event of an incident like we saw Sunday.
They can add that fans understand the risk that they’re undertaking when they pull out their cash or credit card to purchase a ticket.
But come on now, do fans REALLY read the fine print? Do they ever in their wildest dreams think that they’ll be injured by flying debris? Of course not. Maybe they might get hit on the head by a beer can thrown by disgruntled fans of a driver, but that’s about as serious as it gets.
I can almost guarantee that many of those fans injured Sunday will likely have spoken to attorneys by tomorrow, and that legal action is likely in the offing – small print/disclaimer on the back of the tickets or not.
But if a good lawyer can poke loopholes in that disclaimer, NASCAR and France could be on the hook for damages for not protecting the fans strongly enough.
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A good place any lawyer might start is the aberration of restrictor plate racing. There’s certainly a ton of precedent, with all the drivers that have experienced barrel rolls and end-over-end flips at both Talladega and Daytona International Speedway, the only two tracks on the circuit that require restrictor plates.
The reason for the requirement is to hold down horsepower and speed, so that cars can “safely” race at speeds approaching 200 mph.
I’m sorry, but there is no place on God’s green earth that ANY type of race car can consistently race “safely” at 200 mph or more, not NASCAR, Formula One or NHRA, where speeds oftentimes close in on 330 mph.
I’ve seen dozens of races at Talladega and Daytona, both in-person and on TV, yet nothing has ever scared me more than what we saw Sunday.
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