Track Safety?

Track Safety? – 8 June 2008

I have been to many, many tracks in my lifetime. I have seen dirt track races ranging from modifieds and late models to
midgets and sprint cars (winged and traditional). I have seen pavement races from the local oval or drag strip to the Indy 500
and multiple Nascar races. I can even be found at a tractor pull every now and then. If it has horsepower and makes a lot of
noise, I am interested. No matter where I go, there are some that have a great interest in the safety of the drivers and crews
that come out to put on a show, and some that really lack in this very important area.

My first experiences with racing were at Eldora Speedway. Even back in the day of the king of all racing (Earl Baltes), Eldora
Speedway always had and still has an impressive safety crew. Having come from that background, it had never crossed my
mind that tracks would have anything less than this as I watched cars hurtle themselves, seemingly out of control, around a
track for the entertainment of the fans. As my obsession with sprint car racing grew, I began finding any track I could make it
to and still get back in time for work. My eyes were opened to just how little some tracks seem to care about the safety of
those same important people.

One night, I was working on a winged 360 sprint at a track in Missouri. As the car came powering out of turn 4 and down the
front stretch, the rear brake rotor punctured the fuel cell and bladder on the car. As methanol poured down onto the hot rotor,
the car burst into flames. Until another participant yelled at the track safety crew, they stood and watched in awe as the car
burned and the driver yanked on his belts to get out. As the driver climbed out of the car on fire, another civilian (with no
safety gear) helped get the flames put out on his suit. Meanwhile, the safety crew rolled their dilapidated fire truck to the
scene, unrolled every bit of hose, turned it on, and got nothing. As this all took place, an official with the racing series came
from the pits outside of the track with a fire extinguisher, and put the fire out. The driver was loaded into an ambulance that
didn’t have so much as a stethoscope, blood pressure cuff, or ice packs. He opted to take a trip back to the hauler instead. I
can’t say I blame him.

On another night that same year at a track in Illinois, a driver suffered through some hard flips, slammed into the catch fence
on the pit-side, and landed on all fours slumped over in his seat, visibly unconscious. After an extremely unacceptable
amount of time that brought some very colorful language from the pits, the track safety crew made their way to the car. The
driver was extracted (removed from his seat with a possible neck or back injury), loaded into the ambulance, and taken out of
the track. The ambulance then parked, waited on the driver to regain consciousness, and asked him if he would like to go to
the hospital.

Yet, you go to tracks like Knoxville Raceway, Huset’s Speedway, and the aforementioned Eldora Speedway, and see top notch
safety crews. One must question why this is the case. There is no law that requires safety crews to be competent at a race
track. They are not even required to have the proper equipment. They only have to have “equipment” there. Doug Wolfgang
tried to change it with a lawsuit after his critical injuries, but to no avail. What can be done?

The owners, drivers, and fans have to take a stand, but it has to be a joint effort. If the fans quit showing up to a show
because they do not wish to see an injured driver hurt worse by untrained safety crews, the track will quit inviting that series to
a race or running that class. If a driver refuses to run at a certain track for safety concerns, the owner will put someone else in
the car. If the owner refuses to run at a certain track for safety concerns, the driver may find another ride. Either way, the
fans will still see a race. The group as a whole has to band together to let promoters and track owners know that they will not
accept sub-par safety crews during their races. If the top cars and top drivers refuse to show up at a big money incentive race
and crowds are not showing up to see a small field of people they have never heard of, perhaps the tracks will get the hint.
There is currently no incentive to improve conditions. It is expensive to maintain a safety crew of the caliber of Knoxville, Huset’
s, and Eldora, but it is worth it to see our heroes survive.

-- The Mermaid