What was Fox NASCAR broadcaster Darrell Waltrip thinking last Saturday night? How could he brush off an accident that injures seven spectators as nothing more than a routine occurrence at a sporting event?
Start with the crash by Carl Edwards during a Sprint Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway on April 26, when his racecar went airborne at about 200 miles an hour and slammed into the fence sending debris flying into the stands. Seven fans were hurt, including one who sustained a broken jaw. It was arguably one of the worst accidents in NASCAR in years.
Yet on Saturday night's Fox broadcast of the Sprint Cup race at Richmond International Raceway, Waltrip actually compared the wreck to a foul ball going into the stands in baseball, a puck flying out of the rink in hockey or a basketball player running off the court to chase an errant ball and landing in the lap of a fan sitting in the front row of an arena. As if it's all part of the ticket price and experience for fans attending sporting events.
In case Waltrip doesn't remember, three fans were killed at an IRL event at Lowe's Motor Speedway in 1999 when a crash sent debris into the stands. That's what can happen during a race if there isn't adequate protection. How often do multiple deaths occur from a baseball, hockey puck or basketball player leaping on a fan? By the way, when a fan was killed by a hockey puck in 2002, the NHL didn't brush it off. The league raised the minimum height of the glass around the rink and raised the netting above as well.
After the Talladega accident, Edwards argued something should be done by NASCAR to avoid that kind of wreck in the future. And Speedway Motorsports Inc. chairman Bruton Smith told reporters earlier this week that tracks need upgraded fences.
Edwards and Smith understand something that apparently is lost on Waltrip: Fans shouldn't have to risk death to attend a race.
Comments
Very nice! Can't wait to read more of your stuff!
I became a race-fan at age 4. Now i'm 40. If it goes fast and turns left I'll go watch. At age five I watched a sprint car kill the driver and flagman at the local track. Fans injured too. My dad told me after, that's why we dont sit down low. Fans assume a certain risk by attending a race, and at many tracks, the ticket or ticket window sign says so. You can't prevent everything. People need to look at where NASCAR tracks used to be and some local tracks still are. I consider NASCAR top-tier tracks safer than any I've attended anywhere, and much better than they they used to be. I applaud everyone's concern and things can always be better, but if you're going to get on a soapbox of safety, your local short-track is a much better target than Talledega. I've witnessed an Indy Car wheel reach 80 feet before it crossed the fence. No fence would have stopped it. If you move the fan's back, they'll complain they're too far from the action, guaranteed. I do not condone anyone minimizing fan injury or death, but as long as there are fans at tracks, there is risk.
NASCAR has a pretty good safety record as far as fan deaths are concerned. IRL fan deaths are irrelevant to NASCAR. As far as I know, NO fan deaths have ever happened at a NASCAR Sprint Cup or Winston Cup event.
Randall - with all due respect, regardless of the form of racing any death or injury to a driver or fan IS relevant to all other forms of racing. Bad things can and do happen at race tracks. Always have. Always will. The key is to minimize the risks. Each time something bad happens, everyone needs to stop and learn from it. What DID happen? What was awfully darn close to happening? What happens if you change Carl's speed just a little? His angle of attack on the fence a little? A little higher on the fence? Etc. I have worked in the racing business for a lot of years...NASCAR/IRL/CART/NHRA. I remember in 1999 when two CART drivers were killed. A lot of NASCAR media, fans and people within the industry were saying..."Those cars are dangerous. That would never happen in NASCAR." Then we lost Adam. Then we lost Kenny. But that was the track's fault. Then we lost Tony Roper. Then we lost Sr. It was not until Sr died that most people really woke up. YES, it DOES happen in NASCAR. The fact that someone was not killed at Talladega has more to do with luck than anything. Whatever hit the young lady was hard enough and heavy enough to break her jaw. If that piece hits 3-5 inches higher, it could have caused a serious head injury or worse. As the saying goes..."there but for the grace of God go I."
Over the 20th century there were an estimated 35 people killed while in attendance at a MLB game, countless more were injured after being hit by foul balls. It is true that only a handful of those deaths were caused by foul balls, most are due to structural failure, but they are deaths none the less. There are also documented cases of people dying from hockey pucks, I believe a little girl died at a Blue Jackets game after being struck in the head. There are no documented deaths that I can find of people dying from being struck at a NASCAR race. I think it is ridiculous of you to claim that these other sports cannot be compared, when clearly people actuall have died! Furthermore, NASCAR has not seen a wreck where a car entered the stands since 1987. It seems like a big stretch to claim that NASCAR is anymore dangerous than baseball or hockey. 35-40 balls enter the stands at every MLB game, a car ALMOST enters the stands once every 22 years. Luckily the safety measures worked, and no one sustained an injury more serious than a broken jaw.
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