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Changes with spotters could be coming soon
October 11, 2002
6:48 PM EDT (2248 GMT)
NASCAR migth mandate spotters during practices
Jeff Burton says that it should be against the rules to race back to the line under a caution flag. Credit: Autostock
CONCORD, N.C. (AP) -- NASCAR is looking into ways to prevent the type of accident in which ARCA driver Eric Martin was killed on Wednesday at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
Martin spun during a practice on the 1.5-mile oval and hit the wall. He radioed his crew that he was not injured as his car slid to a stop on the banked track. About 15 seconds later, a car driven by Deborah Renshaw, slammed into his driver's-side door at about 160 mph, killing Martin instantly.
Renshaw was in a hospital Friday with multiple fractures in her left foot and ankle.
Several NASCAR drivers have said that a spotter on the roof, or caution lights spaced around the race track or inside the race cars, like the ones used in the Indy Racing League, might have saved Martin's life.
NASCAR, which is not affiliated with ARCA, requires spotters during races, but not during practice.
"We are looking at the possibility of putting some sort of mechanism in the car," Jim Hunter, vice president of communications for NASCAR, said Friday. "(Managing director of competition) Gary Nelson is looking at that and doing some testing with it.
"With spotters, we're certainly looking at that after the other day. Some teams use spotters during practice and some don't. We're going to have to decide whether we're going to mandate it or highly require it," Hunter added.
Burton: 'There is no gentlemen's agreement'
Jeff Burton, one of NASCAR's most active safety proponents among the drivers, said, "I'll be a bit of a hypocrite and say I think a spotter ought to be in the spotters' stand (at the highest point of the grandstands) at all times during practice.
Jimmy Spencer would like to see safety lights added on the track walls and in the cars themselves. Credit: Autostock
"Have I had a spotter in the spotters' stand during practice? No, I haven't. But we will from now on."
He endorsed the idea proposed by fellow driver Jimmy Spencer: putting a series of safety lights in the corners and in the cars, as well.
"In every incident that we have, we've got to have as many things as possible go wrong to have the wrong thing happen," Burton said. "So improving the lights at the race tracks, I think, is a good idea. Being able to know that the driver hears and sees that there's a problem on the race track, that's a good idea."
Burton also said NASCAR needs to change the rule allowing competitors to race to the flag stand after a caution flag is displayed.
"The same thing that happened here the other night could happen on Sunday," he said, adding that a so-called gentlemen's agreement to slow down and hold positions when a caution comes out does not work.
"There is no gentlemen's agreement," Burton said. "People race back to the (finish) line. You'll be racing for sixth and the guy will beat you to the line for sixth with 50 laps to go, and it only takes two or three people to screw it up for everybody else."
He said NASCAR needs to step in and make a hard and fast rule.
"If they catch you racing back to the flag, I think they ought to penalize you five laps," Burton said. "I think there ought to be a rule because, if they don't make a rule, we'll never do the right thing. Your competitiveness overrides your brain and you end up putting yourself and your competitors in situations you don't need to be in."
Burton also pointed out that keeping a driver safe in the type of side impact experienced by Martin would be very difficult, if not impossible, to do.
"I've said a thousand times, safety is a moving target," Burton said. "You'll never hit it, never get there. The key is to get to a point where we don't have to have these conversations based on tragedy.
"When you're on the race track and you get impacted the way he got impacted, that's a hard thing to combat. We can't say that we can't do it, we just have to keep working to figure out how to do it better -- and we can't focus on any one type of impact.
"There are a lot of different ways to get hurt in the race car," he added. "There's fire, there are things coming in the race car. There are a lot of situations and ways to get hurt, and we've got to focus in on each and every one of them."
Changes with spotters could be coming soon
October 11, 2002
6:48 PM EDT (2248 GMT)
NASCAR migth mandate spotters during practices
Jeff Burton says that it should be against the rules to race back to the line under a caution flag. Credit: Autostock
CONCORD, N.C. (AP) -- NASCAR is looking into ways to prevent the type of accident in which ARCA driver Eric Martin was killed on Wednesday at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
Martin spun during a practice on the 1.5-mile oval and hit the wall. He radioed his crew that he was not injured as his car slid to a stop on the banked track. About 15 seconds later, a car driven by Deborah Renshaw, slammed into his driver's-side door at about 160 mph, killing Martin instantly.
Renshaw was in a hospital Friday with multiple fractures in her left foot and ankle.
Several NASCAR drivers have said that a spotter on the roof, or caution lights spaced around the race track or inside the race cars, like the ones used in the Indy Racing League, might have saved Martin's life.
NASCAR, which is not affiliated with ARCA, requires spotters during races, but not during practice.
"We are looking at the possibility of putting some sort of mechanism in the car," Jim Hunter, vice president of communications for NASCAR, said Friday. "(Managing director of competition) Gary Nelson is looking at that and doing some testing with it.
"With spotters, we're certainly looking at that after the other day. Some teams use spotters during practice and some don't. We're going to have to decide whether we're going to mandate it or highly require it," Hunter added.
Burton: 'There is no gentlemen's agreement'
Jeff Burton, one of NASCAR's most active safety proponents among the drivers, said, "I'll be a bit of a hypocrite and say I think a spotter ought to be in the spotters' stand (at the highest point of the grandstands) at all times during practice.
Jimmy Spencer would like to see safety lights added on the track walls and in the cars themselves. Credit: Autostock
"Have I had a spotter in the spotters' stand during practice? No, I haven't. But we will from now on."
He endorsed the idea proposed by fellow driver Jimmy Spencer: putting a series of safety lights in the corners and in the cars, as well.
"In every incident that we have, we've got to have as many things as possible go wrong to have the wrong thing happen," Burton said. "So improving the lights at the race tracks, I think, is a good idea. Being able to know that the driver hears and sees that there's a problem on the race track, that's a good idea."
Burton also said NASCAR needs to change the rule allowing competitors to race to the flag stand after a caution flag is displayed.
"The same thing that happened here the other night could happen on Sunday," he said, adding that a so-called gentlemen's agreement to slow down and hold positions when a caution comes out does not work.
"There is no gentlemen's agreement," Burton said. "People race back to the (finish) line. You'll be racing for sixth and the guy will beat you to the line for sixth with 50 laps to go, and it only takes two or three people to screw it up for everybody else."
He said NASCAR needs to step in and make a hard and fast rule.
"If they catch you racing back to the flag, I think they ought to penalize you five laps," Burton said. "I think there ought to be a rule because, if they don't make a rule, we'll never do the right thing. Your competitiveness overrides your brain and you end up putting yourself and your competitors in situations you don't need to be in."
Burton also pointed out that keeping a driver safe in the type of side impact experienced by Martin would be very difficult, if not impossible, to do.
"I've said a thousand times, safety is a moving target," Burton said. "You'll never hit it, never get there. The key is to get to a point where we don't have to have these conversations based on tragedy.
"When you're on the race track and you get impacted the way he got impacted, that's a hard thing to combat. We can't say that we can't do it, we just have to keep working to figure out how to do it better -- and we can't focus on any one type of impact.
"There are a lot of different ways to get hurt in the race car," he added. "There's fire, there are things coming in the race car. There are a lot of situations and ways to get hurt, and we've got to focus in on each and every one of them."
