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fastfordfan
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After two brutal accidents during Monday’s Sprint Cup race at Watkins Glen International and driver safety complaints, NASCAR president Mike Helton said Tuesday that changes are likely at the New York road course before NASCAR returns next season.
Denny Hamlin slammed a tire barrier head-on at near full speed early in the race, and David Reutimann and David Ragan were involved in a vicious crash – both drivers’ cars hitting guard rails violently – near the end of the race. There were no serious injuries, but the crashes were two of the worst on the tour this season.
After the race, several drivers said more SAFER barriers (“soft” walls in front of permanent barriers) are needed at the track, and Ragan said he had raced at dirt tracks that had safer facilities for drivers.
“What it may be safe to assume is that the configuration of what’s there will be different,” Helton said Tuesday of the Glen.
“There are some areas where a SAFER barrier isn’t the best answer, particularly on a road course where the turns are left and right. On an oval track where the cars are constantly going left, it’s easier to figure out. It doesn’t mean that all the areas that need to be covered are covered, but a SAFER barrier isn’t always the perfect answer.”
Helton said NASCAR works on safety improvements at tracks every season.
“As much as you work on it and anticipate, you can’t anticipate everything that can happen,” he said. “I doubt that there’s any software anywhere that can calculate everything that might come up.
“When you see an incident that we haven’t been able to anticipate based on experience or engineering, we certainly get a lesson in trying to figure out what’s a better solution.”
NASCAR produced some water-cooler talk Tuesday after Monday’s race ended with Greg Biffle and Boris Said yelling at each other – and almost brawling – in the garage area. Said’s contact with Ragan sparked the wild late-race accident that sent cars sailing.
“It’s the nature of sports,” Helton said. “On the morning after a bench-clearing fight in baseball or a fight at a hockey rink or the same thing in football, that’s what the media is going to be showing. That’s the nature of incidents like that that occur, including our own.”
Said threatened to give Biffle a “whupping,” even saying he would go to Biffle’s house to do the work.
“I don’t know how you can react to that,” Helton said. “Obviously, it’s something you have to watch. It’s something that if anything does happen there is consideration for the premeditation of it. But I don’t know how you react to someone’s comments.”
Denny Hamlin slammed a tire barrier head-on at near full speed early in the race, and David Reutimann and David Ragan were involved in a vicious crash – both drivers’ cars hitting guard rails violently – near the end of the race. There were no serious injuries, but the crashes were two of the worst on the tour this season.
After the race, several drivers said more SAFER barriers (“soft” walls in front of permanent barriers) are needed at the track, and Ragan said he had raced at dirt tracks that had safer facilities for drivers.
“What it may be safe to assume is that the configuration of what’s there will be different,” Helton said Tuesday of the Glen.
“There are some areas where a SAFER barrier isn’t the best answer, particularly on a road course where the turns are left and right. On an oval track where the cars are constantly going left, it’s easier to figure out. It doesn’t mean that all the areas that need to be covered are covered, but a SAFER barrier isn’t always the perfect answer.”
Helton said NASCAR works on safety improvements at tracks every season.
“As much as you work on it and anticipate, you can’t anticipate everything that can happen,” he said. “I doubt that there’s any software anywhere that can calculate everything that might come up.
“When you see an incident that we haven’t been able to anticipate based on experience or engineering, we certainly get a lesson in trying to figure out what’s a better solution.”
NASCAR produced some water-cooler talk Tuesday after Monday’s race ended with Greg Biffle and Boris Said yelling at each other – and almost brawling – in the garage area. Said’s contact with Ragan sparked the wild late-race accident that sent cars sailing.
“It’s the nature of sports,” Helton said. “On the morning after a bench-clearing fight in baseball or a fight at a hockey rink or the same thing in football, that’s what the media is going to be showing. That’s the nature of incidents like that that occur, including our own.”
Said threatened to give Biffle a “whupping,” even saying he would go to Biffle’s house to do the work.
“I don’t know how you can react to that,” Helton said. “Obviously, it’s something you have to watch. It’s something that if anything does happen there is consideration for the premeditation of it. But I don’t know how you react to someone’s comments.”
I wish there was a tail-wagging emot. 