NASCAR Safety Team

[spivey]

Do you think it's about time NASCAR started it own safety team to watch over the drivers at the track. Other series have full time safety teams and you would never hear one driver from any of those series complain about them. Who is more qualified to respond to the accidents than paramedics and doctors who understand G forces and know about the types of injuries caused by motorsports. For instance, CART's safety team is comprised of paramedics and doctors, with the ratio more to the doctor side. If you're not either one, you won't be on the safety team. They travel with a complete trama center that they could do emergency surgery if they had to. All medical files of the drivers go with them race to race so they know exactly whats up with any driver. Some well know Dr's have come from the open wheel ranks who specialize in motorsport injuries. Dr. Terry Trammel, Dr. Steve Olvey, and Dr. Henry Bock who has rebuilt many a driver. If it wasn't for people like these guys, there would be more dead drivers and several who had limbs amputated because of the inexperienced doctors who would have looked after them. At the Brickyard 400, I must commend Tony George for having the IRL safety crew there to look after the drivers. I'm sure some of the drivers would prefer these guys to locals who are probably inexperienced in G force injuries and extracation from a stock car. NASCAR needs their own team to look after these guys properly. Any opinions???

 

[PettyBenson]

I agre they do need there own group that travels to the tracks week after week. Heck have 2 diffrent groups and have them alternate weeks, that way its easier for them to work at there own hospital for 2 weeks then go work for NASCAR during the weekend!
But it is time for a safety crew!

 

[Oldgoat]

The safety crews are long overdue. The days of relying on local parmedics should be retired. Nascar is suppose to be a big time sport now and can be expected to provide that much to the safety of the drivers. Especially considering what they are getting from the TV deal. The 2 teams would be good idea also. Actually on a 2 mile or bigger track it would probably take 2 teams to provide a reasonable response time. I also think though that the racing back to the flag should be retired also so that the safety teams can get to the accident sooner.

 

[Whizzer]

Originally posted by Oldgoat@Aug 8 2003, 01:14 PM
I also think though that the racing back to the flag should be retired also so that the safety teams can get to the accident sooner.

WHAT ??????

And do away with the "gentlemans agreement" ?????

Retiring the race back to the flag would do just that and then, (GASP) what would the multicar teams do if one thier own is a lap down.
(sarcasm intended)

And yes, sarcasm aside, I agree with you. Do away with the racing back to the flag. Even with the "gentlemans agreement", the lapped cars are racing to the front and through the pack to get thier lap back. And the one lap down drivers present as big if not a greater danger than the front-runners racing back after the caution.

This racing to get the lap back, for some strange reason, is acceptable but why??? Especially when the logic for starting the "gentlemans agreement" in the first place was to place safety as the main concern. Revert to the last lap positions, screw the "gentlemens agreement", or get modern wwith the scoring devices and line them up where they were on the track when the caution flew.

As for NASCAR safety crews to attend every race, Jeffs Burton and Gordon have been very outspoken on this issue. Doubtful it is falling on deaf ears but NASCAR is not an organization to jump into a change until all avenues are explored.

 

[spivey]

For safety also, I'd like NASCAR to adopt some technology the IRL uses. Yellow lights in the cars that coinside with those on the track. As soon as the yellow is displayed, all racing ceases and cars slow down so the safety crew can immediately respond to an accident. No waiting for the gentlemens agreement with racing back to the line, no waiting for the cars to slow, no waiting for the pacecar to pick up the field. What a novel idea the IRL has. safety first, then the racing, which is why the CART and IRL safety teams are usually at an accident scene in seconds before the driver has even had a chance to unbuckle his belts. I wonder if Bobby Labonte and Ken Schrader would have prefered that to what they ended up with when both were on fire. Seemed like no one was there to help either one. Think of where Alex Zanardi would be today if NASCAR would have responded to his accident that severed his legs instead of the CART safety team.