By now, you have probably heard about what happened Saturday night during the IRL race in Charlotte. Three people were killed when a major wreck flew debris into the stands. This was a terrible way to end the race needless to say, but I support the decision to end the race. No one could watch and enjoy it after three people were killed and several others were injured. What I had a problem with was during our local news when they interviewed one of the victim's dad. He wanted to see an end to racing basically. I know that under the conditions, I would probably be that bitter as well. One wreck, shouldn't be the end of anything. I know that this man, destroyed by the loss of his son, would be close to impossible to tell this to, but I am not gearing this article to him. I am sorry that these people have died. I don't want anybody to think otherwise. Just because this wreck happened, is no reason to end IRL competition. As a race fan, you might not realize it, but you are taking a risk by sitting in the stands. I have battle scars from our local tracks. Yes, I'm one of those "crazy people" who sits on the front row as much as possible. I have watched a car drive the fence and sparks burn my legs. I have been hit with parts of a shattered hood. I have also been splattered with parts of the wall which was chipped away by a Nascar All Pro car. This is a risk that I take, willingly I might add. If anything happens to me I see it like this, I wasn't forced to sit there, and no one else takes responsibilty for me. Back to my previous arguement, no one told these people to buy tickets for this race. Much less held a gun to their heads to make them watch. If you know anything about the IRL cars, they are called "break away" cars, they hit the wall and verything just well....breaks away. Susupension parts, tires, and whatever else fall off and land where they may. I believe one suggestion was bulid a taller fence. Have you ever seen a tire bounce after doing 200mph? That thing landed in row 25 if I'm not mistaken, a taller fence wouldn't stand up straight if it was built that high. Besides if it did stand up and a tire hit it, do you think the fence would hold up? Doubt it. If it did, then it would probably bounce back either onto a driver or his crew and kill them. Is that what you want? My main point is this. What happened in Charlotte was a freak accident. I apologize to the fans and everybody involved. I don't see that there is any reason to redo anything about The Lowe's Motorspeedway. It is highly unlikely that it would ever happen again. Thanks for listening.
