Commentary by Larry Woody /
Sports Writer
Darrell Waltrip, as he is wont to do, put it bluntly and best:
"I'm sick of hearing, 'He was doing what he loved when he died.' Well,
I do a lot of things I love, but I don't expect them to kill me!"
That was Waltrip's response to the almost casual, show-goes-on attitude
toward Kenny Irwin's fatal crash July 7 at New Hampshire Speedway. Adam Petty died
on the same track two months earlier in an identical crash.
"Something's wrong somewhere -- terribly wrong," says Waltrip, who
is in his 28th and final season in NASCAR.
"We need to find out what it is, and quick, before more people get
killed."
NASCAR is scheduled to race again at New Hampshire on Sept. 17. Waltrip said
he "won't go out on a limb and say we shouldn't race there anymore. But I
will say this: NASCAR better find some answers before we go back."
NASCAR had had only six on-track fatalities in 11 years. Now it has had two
in two months. On the same track, at virtually the same spot.
What are the odds of that? A million to one? A trillion to one?
Yet some dismiss it as mere coincidence.
"There's nothing wrong with the track," Jeff Gordon said.
"Things happen," said track owner Bob Bahre following Irwin's
death. "I think the track is fine."
No, the track is not fine. Two drivers have been killed on it.
There is speculation that the throttles stuck on the cars. How come they
hadn't stuck before, in other races on other tracks? And if they did stick
before, how come the result was less tragic?
"If it's stuck throttles, what's so frustrating is that we have the
technology to prevent it," Waltrip said.
"Other kinds of racing use throttle sensors to automatically stop
acceleration if the throttle sticks. Why don't we have them in Winston Cup?
There seems to be an attitude that, 'We don't need them; we're better than
that.' "
Could a stuck throttle and this particular track be a fatal combination?
"If you go down that long straightaway, get to the end and can't get
off the gas, you're cooked," Waltrip said.
"Why not at least put water barrels or something to absorb the impact
in the turns? How complicated can that be?"
Remember the uproar over the design of Texas Speedway when it opened? After
a few crashes, drivers created such a stir that track owner Bruton Smith
ordered a redesign.
Waltrip notes that other tracks also have made design changes in the
interest of safety.
Why has New Hampshire been allowed to slide? Where is NASCAR's oft-stated
safety concern? Where is the driver protest?
"When there's an airplane crash, they investigate until they find the
cause," Waltrip said. "They salvage the pieces, even if it's from the
bottom of the ocean, put the plane together and don't stop until they find out
what happened. NASCAR should do the same thing when a car crashes."
Anybody who cares about NASCAR -- fan or competitor -- should demand action
at New Hampshire. Fix it or drop it.
Instead of continuing to shrug and hang wreaths on the track, it's time to
padlock the place until somebody comes up with some answers.