Response To Nationwide Accident

After the events at the end of the NASCAR Nationwide race yesterday I had to get away from the whole Internet to really think about what happened. I didn't want to have a knee-jerk reaction and yell and scream and hoot and holler either here or on Twitter. I went for a long walk, got dinner and just thought about many ways to prevent another accident such as that. I didn't want to blame it all on one thing and focus only on that change but rather thought about everything from the car to the fence to the stands to the banking. Please note this is not about politics. This isn't about one sanctioning body over another. My thoughts are how to improve the safety in general, for both drivers and fans.

Here is what I have thought about:

Catch Fence
Since Dan Wheldon's fatal accident, many have called for a change in the catch fences. There was a heated debate between IndyCar and Texas Motor Speedway about moving the poles from inside to outside of the catch fence. Dario Franchitti was on Twitter and called for a complete alternative to the current system. What has been suggested is Plexiglas, which is used around hockey rinks. Will Buxton  suggested using Geobrugg avalanche fence, which is used at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia. Here is a video of the Geobrugg being tested. Wade Cunningham suggested raising the walls. In turn 3 and 4 at Twin Ring Motegi there is no catch fencing, rather a large wall containing the cars.

Sanctioning bodies should not be looking for the cheapest way to improve safety rather improve safety regardless of what the price will be. A new or alternative catch fence will cost money. But if it means better protecting the drivers and the fans it is worth it.

Restrictor Plates
After Bobby Allison got airborne at Talladega in 1987, restrictor plates were put on stock cars at Daytona and Talladega to slow down the race cars and prevent that event from happening again. While the cars are now slower, restrictor plates have created pack racing which has lead to big accidents like the one that happened yesterday. Taking only restrictor plates off the cars is not an option but it can be if paired with other changes such as decreasing downforce and making drivers have to lift when entering the corners.

IndyCar made aerodynamic changes going into the 2012 season to decrease the pack racing that was seen on the high-banked, mile and a half ovals. The pack racing was eliminated and the drivers had to lift at places where they were use to going wide-open.

Banking
The biggest accidents for both NASCAR and IndyCar have occurred on the high-banked race tracks of 20 degrees or more. Could reducing banking at the high-banked race tracks lead to less of these accidents? Maybe but making what would be massive renovations to decrease banking at most tracks would cost a ton of money, more than developing and install new catch fences.

If there could be one consideration of decreasing the banking at Daytona, why not in the tri-oval. A flat tri-oval would act more as a dogleg and force the drivers (whether running a restrictor plate or not) to lift. Or eliminate the tri-oval all together and have a straightaway connecting turns 4 and 1.

The Stands
Pushing the stands back and raising the stands up would reduce the risk of flying parts entering them. Daytona International Speedway has already announced renovations to the grandstand in the years to come and it appears the plan is to raise and move the grandstands further back from the catch fence than today.

Move the Start-Finish Line to the Backstretch
The stands are off the wall and catch fence on the backstretch at Daytona. While we have seen big accidents on the backstretch at Daytona, it would reduce the risk of the fans being hurt when the big accident occurs coming to the checkered flag.

These are just a few idea. Changes have to be made. That can not be stressed enough. The changes have to be made for safety of the fans and the drivers and hopefully reduce these accidents from happening again. There will always be freak accidents though. Even though changes can be made, something could go wrong in auto racing that could leave someone hurt or dead. No one wants to see that and all should be done to prevent it. However, auto racing will never be as safe as humanly possible. Death is always just around the corner in auto racing. Reducing it from jumping out on us is what must continue to be done.