June 21, 2009
By Kim Roberson
Kim Roberson
|
I can't tell you the number of times I have heard NASCAR fans complain about how ugly and blocky the new Cup cars are. "They don't look like anything on the road", "They are ugly!".
One of the reasons they are so ugly and look nothing like the cars on the road is because they are not only fast, but they are built to keep the man inside as safe as possible.
Some folks can't understand why we couldn't keep the old "twisted sister" body and just make it safer. Primarily, it is because the driver in the new car has been moved further away from the door, and the roll cage has been extended to provide more protection and ease of access for drivers as small as Mark Martin (5'5") and as big as Michael Waltrip (6'5").
Since the day Dale Earnhardt died, NASCAR has made it their mission to keep the driver's as safe as possible. They mandated the HANS or Hutchins devices, which restricts the motion of a drivers' head on impact; they have heightened regulations for the five-point harness that keep the men and women strapped into their seats; and those seats are more like custom fitted molds that prevent a driver from being rattled around in a high impact crash.
We have seen just how safe these cars are in the last two years when Jeff Gordon hit the wall in Las Vegas, sending the engine of his car 50 yards down the track while he remained in his car; when Michael McDowell went tumbling end over end and over and over while qualifying at Texas Motor Speedway; when cars slam into each other at almost 200 mph at Talladega and Daytona and every driver walks away.
We have become used to the sight of these drivers walking away from the carnage of a wreck. It has been more than 8 years since Earnhardt's death, and thankfully, we haven't lost a driver since.
However, a crash last weekend reminds us that just because you take safety precautions does not mean that a driver will walk away uninjured.
I'm not talking about Johnny Benson's horrific crash in his Super Modified at Berlin Raceway last Saturday night. (He suffered minor burns, broken ribs, a broken wrist and shoulder, and a punctured lung...but thankfully is now home recovering). I am talking about a crash during a NASCAR Mexico Series race last Sunday that left the car unrecognizable...and the driver dead.
Video is available on YouTube of the crash, but a forewarning...it is NOT for the faint of heart. It is brutal, it is graphic, and they do not cover the car with the infamous blue tarp.
For those unwilling to watch, a small and less graphic description: driver Carlos Pardo is in the lead with 3 laps to go in a 100 lap race. As they come to the entrance of pit road, he is tapped from behind, sending the car careening into the pit road wall at 120 mph.
The wall does not have a SAFER barrier.
The car disintegrates on impact.
If you are familiar with Michael Waltrip's 1990 Bristol crash....it is worse than that.
You see the roof of the car fly onto the track, and the car seems to shatter into a million pieces. When the smoke clears, all that is left is the roll cage...a tire...and Pardo...still strapped in his seat.
Rescue crews work to extricate him, but it was too late. He was transported to a local hospital and pronounced dead.
Pardo was not new to NASCAR. He has raced in the Nationwide Series, finishing 42nd in the 2006 Mexico City race, and was the 2004 NASCAR Mexico Series champion.
The sad irony is that the race was called after the crash, and because Pardo was recorded as leading at the last completed lap, he was awarded the win.
No matter how safe we think this sport is, it is still 43 men traveling somewhere between 100 and 200 mph in cars that, when they crash, do their best to keep the person inside, safe. However, nothing is perfect, and just because we haven't seen a driver die in NASCAR's top 3 series in 8 years does not mean it can't happen. You can be wearing a HANS device, be strapped into your carbon fiber seat in your fire retardant suit with a secure 5 point harness and still, if you hit the wall or that other car just right...the laws of physics will trump safety precautions.
This is also just another reminder to you fans who, when a driver you don't like, hits the wall, cheer. Cheering when a car hits a wall is un-cool, especially when you have no idea whether the guy inside is OK or not. Never assume that just because they have all the safety devices available in the car that they will be able to walk away unscathed. Ask Tony Stewart or Ricky Rudd...while both of their injury crashes happened three years ago in the old "twisted sister" car, both men had HANS devices and customs molded seats and five part harnesses; Smoke broke his shoulder blade and Rudd broke his collar bone.
"Each driver, whether it be NASCAR or whatever form of motorsports knows that each race could be their last. It is part of what makes them extraordinary in my eyes." Stork, a fellow sports fan, wrote to me after discussing this crash this week. "Unfortunately no matter how safe the cars are, events and circumstances dictate whether or not a driver survives any crash at all. I thought Waltrip was gone when he had that Bristol crash, and that (Dale Earnhardt) Senior would walk away from his."
Just remember that when these guys and gals get in those cars and you start to comment on how ugly and how bulky the cars are and wonder why we put restrictor plates on at the big tracks and don't race to the caution any more and how we don't have as many "spectacular crashes" as we used to...that this isn't just about the aesthetics...it is about allowing these people to do their jobs in the safest environment possible...so they can come back every weekend -- so that some can root for and other can root against them and we can all take some enjoyment in this sport we all love.
For all of the fathers out there, have a wonderful Father's Day.
To my dad, I'm glad I was able to convert you to being a NASCAR fan, so we can talk racing amongst everything else during our weekly Sunday night calls. Happy Father's Day -- I love you!
The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.
You can contact Kim at..