October 15, 2012
By Matthew Pizzolato
Matthew Pizzolato
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After a massive crash like the one that occurred last week on the final lap at Talladega, the primary concern is the safety of the drivers. Fortunately, no one sustained any life threatening injuries.
Usually after such a massive pileup, there is sometimes backlash from the drivers who criticize either the track or other drivers who caused the wreck.
It comes as no surprise for someone to criticize the racing at Talladega, but it is a big surprise when that particular someone is NASCAR's most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr.
"If this is what we did every week I wouldn’t be doing it. I will just put it to you like that," Earnhardt was quoted as saying during a post race press conference. "If this is how we raced every week I would find another job. It's not safe. Wrecking like that is ridiculous. It's blood-thirsty if that is what people want. It's ridiculous."
He said a few days later that those comments were made in the heat of the moment and that he regretted getting emotional. But should he have to apologize for what he said?
Talladega and Daytona are both tracks where members of Junior Nation flock each year because historically, those are the tracks where Earnhardt has been the most successful.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., made headlines this past Thursday when he announced that he would be sitting out two races because of a concussion that he suffered first at a test at Kansas Speedway about five weeks ago, a crash that subjected him to a force of 40 G's. He didn't seek medical attention after that wreck but said he started having headaches immediately after the crash at Talladega.
"If you have more than one in a small period of time, you need to take that quite seriously. That's how I mean, I had the one in Kansas was really bad, and then to get shaken up so quickly over something to kind of trivial," Earnhardt said this week during a press conference at Charlotte Motor Speedway. "That accident was - I've been through tons of last lap wrecks at Daytona and Talladega, and that one shook me up, and I just thought maybe I should take this seriously."
Now days, a concussion is known to be a very serious injury, much more so than it used to be considered. Suffering one or two over the span of several years is not life threatening, but suffering several back-to-back can cause long term damage. Football players who have suffered from repeated concussions have had their careers shortened.
There's no doubt that Earnhardt should be concerned about his condition and repulsed by the state of the racing at tracks like Talladega. His comments after the race are entirely understandable.
What does come as a surprise is when his standing with his fans is questioned because of what he said about Talladega.
It's no secret that one of the reasons that fans watch the races at restrictor plate tracks is because of "the big one," as the huge pileups those tracks usually generate are called. But as some point, one has to ask when
enough-is-enough. This isn't the days of the Roman Empire and the drivers are not gladiators in the Coliseum.
On the other hand, the threat of injury is a risk that is inherent to getting behind the wheel of a racecar. The safety of the cars has improved greatly over the last ten years, but there will always be some risk.
Earnhardt is a skilled restrictor plate racer, who is not afraid to climb behind the wheel. However, it should raise some red flags when even he has an issue with that style of racing.
Should Earnhardt be subjected to criticism because of what he said about Talladega? Not at all, he should be applauded for it.
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