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Fixing Talladega Would Be a Fitting Legacy

An Opinion



May 1, 2009

By Rebecca Gladden

Rebecca Gladden



Some say that everything happens for a reason, and perhaps that's true.

There are times when the divine powers seem to intentionally juxtapose two meaningful events, as if each occurrence is there to punctuate the other.

After last weekend's races in Talladega, the NASCAR world was in turmoil about what had transpired. Two cars went airborne and multiple others were crushed in colossal crashes. Debris from Carl Edwards' spectacular last-lap wreck injured several fans in the stands as his vehicle hurtled into the catchfence and began breaking apart.

I was disappointed to hear the reactions of fans who were exhilarated by the action, particularly the near-catastrophic finish. They gushed that it was the most exciting race they'd ever seen and wished that every NASCAR race could be so thrilling.

Frankly, it left me with a knot in my stomach.

As one who's always advocated for driver safety, what I saw Sunday was disturbing. In addition, seven fans in the stands were injured, including a teenage girl who required surgery to reconstruct her jaw. The drivers escaped unscathed this time; next time, they may not be as lucky.

A few in the media echoed my sentiments that day. "That was pretty sickening," AP writer Jenna Fryer commented after the race. Scene Daily's Bob Pockrass questioned whether it was appropriate to feel excited "when we were inches from tragedy."

During the hours and days that followed, the topic of Talladega was hotly debated in NASCAR circles.

Then, something happened Tuesday morning that brought the debate to a screeching halt. Esteemed NASCAR writer David Poole died unexpectedly of a heart attack. He was just 50 years old.

What puzzled me is that the very same people lamenting his passing on Tuesday were cheering the finish at Talladega on Sunday.

There's an episode from the original Star Trek TV series in which the character of Spock 'senses' the deaths of an entire crew of Vulcans in a distant ship across the vastness of space. A disbelieving Dr. McCoy challenges Spock, asking how he could possibly feel the deaths of 400 Vulcans at once.

"I've noticed that about your people," Spock retorts. "You find it easier to understand the death of one than the death of a million."

Is that the situation here? As a whole, I've found NASCAR competitors and fans to be brave and sturdy people. But there's a fine line between courageous and callous.

On SPEED TV's "This Week in NASCAR" program Monday, poll results were given which showed that the vast majority of NASCAR fans believe no changes need to be made at Talladega. Asked what the results indicated, one of the panelists remarked that the friends and families of the drivers must not have voted.

Ouch.

David Poole garnered respect because he wasn't afraid to ask the hard questions and make the hard judgments -- just as he did in his last two blog posts, in which he ridiculed the racing at Talladega as "lunacy" and "abject insanity."

Poole wrote that it was sad that fans "who profess to love this sport and the people who compete in it not only tolerate this madness, but embrace it and celebrate it."

Is anyone listening?

I read today that, as a final tribute to David Poole, NASCAR will have a moment of silence before the Richmond race.

Perhaps a more meaningful tribute would be to heed his dire warning: "Instead of talking about how 'cool' Sunday's race was with all of its wrecks and the near disaster that happened on the final lap, fans ought to be screaming their demands that NASCAR and International Speedway Corporation do something to make this race track safe to race on."

It would be a fitting legacy indeed.




You can contact Rebecca at.. Insider Racing News



You Can Read Other Articles By Rebecca

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.

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