The Fear Factor -- from the wives' point of view

By Liz Allison, Special to Turner Sports Interactive
October 4, 2001
9:19 AM EDT (1319 GMT)

COMMENTARY

Liz Allison

Do drivers' wives have fear? You can say that, but maybe not like you would think they would. This is not a big group of fearful women, believe it or not.

One would think that maybe the course of events in racing over the past two years would certainly raise the fear level. With NASCAR losing bright stars such as Adam Petty, Kenny Irwin, Tony Roper and one of NASCAR's greatest drivers ever, Dale Earnhardt, it seems this would hinder the nerves of even the toughest wife.

Andrea Nemechek, the wife of Winston Cup regular Joe Nemechek, has always felt that the cars were safe. She admits that though it seems more dangerous because of the recent deaths and injuries that you would think the sport was not safe. But she feels very safe with Joe on the track even more now because of the HANS device that Joe wears as a extra safety measure.

Kim Burton, wife of Jeff Burton

"I think that the deaths and injuries have made the guys more safety conscious if anything," she said. "I feel so much better knowing that the head and neck restraint system is there. I am sure the HANS has already saved some lives."

Andrea lost her brother-in-law, John Nemechek (Joe's younger brother) in a racing accident in Homestead, Fla., several years ago. Even after facing the death of a family member in racing accident, she still feels the cars are safe.

Ann Schrader, the wife of long-time Winston Cup racer Kenny Schrader, feels that Kenny is much safer on the track than he is in a car on the highway.

"Kenny and I decided a long time ago that we would not be held captive to the fear of what could happen," is Ann's response to Kenny racing. "If you worry all the time about things happening, you take away the fun of racing."

Kenny was involved in the last lap accident with Dale Earnhardt at Daytona in February. Kenny was the first person to the car of his close friend. Ann said that Kenny was very moved and shaken by Dale's death. However, it has not made Kenny or she any more scared of the sport that both love so much.

I asked several wives if they thought there were more serious accidents now than ever before. I mean, let's face it, in the last month we have seen some pretty scary deals on the track involving Steve Park, Jeremy Mayfield and most recently, Dale Jarrett. The overall consensus was that racing has always been risky there is no way around that, but the attention that has been drawn from the new TV deal and the recent deaths have definitely highlighted the danger involved in racing.

Andrea Nemechek did wonder if maybe the fact that NASCAR mainly races on tracks over a mile now, which take the speeds up to a higher level, instead of the short tracks, which is what used to be the meat and bones of racing, could be the cause of more accidents if in fact there were more.

Michael and Elizabeth "Buffy" Waltrip

NASCAR racing has suffered many losses before last year. Greats like Fireball Roberts, Tiny Lund, Neil Bonnett and others lost their lives doing what they loved best -- racing.

NASCAR learned many things from their deaths and have done the same with the most recent losses. Safety devices like the head and neck restraints and custom seats as well as more safety conscious helmets are at the forefront of making this sport to an even safer level.

Wanda Lund, the widow of Tiny Lund who was killed in a racing accident at Talladega Superspeedway in August 1975 feels that "racing was and still is a dangerous sport." She added, "However, as a wife, you cannot go around scared. It just won't work."

Diane Bodine, the wife of Brett Bodine feels that the HANS device was one of the best things to come along to this sport in a very long time. Brett was the first driver to start wearing the device on a consistent basis starting in June of 2000.

"I was more afraid of racing before than I am now since the HANS came along," she said. "I spent the first 15 years of my life in racing petrified. I knew I would either have to learn to live with what Brett does for a living or go completely crazy."

Although she does admit that a bigger fear these days at the track would be just making the race with the competition the way it is. She continued with "making races is something we can somewhat control, the other things we do not. We cannot go around worrying if that particular race will be our last."

While some wives feel their husbands are at a much lesser risk of injury by wearing the device, some wives do not feel that to necessarily be the case. Arlene Martin, the wife of Mark Martin, does not feel any different with Mark wearing the device in fact she wonders if it does not give the guys a false sense of security.

"I am just not a real nervous person about Mark racing now or ever before," she said. "The HANS device certainly doesn't change anything as far as my thinking is concerned."

However, she does feel that when Ernie Irvan, a long-time friend of Mark and Arlene's, had his first accident in Michigan, she developed some fear. "I never ever thought about anything happening before that. Ernie was and still is a good friend of mine and Mark's so that really got my attention," she said.

Mark and Arlene's 10-year-old son, Matt, is racing quarter midgets in Florida. I asked Arlene if the fear level was any different for her son. Her response? "Not now because of the level he is racing. However, I am sure that it will come when Matt starts racing bigger and faster cars."

DeLana Harvick

She continued to say that the mother of a racer is definitely different than the wife of a racer. "Matt is my flesh and blood, my child so it is definitely a different feeling," she added.

Arlene admits her biggest fear for Mark is him flying from race to race every week. "I fear that more than I ever do the race itself," she said.

Arlene and I share the same concern for these guys. The drivers live "high risk" lives, not just because they drive at speeds up to 200 mph on the racetrack, but the traveling they have to do every week to get to those racetracks.

I recently had a fan of my late husband, Davey, ask if I was surprised that Davey lost his life in a helicopter instead of a racecar.

My response to her was, I guess I would be very surprised if any of these guys lived to be old men because of that " high risk living."

I lived in fear of Davey piloting his aircraft all over the country much more than I ever did the fact that he drove a race car for a living. I was the perfect example of fearing something that people would not necessarily expect me to fear. Surprising, I know.

So from veteran drivers' wives to current drivers' wives, the sentiment seems to be the same. Yes, racing is a dangerous sport, and yes, there is some fear, but you cant go around worrying about what could happen, so why not go out and enjoy a little racing.

Besides, most of the drivers' wives are as much fans of racing as their husbands.

NOTE: Liz Allison's column appears every Wednesday on NASCAR.com. The opinions listed here are solely those of the writer. To provide feedback to Liz, email her at Liz.Allison@turner.com.