Last Lap: Fan safety

By nature, a racetrack is an extremely dangerous place during competition. And not just for competitors, but also spectators.

Regardless the safety precautions taken to avert disaster, there is inherent danger in cramming 43, 3,400-lb machines -- each comprised of thousands of individual pieces and parts -- inches apart on a two-mile surface at 200 mph for four hours.

Why do you think those of us in the industry sign our lives away every week?

Liability, baby. But fans don't sign liability waivers upon entrance to the track.

They simply trust that 400 miles will pass without tragedy, that the only potential accident victims are strapped into carbon fiber seats with five-point harnesses and secured by thick seatbelts, HANS devices and roll cages.

But there are times when parts are projected into the grandstands. It happened last Saturday night at Daytona, when Robby Gordon's hood flew off and struck a young lady in the seats.

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It happened at Talladega, when Ryan Newman's wheel and tire were separated from the car during an accident and flew over the grandstand, hitting nothing but a parked car outside the track.

It was empty. Talk about lucky.

And what about Geoffrey Bodine's Truck Series accident at Daytona a few years back, when his truck flew up into the wall and triggered a fiery explosion that somehow harmed no one. To NASCAR's credit, they've long been proactive in the effort to ensure fan safety.

Roof flaps were created to keep cars from flying into the stands. Tethers were mandated on hoods, trunks and wheels in an effort to keep them fastened to the car upon impact. Obviously, there are cases in which this doesn't happen.

To what degree do you worry about your personal safety at the racetrack?

Trackmedic: I've been on both ends of the spectrum. As a spectator and as a member of a safety team at a major superspeedway, NASCAR takes safety very seriously.

The odds of something happening are slim, but things could happen. I feel very comfortable as a spectator, knowing by first- hand experience that safety at the tracks is a very important issue.

Take it from Nicole Kidman. NASCAR puts forth a concerted effort to assure spectator safety both entering the track and during competition.

As was previously stated, tethers and roof flaps and higher catch fences are a testament to that.

But accidents are accidents for a reason. The dynamic of auto racing screams "expect the unexpected."

Case in point:

fletchfb: I pay a lot of attention to where I am sitting and always try for an aisle.

I plan escapes before the event. Why? Well, about 15 years ago I was pitting for an SCCA team in club racing at Road Atlanta.

(I was) checking tire temps when a wheel came off a Mustang and bounced up onto pit road and hit our car at the front tire. Seconds earlier, I had moved to the rear tire.

Since then I have always had eyes in the back of my head. Racing is dangerous only if you have closed eyes and/or are foolish!

Hood flies into stands  DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The hood from the damaged car of Robby Gordon came off his car and flew into the frontstretch grandstands at Daytona International Speedway late in the Pepsi 400, injuring one fan, according to spectators.  Track and NASCAR officials said immediately after the race they were aware of the hood going into the stands but did not have any other information.  Full Story

Chevy Chase is paranoid, and with good reason. If a tire slammed into the spot I'd just vacated, I'd be paranoid and in need of a new pair of underwear.

Though I've had my fair share of near misses -- Jeff Burton nearly ran plumb over me in the garage at Talladega two years ago, swerving at the last moment to elude a wayward scribe meandering in his path.

Thank goodness he was paying attention because I certainly wasn't -- I never really paid much mind to potential injury until last November, when I saw a colleague get drilled in the forehead by a stray lug nut as Mark Martin peeled out of his pit stall.

What are the chances? Probably about the same as being in a crowd of 180,000 and being the lone person struck by a flailing hood.

Punisher29: Racetrack safety is only an issue after the race. I can only hope that Cletus looks down from his monster truck while polishing off his second case of adult beverages leaving the track.

The Missus and I nearly got the trouble call at Talladega when a high flying Chevy came plowing through the parking lot. Maybe if we should put restrictor plates on those frosties!

Thank heavens I decided to go back for another look... Had I not been totally dissatisfied with the responses I'd chosen for this week's mailbag, I wouldn't have gone back to the message board to find this jewel.

Cletus.

Absolutely hysterical. Here's another solid response:

NewbsofIowa: Absolutely none. You have more of a chance of getting hurt by walking down a flight of stairs. Why ruin a great time by worrying about a very rare occurrence -- I have better things to worry about at the track. Like: "When is the beer guy coming back?"

Now there's a worthy concern. Nice work, Hayden Frye. Way to put it all back in perspective.

Ponty79: I would never take my family to a race where there is a chance of them getting ran over. It is much safer to stay at home and watch it on TV. Those race cars could go over that fence. Richard Petty's almost did once. Plus, they charge way too much money for tickets.

Is this guy serious? Note to Grand Am: Live a little.

Dealerships charge too much for automobiles these days, and simply driving down the street is exponentially more dangerous than sitting in a seat at the racetrack.

Shall we assume you refrain from putting your family in the Aztek and heading to the store, too?

UPSMan88: I think no matter what NASCAR does to ensure safety to all involved, there is no way to make the sport 100 percent safe for the fans, competitors, teams, etc., so there will always be that element of risk involved.

However, this risk is present in all aspects of life, in anything you do, so there is absolutely no reason to sit there during a race and worry about being struck with a flying car hood.

You enter the track assuming any risk that may be there, but fans aren't injured at NASCAR events very often, so there is no reason to worry.

VIDEO CLIPS R. Gordon's hood flies into the stands Play video

On the rare occasion that something does happen and a fan is injured, NASCAR always takes action immediately, instituting preventative measures to ensure that that specific accident will never happen again (i.e. Ryan Newman's tire going over the fence at Talladega, resulting in an extra tether mandated by NASCAR).

That being said, spectators must realize that cars going around a racetrack at speeds up to 200 mph is a bit more dangerous than watching a basketball game.

There is always the possibility of a stray piece of a car making its way into the stands.

There is no possible way for NASCAR to completely eliminate that threat, so they must do the best they can to make the fans safe, and if something happens they must re-evaluate their measures of making the sport safe.

We can't live our lives in fear. Go out to the races. You won't be sorry you did.

What can Brown do for me? Speak on behalf of the masses, apparently. With this response Jarrett pretty well sums up the overall consensus on this topic -- one many considered lame, hoping more for a forum to blast NBC's coverage of the 400.

The response to which wasn't overly positive. (Yes, I'm being nice).

Anyway, for the most part, Jarrett's right on the money. Honestly I'd say the odds of getting hurt by a line-driven baseball are far greater than that of suffering an injury from stray debris that flies from a car during an accident.

Think about it. It's simple math, the law of averages. At minimum, three or four baseballs fly into an average crowd of 25,000 at every baseball game, whereas parts from wrecked cars rarely fly into the average race crowd of 150,000.

My best friend contends that baseball fans and personnel are better prepared for items projected into the stands. By the aforementioned law of averages, I'd agree.

Not so for SoonKuk Hong. Hong, a freelance photographer, was recently hit in the head by an errant bat that slipped from the grasp of Atlanta Braves' outfielder Darren Bragg, resulting in a broken nose and jaw.

Reckon he'd take his chances at the racetrack?

finmiksure: At any sporting venue, personal safety can be thought as two things:

With the first concern, you can get hurt driving your car onto the parking lot, walking to the stands and get hit by a passing car.

You can get hit by a passing golf cart weaving in and out of the fans at the haulers. You can get hurt by yourself or by another who has been drinking too much.

I have had plenty of drunk fans around me spilling beer and falling all over themselves. This happens at all events. I hardly see any violence at a NASCAR event, so I feel pretty safe in that aspect.

With the second concern, I've seen people hit by baseballs, hockey pucks, basketballs and race cars. I believe that when you go to a race or sport event, you have to have the understanding that anything is possible.

Watch all the shows today about real events. We take it all for granted.

Working at a sprint car track for many years on the infield, I have seen many accidents that you would never think would happen, but it does.

When you saw the fan that got hit by Robby Gordon's hood, she wanted her fame by waving all the way out of the stands. I had to ask my wife, "I wonder if she wanted the hood for all the trouble?"

This one hit home for me. We all take safety for granted. Every day. In virtually every way. It's part of being human, I guess, the feeling of invincibility. We live fast and fearless, hop in cars and take off without a thought of what could happen in the next 10 seconds.

That's how it should be, though. You never know when the Good Lord will call you home, so get right with him and get on with living every last second to the absolute fullest.

That's all for today. I need to go secure my hood with a bit more duct tape.