Smack: Looking for a road ringer this week in Sonoma (cont'd)

3. Reigning Truck champion Johnny Benson was seriously injured in a crash last weekend while competing in a super modified in Berlin, Mich. Should that be a wake-up call to top NASCAR drivers who enjoy such extracurricular activities?

David Caraviello: Jeff Gordon said it best. His first reaction was, what kind of car was it? What kind of safety features did the track have? I'd be asking all those questions, too. And I'd stay far away from tracks and vehicles that don't meet the kind of requirements I'm used to.

Dave Rodman: All Johnny's accident did was point out that this is a damned dangerous endeavor we're involved in. When they get to NASCAR's national level, whether the spectators are aware of it or not, the drivers are familiar with it, accept it, and I don't see it changing a thing.

Autostock

Johnny Benson

Tough week

Bad news came in a pair Michigan weekend as Johnny Benson suffered serious injuries in a supermodified crash and Carlos Pardo lost his life in a NASCAR Mexico event.

• Benson out of the hospital
• Benson injured in race crash
• Pardo dies in Mexico event

Duane Cross: These guys cannot be bubble-wrapped from late Sunday to early Friday. These guys make decisions based on their comfort levels. If they don't like the situation -- model, track, etc. -- then they won't participate. Otherwise, you can get your noggin bumped skiing on Lake Norman.

David Caraviello: In other sports, athletes have contracts that bar them from doing things that could potentially take them out of action -- skydiving, skiing, motorcycle riding, etc. You wonder if NASCAR team owners would ever go to that extent and bar their guys from competing at local tracks.

Dave Rodman: We don't know if anyone doesn't have that in place already.

David Caraviello: Given the amount of extracurricular activity going on out there, odds are overwhelming that they don't. Of course, guys might just do what David Pearson did back in the day, and compete under assumed names. Hard to keep these guys from getting behind any kind of steering wheel.

Duane Cross: The first time Dale Earnhardt Jr. signs in under a nom de plume, it'll be on YouTube in about 10 minutes.

David Caraviello: True, Pearson didn't have to deal with that, did he?

Dave Rodman: But the point is, this is what they do. By the time they get to the national level, in most cases they have the means to exercise their passion in their own stuff. Robby Gordon is the extreme example. Kyle Busch has the same thing going on in late model cars. The shame of it for Johnny is that what started out as a hobby, to whatever degree, might have become a throwback-to-a-former-day source of income, maybe.

Duane Cross: These drivers are a breed that many cannot fathom; the money, the opportunities ... it's life to these guys. They have earned it and they can do as they wish. Certainly the owners are going to stress common sense, but the mind set is, "What could possibly go wrong ..."

David Caraviello: Yes, Dave, Johnny was in a different situation. So is Robby, to a certain degree, given his interests and rock-star status on the off-road circuit. But if I'm a Sprint Cup driver making $10 million a year and winning races, ain't no way in Hades I'm strapping in at a local track. Shoot, no way I'm spending my free time at a short track to begin with. I'm off to Cabo with the supermodel of the week. Of course, that's how I live my life now anyway, so not much would change.

Duane Cross: Glad you said it first!

Dave Rodman: Once you get past the equipment aspect, looking at the facility to make sure it has what it needs certainly is a concern, as you pointed out, David. And Duane, as you say, "it will never happen to me" is the mindset of everyone who's ever got into a racing vehicle. At least I hope so -- how else would you explain some of the absolute cartoon cars and safety equipment we've seen on race tracks?

Duane Cross: Exactly, Dave. It's a unique mindset, no question. And I have all the respect for those people (and a bit of bewilderment, considering some of the cars).

Dave Rodman: "No mind" might describe it, Duane.

David Caraviello: And how many local tracks have SAFER barriers? I'd say the percentage has to be very, very low. Along with the HANS device, that's one of the great live-saving systems of modern auto racing. I wouldn't race without either of them.

Dave Rodman: Good thing you have all that other stuff going on, then, because I would feel safe to say, in my supreme ignorance, that the percentage of local track distance with SAFER barriers is .00-something percent. If you're talking University of Nebraska-level SAFER and not hay bales, water barrels and tractor tires.

Duane Cross: For many of the local tracks, the SAFER barrier is cost-prohibitive; ditto the HANS device for wannabe drivers. Still, the desire to race (and make money -- both for the track owners and the drivers) is too great. Again, it comes back to "What could possibly go wrong ..." Well, a lot of things -- including flat-lining. But the mentality is that the reward is worth the risk.

David Caraviello: Of course, then you have Dale Jr. competing in a very modern car on a very modern race track, and he barely escapes a burning Corvette with his life. This stuff can happen anywhere, anytime.

Duane Cross: The death of Carlos Pardo speaks to that point. He was racing in a NASCAR-sanctioned race.

Dave Rodman: And it was a modern track. But something about the design was, uh, not quite right, and we'll leave it at that. But when you look at all the lower-level guys who have been killed, and the potential to be killed in something as "benign" as a four-cylinder "pure stock" car, you need a HANS device more than you need new tires. Look at it this way -- it's a one-time expense.

David Caraviello: Amen to that, Dave. Now if you guys will excuse me, I have to catch a plane to Cabo!

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writers.