Changes needed at 'Dega before tragedy strikes (cont'd)

Smith did so then to avoid wrecking leader Tony Stewart "and maybe half the field," but was ruled out of bounds and went from what he thought was his first victory and at worst a second-place finish to 18th in an instant. Keselowski knew that and swore his fate would be different.

He was right. But in his determination, he altered Edwards' fate as well.

"I guess if I had it to do over again, I'd just move over and let him go and finish fourth. I wouldn't even try to win -- because you're going to have wrecks like that if you try," Edwards said.

The bottom line

When it was all over, Newman said he felt "lucky to be able to cross the start-finish line." He meant with himself and his car intact. Edwards crossed it, too, but on foot after miraculously climbing out of the smoking, burning carnage that was his race car and jogging across it on foot.

"I just felt like I needed to finish the race," he said. "That's too damn close to walk away."

Despite the Ricky Bobby gesture, good humor was not in great abundance around the garage afterward. Most everyone outside of the understandably exuberant race winner Keselowski seemed somber, as if disaster on a large scale had been narrowly avoided and some day is inevitable if something isn't done to make this place safer.

"You have to understand that, like, for years, we have had wrecks like this every time we come to Talladega, ever since the plate got here -- and for years it was celebrated," Earnhardt said. "The media celebrated it, the [television] networks celebrated it, calling it 'the Big One,' just trying to attract attention and to bring people's attention to the race.

"So there is a responsibility with the media and the networks and the sanctioning body itself to come to their senses a little bit and think about the situation. I mean, you can't sit here and jump up and down and go, 'Wow, what I saw today was crazy.' I don't think it's right ... but the media and the networks and everybody has been celebrating that stuff for years."

Again, guilty as charged. (And you can be sure Sunday's wild wreck will be shown again and again when it's time to ramp up the ticket sales and television ratings for the next Talladega race).

But something has to change. Sunday should be a wake-up call to everyone.

"It's what we have to do," Edwards said of coming to Talladega to race. "I don't know how I'd change this racing. I know it's a spectacle for everybody and that's great and all -- but it's not right to ask all these guys to come out and do this. What if the car goes up in the grandstands and kills 25 people? ... I don't know if I could live with myself if I ended up in the grandstands."

Sunday, he came too close. It's been said before but it needs to be said again: something needs to change before they race again at Talladega Superspeedway, or they shouldn't race there.

As Earnhardt pointed out, it can be a blast to watch. No doubt about that.

But no one enjoyed those few seconds Sunday when Edwards' life -- and perhaps those of some fans -- appeared to hang mid-air in jeopardy. Logic outweighs entertainment value here, and demands immediate changes that will make a real difference this time.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.

Joe Menzer is the author of "The Great American Gamble: How the 1979 Daytona 500 Gave Birth to a NASCAR Nation." Click here to purchase.