The Dangers Of Racing
6/14/13
Kevin Abraham
Late
Wednesday night the NASCAR world was shocked by the announcement of the death
of NASCAR driver Jason Leffler while running a heat race in dirt car race at
Bridgeport Speedway in New Jersey. Leffler
was involved in an accident while running the race, and passed away soon after
the accident. Leffler was 37 years old,
and had been racing in NASCAR since 1999, with two Nationwide
wins, one in 2004, and one in 2007. .All of us here at RaceFansForever.com wants
to express our thoughts and prayers to his family and friends through this
tragedy.
Racing
is a dangerous sport. Every weekend
thousands of drivers, climb into their respective machines, and go out on the
respective track with one goal. That goal
is to WIN the race that they are entered in.
Every driver that race
know the dangers of racing, whether it’s a Sprint Cup, Nationwide, K&N East
or West, IndyCar, F1, sprint cars, or any other type
of racing. There have been many that
have paid the ultimate price in motorsports, from rookies making their first
start in a series, to drivers who were the best in their respective series.
In
the last few years, NASCAR has benefited from safety improvements. NASCAR has mandated HANS
devices, SAFER barriers, along with safer cars with the COT, and the Gen-6cars.
The result of these changes has been that NASCAR has not seen a death in one of
the three major series in the last twelve years, with the last death being Dale
Earnhardt in Daytona in 2001. Other racing
series have been slower in implementing safety improvements, especially at the local
race tracks. This is mainly due to the
lack of financial resources to purchase the necessary safety equipment. I am not saying that if Bridgeport Speedway had
all the safety equipment at the track like a current Sprint Cup track would
have made a difference in the crash that claimed Leffler’s
life. What I am saying is that each and
every track that hosts races, from the quarter mile local dirt track to
Talladega all need to be continually do whatever they can to improve the safety
at the track for drivers that compete on the track, along with the fans that
come to the track to watch the race at the track.
Each
racing series that promotes races also needs to continue to work on the safety
on their vehicles. No matter how ‘safe’
something appears, there will be wrecks that will show there are improvements
that can be made to make things better.
Certain types of racing have more of a risk than others as well. In NASCAR the vehicles are completely
enclosed, placing a steel and lexan ‘cocoon’ around
the driver, and have closed wheel wells, with the exception of the Whelen Modified series, where the cockpit is more open, along
with the cars having open wheels. In IndyCar and F1, the driver’s head is exposed to the
elements, with a roll bar behind the drivers head to protect the drivers in
case the car becomes airborne, but does not completely protect the driver in
all situations, like the incident that claimed the life of Dan Wheldon in 2011, when his head hit the mesh fencing that
was designed to keep cars in the track. These series also are known as ‘open wheel’ series, with the wheels that are not covered by
fenders. In sprint car racing there is a
large wing on top of the car to help protect the driver, but the cockpit is
relatively open, and parts and pieces can come in and hit the driver as the car
is in an accident. The wheels on these
cars are not covered either, which helps to show the difference between these
vehicles and a stock car. However open
wheeled vehicles are more prone to becoming airborne, due to the way they are
designed.
No
type of racing is completely safe. Jason
Leffler is the latest to die doing what he loved to do most, race against other
competitors to be the best in their particular series. As the racing community mourns the loss of another
driver death at the race track, we all must remember that the race must go on,
and that those who paid the ultimate price would not trade what they do for
anything else in the world. Racing is in
their blood, and that is where their heart is, to be on that track,
This week I ask for all
my readers to leave a comment on one of their favorite memories of Jason Leffler,
and/or any other driver that paid the ultimate price in motorsports. Let us never forget the legacy that these
fallen drivers have left for us.
I can be found on Twitter @kevdogg329.