Normally, after a Jeff Gordon crash, and listening to his comments, I’d say something like “whiner.”
This time, he has a point. If the COT is supposed to be sturdier and safer, and the soft walls instituted by NASCAR are meant to make the track safer when drivers hit the wall, why did his car come apart the way it did?
Oh, yeah, I forgot. The opening and portion of the inside wall Gordon hit didn’t have the SAFER barriers, or soft wall.
What? The safety innovation didn’t cover the entire wall? Don't anyone dare say "cost factor." Tickets are priced high and these tracks certainly aren't poor. I think they can afford it.
Here’s what Gordon said to NASCAR.com reporters in a story posted today.
“I'm really disappointed right now in this speedway for not having a soft wall back there, and even being able to get to that part of the wall shouldn't happen,” Gordon said after emerging from the track's care center. I'll tell you what, a few years ago, those types hits, you wouldn't be standing here.”
Earlier in the day, Tony Stewart took a hit he said was the hardest he’d had in a while. After 10 or 15 minutes, he was helped from the car and held on to it to stand up and talk to emergency workers. Normally, he probably could have stood up on his own on that banking. Every speck of the wall he came in contact with had the SAFER barriers.
Thankfully everyone is OK, probably sore, but OK.
Safety is paramount in the minds of drivers and their families, owners, crews and fans. When you drive around a track at speeds of 180 miles per hour, it must be.
The sport is safer now than it has ever been, but it still falls short in some areas.
Engineering can only do so much. It’s up to the sport to corral the speeds.
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