Fool Me Once… When the NASCAR Gods Keep an Eye on Safety

Lady Luck certainly made a name for herself this past weekend in Pocono. How else would Matt Kenseth have picked up his second win of the year?

All joking aside, there was an inordinate amount of deja vu and randomness that occurred on pit road throughout the weekend. It was almost as if the racing gods wanted to make sure that NASCAR and the track got the point after Jeb Burton hit the pit wall Saturday morning. Have we all managed to put aside the panic button topic of checking for improbable impact points on all tracks after Kyle Busch recovered so quickly from his Daytona crash? It was certainly tempting to ride the wave of euphoria as he racked up all those wins with his eyes set on the Chase. The media executives were all turning away from the boring and constant topic of security.

So, impact number one. Burton slammed into the wall of pit 42, sending some media and fans rushing. The car was fried. Jeb was fine. But it was a strange place to hit. He just sort of lost control coming out of Turn 3 and headed straight for pit road. We’ve all thought about the fact that cars shouldn’t be able to slide to that spot by simply spinning across the racing surface. The idea of ​​changing pit road was brought up in the commentary box. Some fans at home nodded, and a few groaned as it seemed like a broken record was being set for billions more plays. Safety, safety, safety…

We might have managed to forget all about it until the truck race later that afternoon. The No. 07 truck spun out of Turn 3 and began a familiar slide in the general direction Burton’s No. 26 car had gone earlier in the day. Ray Black Jr.’s truck rolled over the remaining skid marks on the track. As the truck turned harder left and hit the wall before the true pit road entrance, the comparative nature of the wreck once again sparked a flashing light in our collective consciousness. Something should be done about pit road. Move a pit. Extend the already massive road further down towards turn 1. Change the outer pit wall at the pit entrance. Something.

The media seized on the idea and raised the subject during pre-race talk shows. But you know, no one was hurt. It really wasn’t that bad, was it? If nothing had changed on the track by next year, no one would have screamed.

The racing gods listened and heard the doubt and disinterest. So they pressed the problem a third time. Kasey Kahne’s No. 5 performed virtually the same slide as Jeb Burton in the Cup race Sunday afternoon. The only difference was that Kahne piloted his machine better and managed to roll it further down pit road, landing between pits 37 and 38. His car cracked the boiler plate wall and sent helmets fly. Lady Luck just made sure no one was stopped in her dressing room at the time, and we were even between green flag stops, so no crew was standing at the wall. Kasey got out of his car scratching his head, trying to figure out what had happened. Further proof that mystical hands played a role in this strange play.

And like a Christmas tree, NASCAR Nation lit up about how something should be done about Pocono pit road. This was obviously a dangerous area! Although in decades of racing at this track, NASCAR had never seen a car hit the inside pit wall before, they were clearly capable of doing so. What if there had been crews there? What if some lucky fan with a Hot Pass isn’t paying attention? And if, what if…

It may seem like NASCAR has become obsessed with repairing all the walls at all the tracks this year, but in reality, that’s not a bad thing. However, it is very simple to repair only the obvious problems. It seems that those who monitor us understand our human weaknesses and simply want to help us. Thus Burton, Black and Kahne were used as pawns in this quest for a safer sport.

Both NASCAR and Pocono said they would review the situation and implement some improvements for the following season. This is how we respond to these near-disasters. Isn’t it wonderful how lucky we are? Despite these alarming incidents, no one was injured. That’s when we stop to wonder if luck has anything to do with it all.

Sonya’s album

2003 Sirius at the Glen

Sometimes luck isn’t so kind to you. Sometimes your luck brings out the true colors of others. Although Jeff had a lot of success on the twisty turns of New York, in 2003 he just didn’t have a good day. In the last corner of the last lap, he ran out of fuel. Kevin Harvick and the No. 24 had benefited from previous discussions earlier in the race, and Harvick took advantage of Gordon’s bad luck to put his enemy of the day into the wall.

However, following the theme of the column above, Jeff Gordon sat in his wrecked car on the front stretch for several long minutes before safety crews bothered to check on him. This incident highlighted inconsistent performance by safety teams at various tracks and led NASCAR to improve standards and expectations during race weekends.