| | By Jonathan Baum
ESPN.com
On Dec. 8, NASCAR will recognize the 2000 season's top teams, drivers and owners at the annual Winston Cup Banquet in New York City. Among the honored are likely to be Bobby Labonte, Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt.
We also should expect to see some sort of tribute to the two Winston Cup drivers who lost their lives on the track in 2000 -- Adam Petty and Kenny Irwin.
It will likely be an emotional moment for the drivers and other members of the NASCAR community as they remember who these talented individuals were, both as drivers and people. A story or two might be shared about the 1998 Rookie of the Year and the rising star in NASCAR's greatest racing family.
Irwin and Petty will be remembered fondly, as they should.
But what about recalling the events that caused their deaths?
"They know the risk when they get in the car."
"Well, at least they died doing what they loved."
"In his final moments he knew he was racing."
Those are all too common takes on driver deaths. And although two drivers were killed in the same turn at the same track -- and possibly in the same manner -- little more was said by NASCAR.
"We are deeply saddened at today's passing of Kenny Irwin. On behalf of all of us
at NASCAR and the entire NASCAR community, our deepest
sympathies, all our thoughts and prayers are with Kenny's family, friends
and everyone at Team SABCO. Kenny was a fine competitor and will be
missed very much by the entire NASCAR community."
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RECENT AUTO ON-TRACK DEATHS
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Circuit
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Driver
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Year
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Location
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NASCAR
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Tony Roper
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2000
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Fort Worth, Texas
|
|
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Kenny Irwin
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2000
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Loudon, N.H.
|
|
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Adam Petty
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2000
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Loudon, N.H.
|
|
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John Nemechek
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1997
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Homestead, Fla.
|
|
|
Rodney Orr
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1994
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Daytona Beach, Fla.
|
|
|
Neil Bonnett
|
1994
|
Daytona Beach, Fla.
|
|
|
Clifford Allison
|
1992
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Brooklyn, Mich.
|
|
|
J.D. McDuffie
|
1991
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Watkins Glen, N.Y.
|
|
|
Grant Adcox
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1989
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Hampton, Ga.
|
|
CART
|
Greg Moore
|
1999
|
Fontana, Calif.
|
|
|
Gonzalo Rodriguez
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1999
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Monterey, Calif.
|
|
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Jeff Krosnoff
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1996
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Toronto
|
|
|
Jovy Marcelo
|
1992
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Indianapolis
|
|
|
Gordon Smiley
|
1982
|
Indianapolis
|
|
F-1
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Aryton Senna
|
1994
|
Imola, Italy
|
|
|
Roland Ratzenberger
|
1994
|
Imola, Italy
|
|
|
Ricardo Paletti
|
1982
|
Montreal
|
|
|
Gilles Villeneuve
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1982
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Spa Francorchamps, Belgium
|
|
IRL
|
Scott Brayton
|
1996
|
Indianapolis
|
|
WOO
|
Kevin Gobrecht
|
2000
|
Greenwood, Neb.
|
|
USAC
|
Swede Savage
|
1973
|
Indianapolis
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Those were then-NASCAR president Bill France's words of solace to Irwin's colleagues, fans, friends and family after the 30-year-old driver's July 7 death. Not something along the lines of, "This obviously is devastating to the NASCAR community. We will make every effort in implementing preventative measures to ensure that a tragedy like this one never happens again."
Granted, the statement conveyed the appropriate sensitivity and sympathy, but it was also a cookie-cutter response with no plan of action. Practice and qualifying went on as scheduled, as did the race.
"Kenny would have wanted us to race on Sunday."
Perhaps. But Kenny also probably would have wanted the problems of stuck accelerators and Turn 3 at New Hampshire to have been addressed a long time before.
Adam Petty died two months earlier in that same turn. In the least, some sort of measures should have been considered at that point. But this problem dates back far beyond Petty and Irwin.
After Irwin's death, recently retired Darrell Waltrip certainly thought more action should have been taken.
"It's just like, 'A guy got killed, but it's OK because he was doing what he likes to do.' I mean, give me a break. (It's like) a guy riding down the road and he gets shot in the head by some weirdo. 'Well, he was driving down his favorite road.' That's no rationale."
Adding to NASCAR's lack of motion are reports that officials never requested copies of either driver's autopsy. Officials said they had all the information they needed and that information of the drivers' death certificates coincided with their take on what happened.
New Hampshire state medical examiner Thomas Andrew told the Orlando Sentinel that while the drivers' torsos were restrained, their "heads shot forward upon impact. The forceful motion fractured the basal area of their skulls and irreparable damaged nerve cells in their brains ... This area is extremely important for controlling very, very basic functions. Blood pressure. Heart rate. Breathing. And if you injure that, all of that stops."
Is it certain that Andrew's explanation is a correct description of why Petty and Irwin died? I don't know.
But NASCAR should.
And then the drivers should be told.
After the accidents, Petty's car was buried and Irwin's destroyed. While no one takes issue with the vehicles' ultimate fate, some drivers are concerned that NASCAR has not been as forthcoming with information regarding the accidents as it should be.
"They should tell us or give us an opportunity to look at the vehicle," driver Ward Burton told the Sentinel. "I've asked questions, (but all they say is) 'There were no mechanical signs of any throttles being stuck.' The impact could have unstuck it."
The agony of defeat
In no other major sport -- with the possible exception of soccer tramplings in Europe and Africa -- is the death of a participant so routine that it can be chalked up to being "part of the game."
Names such as Reggie Lewis and Hank Gathers come to mind. Not to belittle these tragedies, but they -- along with numerous high school and college football, wresting and track deaths -- had more to do with heart conditions, overexertions and heat strokes, which could have occurred during any strenuous physical activity not necessarily related to the athlete's sport.
But auto racing deaths -- not those of Alan Kulwicki, Davey Allison and other victims of off-track tragedies -- are a direct result of the nature and inherent dangers of the sport. Hockey and football might also fall into this category, but paralysis and serious but not life-threatening injuries are far more common than death.
In just the past twelve years there have been nine on-track deaths in NASCAR races alone, including Winston Cup, Busch and Trucks. This without even adding open wheel racing to the mix.
NASCAR officials said they wanted to do something to improve driver safety. Soft walls have been explored, along with kill switches and toe clips. And restrictor plates were used in the Fall race at Loudon to slow things down a bit.
NASCAR is making an effort. Considerable hours have been put into figuring out a way to improve driver safety -- but not enough.
|  | | Irwin, the 1998 Winston Cup Rookie of the Year, was pronounced dead at the scene. |
And the racing has continued.
NASCAR is a business -- a colossal one, at that. So suspending races really isn't an option. Given that, it seems NASCAR should have been working overtime to come up with some sort of remedy. Now, they have about two months to figure it all out.
"I would hope that after these two tragic deaths we can take a hard look at how to make the tracks safer," said veteran driver Rusty Wallace. "(NASCAR) isn't going to just blow it off."
You'd hope not. After all, isn't a life too large a price to pay for the love of a sport? Some might say no. And while they understand the sentiment, it's hard to imagine the families of these two men -- regardless of what Richard Petty says -- are part of that group.
NASCAR is working toward solutions. And Bill France, Mike Helton, Gary Nelson and Co. do care a great deal about driver safety.
But serious consideration should have been given -- and should be given in the future -- to putting the season on hiatus in the wake of tragedy. It's easy to say, "Well, the show must go on."
Must it?
Said Waltrip, "If you were as concerned about safety as you are parity and who's getting the most downforce and all those issues, somewhere along the way, we've got to stop and say, 'Hey, we're getting those guys hurt over here. What's going on?'"
Was a stuck throttle the culprit? Is the track configuration an issue? Was it driver error? What could have prevented this? These are questions that should have been answered in the very least before cars took to the New Hampshire International Raceway again, and possibly to any track.
But those questions remain unanswered. And thankfully, there were no life-ending tragedies at September's Dura Lube 300. But can you imagine the outcry if there had been?
It'd certainly be enough to turn NASCAR on its ear ... right?
Jonathan Baum is the Motor Sports editor for ESPN.com. | |
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