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Thursday, July 5
Searching for progress
By Jonathan Baum
ESPN.com
If anyone already was looking ahead to the Pepsi 400 back in February, it was probably easy at the time to imagine that extensive changes would have taken place by the time NASCAR motored back to the site of one of racing's darkest hours.
As everyone is aware, plenty -- from lawsuits to seat belts to HANS -- has happened between then and now.
|  | | A somber looking Bill France, center, Chairman of the Board of NASCAR, looks on as Mike Helton, president of NASCAR, left, addresses Dale Earnhardt's death. |
But things haven't changed.
And until this week, save for a shot at Bill Simpson, NASCAR has remained tight-lipped. Some commended the Frances and Heltons for not jumping to conclusions, while others lambasted them for failing to jump through any hoops at all.
Still, the investigation continues, and NASCAR won't -- at least not at this point -- mandate the use of the HANS device. Officials have, however, made changes to the window size to accommodate those who wish to use the restraint. This coming on the heels of admitting mistakes were made in the investigation of Earnhardt's death and the subsequent statements -- or lack thereof -- regarding the investigation.
Basically, the message is this: "OK, maybe we could have done this or that differently. We're sticking to our guns about taking our time with this, but sure, we should have spoken to Tommy Propst sooner ... and maybe not made some comments that we did. Our bad."
Does this ultimately change anything? Not really. But what is does do is give reason for skeptics to regain some confidence in NASCAR's efforts.
Yes, regain confidence.
Y'see, they admitted to making mistakes ... to being human. Up until this point, it seemed the NASCAR blinders were on, and there was no periphery. The NASCAR way was the right way, all naysayers be damned.
While NASCAR still might think it's on the right track, there now is at least acknowledgement of alternate viewpoints. Further, by making a small change allowing HANS to fit into Winston Cup cars and plans, there is the message saying, "yeah, maybe this does work. We're still not sure, but we almost encourage drivers to try."
It's not the be-all, end-all of this investigation. It's not the definitive account of exactly why Dale Earnhardt, Kenny Irwin, Adam Petty and Tony Roper, among others, died, nor does it tell us what could have saved them.
But it is something.
Maybe it's just meant to appease the masses -- a crumb for drivers, fans and the media to nibble at.
But more optimistically, it's more than a car design change, more than a public admission of mistakes. These are signs that this investigation is going somewhere, that NASCAR might be making progress, whether in leaps and bounds or step by step.
It's all proof that NASCAR is indeed trying.
And that's all so many of us have been asking for. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
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