In the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500, the face of NASCAR changed forever. The man known both, affectionately and reverently, as “The Intimidator”, suffered a fatal car accident and died as a result of severe head trauma sustained in the Daytona 500. As fans and the racing world mourned the death of the living legend Dale Earnhardt, NASCAR was slowly casting its eyes toward the future of racing and the safety of NASCAR drivers.
Earnhardt’s death was the fourth in just one year, and suddenly NASCAR officials found themselves teetering on that invisible line drawn in the sand; how to implement comprehensive safety changes and still continue to attract and keep fans.
Mention to a staunch NASCAR racing fan that they are there to watch these races just for the accidents, and you are going to get yourself “a whoopin’ NASCAR style.”
What Fans Want
Most fans would agree that there is nothing exciting or thrilling about losing a NASCAR racing driver due to something as basic as not having a safety harness. However, there is that allure of the excitingly close and competitive race and drivers rarely fail to deliver. They come out with more and more strategies to keep their edge and move the bar just a little bit higher. One example of this is the practice of bump drafting. With this maneuver, one false move while attempting to bump draft can send a driver’s car careening out of control into the fence or worse yet, the audience.
Bump Drafting? Sounds like the Newest Mosh Pit Dance
Bump or slam drafting is a technique used by the NASCAR drivers to help with car aerodynamics. It is accomplished by bumping the car in front to create an aerodynamic relationship that will benefit both cars involved. Most bump drafting occurs at high-banked restrictor-plate racing venues, such as Talladega and Daytona. Incidentally, bump drafting picked up a new name recently because of the new, younger and more aggressive drivers bumping a bit too hard – slam drafting.
This is the stuff that NASCAR is made of. Fans like the risk and the excitement of the all-out race. They want to stand on their feet cheering while watching a photo finish. A 2009 Talladega race seemed to go a long way to prove that if you impose rules in NASCAR, they will be met with drivers too worried about the wrath of NASCAR and instead of racing well, they end up racing safe and conservative. Racing fans do not want conservative racing.
Rules Change the Game
As early as 2006, drivers were raising concerns over the back drafting technique. Tony Stewart took his concerns to NASCAR asking that they look into the situation and take some action. Still, he was concerned about NASCAR being too aggressive in their policing of this issue.
In 2009, NASCAR told the drivers and the fans that it was severely limiting the use of bump drafter. A driver could not draft in the turns. This protocol was used in the fall of 2009 at the Talladega Sprint Cup race and, most commentators, drivers and fans agreed it lead to a giant yawn fest and NASCAR results also seemed to reflect this.
Did it make the race safer? The opinions on this are as numerous as the sponsors lining up to get their advertising splashed on the cars. Yes, there were still three accidents in that race, but proponents of the rules change argued that no one died. This all led to a drop in ticket sales and NASCAR noticed.
Early in 2010, NASCAR heard the cry of the masses and lifted the back drafting rule. Once again all was right with the world. NASCAR racing returned to a more normal state though some safety issues were still implemented such as banning the practice of passing below the track’s racing groove.
Where Does NASCAR Go from Here?
Whatever NASCAR chooses to do, they better do it very carefully. The NASCAR schedule must go on in the eyes of the fans. Racing is always going to be dangerous, that just comes with the territory. There are ways to reduce the risk the NASCAR driver is exposed to in racing while keeping the thrill factor alive. NASCAR seems to be addressing these issues by regulating the styling and equipment that the car is outfitted with, and that might be the best solution.
One example of that is the HANS device, made for supporting the NASCAR driver's head, shoulders and neck.
So go ahead and give those NASCAR tickets to your husband for his birthday. Depending on what NASCAR eventually fleshes out over all of this, his reaction will go one of two ways; either it will be, “Aw gee thanks Hun, but I think I am cleaning the litter box for fluffy that day.” Or, more hopefully, “OMG you must love me so much to give me these, I am going to go call my boys and start (bragging) making plans to go!”
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