I’m not sure exactly where the line was crossed, when the pendulum swung… when we just decided things were ‘a-ok’ to change.
Complacency is an odd thing. It seems to be bred from the comfort zone. We get in the comfort zone and just relax… maybe a little too much. When once relaxed, the little things start to slip by until one day you take a look at the bigger picture and have to wonder, “How did we get here?”
I think that this is the state of affairs at the moment for NASCAR: Complacency.
Because their focus certainly is NOT safety. Last night in the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway I began to get very curious about where NASCAR’s mind for safety is these days. Concern soon changed gears and became bewilderment.
In the early stages of the race, Carl Edwards was involved in a wreck which caused his car to sustain what appeared to be minor damage. The hit to the inside wall did not appear to be sufficient to remove him from the race. In fact, his crew brought him into the Pits under the caution and sent him back out quickly before the race resumed under Green.
However, Carl was soon back in the pits. Reports from various sources on Twitter, soon followed by TNT’s Race broadcast Team, was that Carl was beginning to feel sick in his car. The reason he was feeling sick was due to the damage the car had sustained. Carbon Monoxide fumes were making their way into the driver’s compartment. The fumes were making him sick.
Now stop and think about this for a minute. NASCAR monitors all team radio communications. So NASCAR knew that Carl Edwards was being subjected to elevated levels of Carbon Monoxide. But NASCAR simply turned a blind eye to this situation.
In the meantime, Carl is pacing laps on the track under green with 42 other drivers at speeds in excess of 180+mph. Yeah, I guess there’s no cause for concern over this, huh NASCAR? I guess having a guy out there who could simply pass out at any moment just isn’t that big of a deal in the eyes of the men who have coined “Boys have at it” recently.
Let’s be clear here… Carbon Monoxide poisoning is no little deal. There is no difference here than people starting their cars in closed garages at their home, falling asleep, and simply dying. Be it from an accidental occurrence or intended suicide, this is a very common occurrence in our country… people are all very aware of the dangers of this type of poisoning / asphyxiation from Carbon Monoxide fumes. But NASCAR let him return to the track? Why?
Which leads me to ask… do the cars even HAVE detection devices for Carbon Monoxide monitoring? If a small piece of metal can mean the difference between the driver breathing or the driver breathing deadly fumes… don’t you think NASCAR ought to monitor this?
The simple answer is yes, they should. Carbon Monoxide monitors are very low cost, and are made in extremely small sizes. They are used in many manufacturing industries and could be placed in a car in a size closely similar to that of a C-cell Battery.
Ok, this is just one occurrence you may say to yourself. Fine. One thing… hmmm, okay.
Then let’s talk about last lap cautions, shall we? No, no… wait. I want to talk about last lap cautions at tracks where, oh I don’t know… men have lost their lives in last lap accidents.
The sole root purpose of cautions is to recognize a need for safety. To slow down cars to keep people from getting hurt. It’s reactionary for the drivers, they see yellow.. they slow down and their focus becomes safety. That’s it in a nutshell.
So what happened, NASCAR?
Last lap of the race a BIG wreck occurs… and NASCAR reacts by doing NOTHING. They should have thrown the caution, froze the field, and the race was done. Because if they do not… then additional wrecks can occur and more people could get hurt.
And let’s be clear here… this first wreck on the last lap was no simple one car incident where the track was clean enough to continue racing. No… this occurred with many cars behind the wreck and at full speed. NASCAR owed the drivers the due diligence to throw the caution to protect them. Period.
Not only that, the race had already been extended with the ‘Green/White/Checkered’ policy. That NASCAR policy specifically states that if the wreck occurs on the white flag lap, the field will be frozen and the race has ended. But yet… why, we didn’t get that, did we? No… looks like good ‘ole complacency took over.
As we all know, NASCAR did not throw the caution at the wreck and yet a second wreck occurred which collected many more people (at full speed no less). This second last lap wreck should have never happened. Not in the NASCAR where safety has priority.
Where have your views of driver safety and due diligence gone, NASCAR?
“Boys have it” should never result in complacency in the realm of driver safety.
But yet here we are. Complacency has reared its ugly head. I guess it’ll take another death to refocus your efforts. After all, it only cost us the life of Dale Earnhardt to cause any action previously.
“Boys have at it” indeed.
-Name withheld, no kitchen pass issued.
