NASCAR "Tragedy in Daytona"

[simms3]

Debbie, wasn't writing in response to you in particular   (We are generally of the same perception about everything).

28 people, and some seriously!!!  That's sad.  Hate to be of this opinion, but I don't think we can fully expect our safety to be guaranteed by others.  There is insurance for anything and everything, so at least that's good for both those on the receiving end of accidents and those whose assets or actions will be laid to blame for those accidents.  I don't think you can blame Nascar for this very rare freak accident any more than you can blame Nascar for having bars on the premises that serve people who get rowdy and punch others in the face, breaking noses and teeth in the process (anyone been to a soccer match abroad??).

[Cheshire Cat]

You are correct Simms, there are no guarantee's in life and there is insurance and lawsuits.    I am expecting Daytona raceway will see some of those.  Personally, I try to avoid events of any type that have large metal objects on wheels climbing over cars or racing around a track, specifically because of the chance of accidents and the noise level.  I have no problem however with others who do like this sort of thing.  Each to their own.  By the way, my uncle was an award winning stock car racer back in the day, his son loves the sport, me not so much.  lol

[YellowBluffRoad]

I had not actually thought of crochet as a sport.  It only involves a hook and some yarn. I guess it could be competitive if you tried hard enough.  Croquet, however, involves wooden balls and mallets.  (Sorry If_I_Loved_You...I couldn't resist!)  LOL

Boxing...have to agree.  Getting paid for something which, if performed while drunk on a street corner at 3 AM with another drunk would land you in jail.  Of course, I guess you could say the same thing about NASCAR if you were driving that fast at 3 AM.  After all, the roots of NASCAR was with moonshiners outrunning revenuers, and then getting together to see if they could outrun each other.  :-)

I'm in my 50's and growing up in the 70's I wasn't much of a NASCAR fan. But I like to watch it on TV now and maybe someday I will go to a NASCAR race in person. My kind of auto racing is "The 24 Hours of Daytona" I grew up watching Peter Gregg #59 wow what a professional race car driver! I was sadden of his suicide back in December 1980. "One should Never act as if they know what another is going thru unless they can wear his or her shoes?"

In general I prefer road course racing to "roundy-rounds". I've been to several driving school series over the years, including both personal sports car and open wheel cars on some very fun tracks.

However, I must say that my most enlightening racing school was at Bristol Motor Speedway. Short half mile oval, which would seem kinda dull at first, eh? After all, some folks drive faster on the highway than the speeds even the pros get to at Bristol. BUT... laps at Bristol, with even 5 cars on track, were the most focused and busy track laps that I've done. Constant turning, constant focus on where/when to safely pass, constant mirror checking - and again that was with a handful of cars on track at any one time. It was very fun, but definitely took more exertion than the road courses I'd driven. I gained a completely new perspective on what it must take to be on a course like that with 42 other cars and drivers within inches of each other for 500 miles.

[simms3]

^^^Yes!!!  And to add...I would think anyone who has driven through LA would have an appreciation at minimum for racing, especially of the Sprint Cup or IndyCar Series!  When I drive through LA, one end to the other, it usually takes at least 2 hours where the majority of that is spent on rough/hilly 20 lane highways where traffic is tighter than rush hour in Jax and still moving at 70+ MPH (not to mention the crazy interchanges around downtown).  I'm usually wiping sweat off of the forehead and taking a break when I can.

I literally can't imagine being in a tight pack of cars going 200 MPH for 500 miles.  Whoa.  The tension in your muscles as you grip the wheel and the shift various gears/pedals must be intensely high for the duration...that's probably a hell of a workout.

Definitely been down to the 24 Hour...quite an awesome race, too.  There are always a few racers from Jax who participate in one of the racing groups.  The noise intensity of the cars on the track (especially at the 500) is like a jet engine going by every few seconds.  Very exhilarating for the fans...I'll take my risk of car parts flying at me if I get offered tickets to a race

[YellowBluffRoad]

I've read that 7 fans are still in the hospital. NASCAR and the Speedway will perform the formal safety investigations.

The Daytona Beach News-Journal has a good article here http://www.news-journalonline.com/article/20130226/NASCAR/302259953/1001?p=1&tc=pg and more coverage at their home page.

The industry has looked for a way to better protect fans from flying debris, said Wheeler, who now works as a consultant. But no better options have been developed that would "prevent every teeny piece from coming into the grandstand" and still allow fans to see the action on the track, he said.

At Charlotte, he tried a type of clear plastic similar to that used in bulletproof windows. But it didn't work because it turned black from rubber and other materials, and fans couldn't see through it.

[I-10east]

Well, I guess that there's another 'tragedy' of a sorts for NASCAR; A new sponsor is coming to Texas Motor Speedway, behold the new NRA 500. I'm astounded, way to set that sport back forty years NASCAR. I've tried to defend NASCAR, but maybe I was wrong with my earlier take. Good luck with any hopes of a progressive new fanbase, although I think that they'll be fine either way. SMH.

http://frontburner.dmagazine.com/2013/03/04/the-nra-500-is-coming-to-the-texas-motor-speedway-this-april/