Commentary: NASCAR'S Tragedy

by Matthew Roberts

While I would never have called myself a fan of NASCAR and auto racing in general, the recent events surrounding Dale Earnhardt's death caught my attention. I thought about one of the basic tenets of the sport: if a participant makes a mistake, the participants (and even sometimes observers) die, are paralyzed, or ruin hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment?

It seems that even NASCAR drivers think that something needs to be done about this. According to an article in the Charlotte Observer, some of NASCAR's "most influential figures" issued separate calls for NASCAR to "get outside help to improve safety and investigate" the death of Dale Earnhardt. But NASCAR President Mike Helton said, "I don't think it requires a group of drivers to tell us to heighten our effort on safety. I think what we might need to do is a better job of explaining to the drivers what we're doing on safety across the board. If we need to get to that constituency and make them smarter, then that's something we better do." According to the Atlanta Constitution, Helton said that despite reports of inaction, NASCAR "has made at least" 52 rules changes on safety in recent years.

In a New York Times article, Robert Lipsyte writes four deaths in the past year "may make it harder for NASCAR to play its cards so close to the vest." Like the press, the drivers are reacting strongly to this tragedy. From many reports, it seems the death of Earnhardt has been a wake-up call to the fact that some changes need to be made. According to the Winston Salem Journal, Driver Todd Bodine said that drivers planned a safety meeting

Responding to this, NASCAR is predictably defensive. According to the Washington Post, NASCAR's Director of Communications said that there "is little need for a drivers' safety committee. The Charlotte Observer reports that Helton said that NASCAR "is in the process of establishing a research and development facility" in Hickory, NC, with a staff of about 12 employees.

There are no easy answers to these questions. By all accounts, the cars in this race were not going as fast as cars in some other types of races. Watching the crash, over and over, on news channels, and ESPN, one is struck by how innocuous it appeared. There was no spectacular barrel-roll, no car engulfed in flames. Yet, there it was, one of racing's greatest legends, his life cut short, perhaps because of a broken seat belt. Or perhaps because this sport is just too dangerous.