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Tag: Ray Chapman

  • Hot 20 – Would reducing the dangers of Daytona also reduce its thrills?

    Hot 20 – Would reducing the dangers of Daytona also reduce its thrills?

    We want drivers and fans to be safe. We want action that is anything but safe. It might sound hypocritical, but deep in our hearts, we know it to be true.

    Talladega concerned some drivers. Kyle Busch says it was “pretty dangerous for all us drivers.” That may have been true. He also said it “wasn’t very exciting.” That is false. For fans, watching drivers inches apart at up to 200 mph, where disaster is only a sneeze away, is pretty damned exciting.

    Personally, it is the threat of a wreck that is more exciting than the actual carnage. The boys and girl are doing something I do not have the ability to perform nor, to be honest, the courage to attempt. It appears to be dangerous and, according to Kyle, that is because it is.

    We want the danger. Yet, we also want to see Kyle climb out of his Xfinity car unscathed at Daytona. We wanted to see Dale Earnhardt, Adam Petty, and Kenny Irwin Jr. step out of their wrecks. We want to see the crushing hits in the NFL, but it appears their helmets cannot prevent the devastation of long-term brain injuries. We want the fights and the hard hits of the NHL, yet the mounting evidence of long-term head trauma has brought rule changes to make the sport safer.

    Does reducing the danger also reduce the excitement for the fans? It has to. Hall of Famers Sprague Cleghorn, Eddie Shore, Rocket Richard, and Gordie Howe would have had to play differently to avoid lifetime suspensions in today’s NHL. Some used their sticks, some their elbows, and some just beat the crap out of their opponents. Seeing a receiver take the hit just as he receives the ball, slamming straight to the ground or doing mid-air flips upon impact, is a great visual, but it has to take a toll on the human being involved. Does anyone remember Lawrence Taylor’s sack of Washington Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann that broke the pivot’s leg in two places? Pretty amazing. Pretty devastating. For safety sake, change is required, change is happening, and more change is coming.

    Deaths have happened in most sports, but very few at the highest level. Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indians died in 1920 after being struck in the head by a pitched ball. Bill Masterton of the Minnesota North Stars struck his head on the ice and died in 1968. In football, AFL players Howard Glenn and Stone Johnson died in the 1960’s due to neck injuries. Chuck Hughes of the Detroit Lions suffered a fatal heart attack in a game in 1971. Then there is professional boxing. Then there is motorsports.

    Joe Weatherly, Fireball Roberts, Tiny Lund, J.D. McDuffie, Neil Bonnett, John Nemechek, and Carlos Pardo remind us that we cannot build more durable humans, nor dismiss the heartbreak of their loss. Pit road is safer, yet only after the Southern 500 in 1960 cost the lives of mechanics Paul McDuffie, Charles Sweatlund, and official Joe Taylor. We lost crewman Randy Owens at Talladega in 1975. Yet, we liked the excitement of those old cars, the open faced helmets, and the speeding down pit road. We still do, but not at that price.

    If NASCAR gets too safe, might it cause fans to wander off seeking new distractions, new outlets for their thrills and emotions? It could. It may have already taken place to some degree. I love watching the action at Daytona and Talladega, watching those who can do what I cannot, or will not, even attempt. I watch what I enjoy, and often we can not say exactly what it is that caused us to lose interest. I loved hockey, the hard-nosed 1960’s, the violent 1970’s, and the grace and majesty of the 1980’s, but it is rare to find me sitting through an NHL game today. Many once loved NASCAR; they had it bad and could not get enough of it. Today, the tracks no longer even release attendance figures and grandstands are being torn down. Sports of all kinds are trying to increase the “fan experience,” all but admitting the action on the field is no longer enough.

    Saturday night should be enough. It is Daytona, the Firecracker 400 as it was known until 1989. A race that has meaning, a race that has tradition, a race that has high speeds and, yes, a race that has a measure of danger.

    May our Hot 20 and the rest provide us with excitement and, despite our barbaric nature, a safe event.

    1. KYLE BUSCH – 3 WINS (452 Pts)
    No new rules to slow down the cars at Daytona, and Kyle isn’t happy about that.

    2. CARL EDWARDS – 2 WINS (510 Pts)
    Has run good at Daytona, has run bad, but has never won there.

    3. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 2 WINS (506 Pts)
    Tried out an IndyCar at Road America, and plans to run Indianapolis…some day.

    4. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 2 WINS (469 Pts)
    Daughters cannot listen to team radio…because sometimes daddy says bad words.

    5. KEVIN HARVICK – 1 WIN (562 Pts)
    Sixteen races, 13 Top Tens. Some have more wins, no one has more points.

    6. KURT BUSCH – 1 WIN (527 Pts)
    Formula 3000 is just one step below F-1…and could be in Kurt’s future come December.

    7. JOEY LOGANO – 1 WIN (493 Pts)
    If Tony and Denny had crashed on last Sunday’s final lap, guess who would have won.

    8. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 1 WIN (469 Pts)
    Tony, Tony, Tony…but did anyone notice Martin finished fifth? Did not think so.

    9. MATT KENSETH – 1 WIN (430 Pts)
    He did not have Chris Osborne as his eyes in the sky in February. He will on Saturday night.

    10. DENNY HAMLIN – 1 WIN (421 Pts)
    With Tony Stewart behind him at Sonoma, Denny thought for a second he was Ron Thornton.

    11. CHASE ELLIOTT – 473 PTS
    Good talent, good car, equals good results.

    12. DALE EARNHARDT JR. – 413 PTS
    Newman, McMurray, and Junior battled on the track, only to face de-feet in the sky.

    13. RYAN NEWMAN – 402 PTS
    The winner.

    14. AUSTIN DILLON – 400 PTS
    I am trying to remember how his Daytona race finished last year. So is he.

    15. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 398 PTS
    If a pissed off Stewart is a motivated Stewart, does that make Jamie his personal Tony Robbins?

    16. KASEY KAHNE – 385 PTS
    If you think Kasey’s season sucks, please consider Clint’s situation.

    17. RYAN BLANEY – 382 PTS
    New rule change locks even unchartered teams into Chase races…but they have to be Chasers.

    18. A.J. ALLMENDINGER – 365 PTS
    Damn rolling tire.

    19. TREVOR BAYNE – 361 PTS
    You might remember that he has won at Daytona before.

    20. KYLE LARSON – 355 PTS
    Do you remember when everyone was gushing over Kyle and Trevor?

    30. BRIAN SCOTT – 205 PTS
    Sometimes holding down 30th gets you recognition…at least for this week.

    32. TONY STEWART – 196 PTS (1 win)
    As Kyle did before him. Now cue the Jaws theme.

  • Will the tragedy at Pocono cause open wheel racing to abandon the open cockpit?

    Will the tragedy at Pocono cause open wheel racing to abandon the open cockpit?

    Last weekend at Pocono, IndyCar driver Justin Wilson lost his life when he was struck by debris from a single car accident ahead of him on the track. To say it is a tragedy is an understatement. Could conditions have been altered in order to make racing safer so that we might avoid such anguish in the future?

    That is what the powers that be will be looking at. Wilson’s death was not caused by a crash, contact with the wall, or a wild tumble. The 37-year-old father of two died when a piece of a car broke off after contact with the wall, sailed in the air and struck him while he was driving a fair distance behind the incident. Could the part that flew off, a portion of the nose cone, have been secured better or constructed in such a fashion that it did not become a deadly projectile? Could the driver have been better protected?

    Even in the most dangerous occupations, never mind sports, one expects the participant to return home safe and sound. However, the reality is that some activities come with inherent risks. In 1989, champion bull rider Lane Frost lost his life in the arena when broken ribs punctured his heart. All competitors now wear a protective vest.

    Duk Koo Kim lost his life in a championship fight with Ray Mancini in 1982. Shortly after, championship bouts were reduced in duration from 15 to 12 rounds. Bill Masterton of the Minnesota North Stars struck his head on the ice in an NHL game in 1968. Although it took more than a decade, rules were eventually brought in to make helmets mandatory for new players. It took more than 30 years for baseball to react following the death of Ray Chapman in 1920, finally introducing the batting helmet.

    The host of changes NASCAR has introduced following the 2001 death of Dale Earnhardt has without a doubt saved lives. Since the Cup series began in 1949, 28 drivers have lost their lives in the division, including a trio of Hall of Famers; Earnhardt, Fireball Roberts, and Joe Weatherly. The 14 years since the loss of the Intimidator marks the longest we have gone without a loss of life in the series. However, before we start to think NASCAR drivers have become invincible, five drivers in other related series have died in races since then. There is still work to be done with the cars and the venues they race on.

    Open-wheel cars have their own dangers. In fact, it is a style that sees safety sacrificed for speed. The slightest amount of contact can send a car out of control into the fence or a competitor. The wheels are exposed and unprotected, sticking out from the chassis and easily clipped by a passing opponent. Then there are the open cockpits, where a driver sits vulnerable to a host of potential dangers, such as the one that took the life of Wilson. It brings to mind the haunting images from the 1977 South African Grand Prix. Tom Pryce struck a marshal who was darting across the track, with the fire extinguisher he was carrying, striking the exposed helmet of the driver, as both died in the accident.

    Does the open-wheel concept also demand an open cockpit? Could a new design incorporating a canopy to protect the drivers in the case of such incidents be in the offing? Four years ago, after an injury, Wilson himself stated, “You’ve got to know the risks and work out if those risks are acceptable – to me, it’s acceptable.” That did not mean he stopped trying to improve safety, though “at the end of the day, it’s a race car” and “when it goes wrong, it can get messy.”

    Race cars will never be totally safe. When you hit speeds at 200 mph and beyond, something bad can happen. NASCAR has done an amazing job to make their cars safer, more like their street counterparts where the preservation of its occupants today is as important as performance. Open-wheel divisions of motorsports have to decide if that is a path they wish to follow. It comes down to just how willing they might be to sacrificing some of their traditions in order to avoid sacrificing more of their participants.