Cup driver wins IROC, Cup driver hurt in truck race, Cup driver wins Busch, Daytona 500, and the Rockingham test for an equal field.
Cup Driver Wins........ IROC
They call Dale Earnhardt Sr. the "master" at Daytona. His experience and cunning at the drafting game has won him a total of 34 races on the 2 1/2 mile oval. He was able defend his IROC Championship Friday, January 18th in grand style. Read the story here .
Cup Driver Hurt...... Craftsman Truck Race
I'm sure all of you have heard about the bad wreck in the truck race. Geoff Bodine wound up in the catch fence at 190 MPH, due to a rookies mistake behind him. I haven't seen any film footage of it yet, but it was reported that the only part of the truck that was left was the roll cage. Geoff is starting the 2000 season on a bad note, first he fails to qualify for the Daytona 500, and now this. It's doubtful that he will attempt to race next week at Rockingham. They said Geoff's injuries weren't serious. Broken bones sound serious enough to me. If 'they' had the broken bones, they'd think it was serious.
Geoff Bodine takes that risk every time he climbs into a racecar. It's really no big deal to racers. I'm not saying they like it, but they realize it's just part of the profession. Now, it appears the fans are also taking that risk. I guess they always have been, but when something like this happens, where fans get hurt, it makes us realize how vulnerable we are while attending races.
This was the reason for restrictor plates to begin with. By now, everyone knows the story of Bobby Allison taking out 30 feet of fencing in front of the grandstand at Talledega in '87. NASCAR sensed danger for the fans as well as the drivers, and incorporated the restrictor plate into the rulebook.
What are they going to do this time? Apparently race fans aren't safe, and restrictor plates didn't solve the problem. My solution? Build stronger fencing, take away the first dozen rows of grandstand seats and build a high concrete wall in their place and put another fence on top of it. THEN, do away with the restrictor plates, AND LET THEM RACE!
