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A Tale of Two Drivers......© Thomas M. Sampson
Jul 10, 2000
The racing community is again filled with grief and outrage. We've lost another one of our up and coming racing stars. We've all read the stories, heard most of the comments from NASCAR insiders, and searched the Internet for any new news stories concerning the latest tragedy from New Hampshire.
Maybe the word 'outrage' is a little strong in this instance, but there are a lot of folks that want to see something done to correct this problem at the New Hampshire track. Benny Parsons has been vocal about 'soft walls' on racetracks for years. He made reference this weekend to the head-on hit to the foam barriers at 150 MPH by Jimmy Johnson at Sears Point. Johnson emerged from the racecar unharmed, most of us were watching it.
There seems to be a multitude of witnesses to Kenny's wreck that claim the throttle stuck wide open on the racecar. Darrell Waltrip was one of them. He was very vocal about it during a TV interview. Witnesses also claimed that the throttle stuck on Adam Petty's racecar, but after an examination of the wreckage, NASCAR reported that a stuck throttle wasn't conclusive. When a racecar hits the wall at 170 MPH, the jolt could be strong enough to knock a stuck throttle loose. So how could an examination of the wrecked racecar be conclusive? If NASCAR won't take the witnesses word for it, then what's the use in pursuing it? Where were the NASCAR officials? Why didn't they hear the throttle wide open when the racecar hit the wall? NASCAR is either going to have something done about it, or they'll sit on it until something else happens.
I think there will be a lot of prodding done by the likes of D. W. and Benny. There are lots of influential people in racing, and in the media, that will keep reminding NASCAR of a problem that won't fit under a rug.
Mark Martin made the comment that the New Hampshire track was similar to the Martinsville track. Both tracks are built similar to a paper clip, with long straight stretches and narrow tight corners. Martin claims the speeds down the straight stretches get too high for the racecars to safely enter the corners. If something happens, like a blown tire or stuck throttle, there's no room to correct, and no banking to slow a racecar down. There's no place to go, except head-on into the concrete wall.
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