No “Quick Fix” Needed At NHIS

Kenny Irwin was dead less than a week before the vultures
began to circle.

Irwin, a former NASCAR Craftsman Truck and Winston Cup Series
Rookie of the Year, was killed in a horrific July 7 practice crash at New
Hampshire International Speedway, just yards from the spot where 19-year old
Adam Petty lost his life eight weeks earlier. In the aftermath of the crash, a
number of possible scenarios were suggested; stuck throttle, flat tire,
mechanical failure, or driver error. Some also suggested there might even be a
problem with the track itself; a bump or irregularity in the asphalt that causes
drivers to lose control.

One of the people espousing the "faulty race track"
theory was Lauren J. Fix.

Fix, of Clarence, NY, owns a driving school at Watkins Glen
International Speedway, and is the author of "Driving Ambitions: The
Complete Guide to Amateur Auto Racing." The SCCA and vintage racer’s
resume includes a stint designing aftermarket automotive braking systems for her
family owned company, and appearances on the Oprah Winfrey show, the CBS Early
Show, CNN and others.

In the days following Irwin’s death, Fix told the
Associated Press that the fatal crash – and, by association, that of Adam
Petty – was due to a flaw in New Hampshire International Speedway’s third
turn. In her words, "there appears to be something wrong with that corner
of the track."

Contacted later that same day, Fix restated her belief that
the Loudon, NH oval was to blame.

"It’s a flat track, and (as) Rusty Wallace said, when
there are accidents at the same track in the same corner – especially two in
two months – it needs to be investigated. What we need to do is come up with a
solution, either from a driver’s standpoint or a track standpoint."

Fix said she believes NASCAR drivers should wear head
restraint systems similar to those found in Formula One racing.

"It’s a support that goes around the back of your
head, so in case of a rear-end collision, you don’t get whiplash," she
said. "But it also has tethers on your helmet, attached to the support so
your head doesn’t go forward, which is evidently probably what happened to
Adam Petty and also Kenny Irwin."

Asked to specify her concerns with the NHIS track, Fix
compared it to Watkins Glen, which utilizes large, expandable foam blocks to
lessen the impact of crashes.

"There’s foam there, and there’s gravel pits,"
she said. "Granted, you don’t have room for a gravel pit (at New
Hampshire), but the foam has saved thousands of lives, believe me. I’ve seen
it at our driving schools when people hit the foam, and I’d rather have foam
all over the track than…a piece of the wall. What’s important is that the
track be safe."

My complaint is that there are a lot of accidents (at New
Hampshire)," added Fix. "There was also a truck accident there that
weekend, and thank God the guy (Dennis Setzer) wasn’t killed. They need to
have barriers that are movable. If you can’t do that, you have a flat track
that is very close to the wall. And whether the drivers want to admit it or not,
it can be a very dangerous track if you don’t know what you are doing."

Further, Fix claimed to have evidence that Irwin was in
control and attempting to slow his car prior to impact.

"I was on the (inter)net, and AOL has a sports page that
listed the fact that they saw brake lights prior to the impact," she said.
Informed that NASCAR Winston Cup cars do not have brake lights, the
self-described "automotive and auto racing expert" replied,
"Well, that’s what someone said. I’m just reading what they said. I don’t
have brake lights on my car, either."

"I’m telling you what I’m reading as we speak,"
she said. "That’s what somebody wrote, so somebody is inaccurate in
(their) statement. I said there’s obviously something wrong with that corner.
Two people died in that corner, so do you think there’s something wrong with
the asphalt or not?"

Asked if driver error might have been a factor, Fix replied,
"Sure…that’s possible." She also conceded that mechanical failure
could have been to blame, rather than an inherent flaw in the race track itself.
She continued to insist however, that the track was to blame for Irwin’s
death.

"The track is known among racers as being a flat race
track…and I can’t believe anyone in their right mind would think there’s
not something wrong when there were two deaths in that corner. There’s a lot
of impact in that corner. It could be that the asphalt has settled. It could be
the way the track was laid out originally. Asphalt settles over a period of
years, and it’s possible something has changed during the last winter."

Asked if she had any evidence to support those claims, Fix
said, "As far as the asphalt settling, no, but…that’s what everyone is
saying. Nobody wants to quote anything, because everyone is afraid of Bill
France. If you were listening to the news over the weekend, every driver had an
(initial) statement. All those statements disappeared quickly, because the
drivers were told `Listen, we have nothing conclusive, so don’t say anything.’"

Pressed to back up her claims with fact, Fix suddenly
attempted to distance herself from the Associated Press story, saying, "I’m
just making a possibility. I’m not saying this is a fact." Then, despite
repeated previous assertions that something is wrong with the NHIS track, Fix
accused the Associated Press of misrepresenting her comments.

In her words, "I was misquoted."

Amazingly, just hours after claiming to have been misquoted
by the AP, Fix was once again courting the national media, this time with calls
to suspend all racing at NHIS, pending a final determination on what caused the
Petty and Irwin’s deaths.

Clearly, Lauren Fix has an agenda of her own. Sadly, "Oprah’s
Automotive Expert" appears to be attempting to burnish her own resume’ by
exploiting the tragic deaths of two young men. By her own admission, her
accusations are based on rumor, innuendo, and the anonymous on-line musings of
people who, like her, clearly know nothing about the sport of stock car racing.

If there is indeed a problem with New Hampshire International
Speedway, no one is more anxious than the Bahre family to have it diagnosed and
repaired. And if there is a problem with hung throttle linkages, NASCAR
International should do anything and everything in its power to pinpoint the
problem and ensure that it never happens again.

At this moment, what’s needed is a conscientious, thorough,
and complete investigation of the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Adam
Petty and Kenny Irwin, Jr. What is absolutely not needed is Lauren Fix’s
self serving brand of ill-informed, knee-jerk, sound bite sensationalism.

Answers are important, but correct answers are vital.

According to her slick promotional web site – "You See
The Driver…You Have Heard The Expert…Now Surf The Website" — Fix is
scheduled to appear on the Oprah Winfrey Show later this month to discuss summer
highway safety. Topics to be discussed include "what to pack in your trunk,
proper highway passing skills and proper driving etiquette."

Hopefully, "America’s Premier Automotive Expert"
will do a little homework this time, before the cameras roll.