SpeedReading

In the summer of 1969, Richard Petty led
the now-defunct Professional Drivers Association in a boycott of the inaugural
Talladega 500, claiming that the tires of the day would not hold up to the
rigors of the high-banked, high speed oval. Recently, there were rumblings that
a similar work stoppage might take place this weekend at New Hampshire
International Speedway in Loudon. And once again, the issue is safety.

Two fatal crashes have taken place at NHIS
this season; both of them in the track’s third turn. In the aftermath of those
crashes – which claimed the lives of Petty’s grandson Adam and Kenny Irwin
— the Bahre Family (owners of NHIS) and NASCAR have pledged to take whatever
steps are necessary to prevent further tragedies. Recently, NASCAR mandated
changes in its Winston Cup rulebook to prevent stuck throttles, a factor widely
believed to have caused the deaths of Petty and Irwin. No changes, however, have
been made to the track itself, a fact that does not sit well with many in the
NASCAR garage.

The issue came to full boil last week,
when Bobby Labonte suffered a vicious practice crash at Darlington Raceway,
caused by a stuck throttle. Labonte walked away essentially uninjured, but the
crash left him – and many of his fellow drivers – deeply shaken.

"It scared the hell out of me,"
admitted Labonte after the wreck. "If that had happened at New Hampshire,
it would have been — ah — not as good. The turns are sharper there. This place
gives you more room."

NASCAR’s Chief Operating Officer, Mike
Helton, took issue with Labonte’s comments, saying, "We still maintain
there’s nothing wrong with that racetrack." If Helton’s remarks were
designed to calm and reassure the NASCAR fraternity, they produced exactly the
opposite effect.

Three top NASCAR drivers – former series
champions Dale Jarrett, Jeff Gordon and Rusty Wallace – all spoke out publicly
for the first time, criticizing NASCAR and NHIS for not making what they feel
are badly needed changes, in the interest of safety.

Jarrett said he would be "very
disappointed" if impact-absorbing foam blocks are not installed at the
track before qualifying for this weekend’s race. "They’ve had plenty of
time to put something up there," he said. "I’m not saying it (a fatal
crash) is going to happen again…(but) the race track has a responsibility.
They make enough money to put up a barrier."

Wallace concurred, saying the drivers
"will be totally blown away" if changes aren’t made.

"We just don’t understand why it’s
been happening so often," added Gordon. "If (an accident) happens at
that racetrack, the injuries can be fatal."

Gordon said that if foam is not installed
by next week, "they’re going to get a lot of backlash." He declined to
define the term "backlash," however, leading to widespread rumors that
he and his fellow drivers would refuse to compete at New Hampshire if their
concerns are not addressed.

NHIS "needs to make the effort,
whether it works or not," he said.

Eventually, cooler heads prevailed. Last
Sunday, Labonte himself quashed talk of a potential boycott. He stated that he
– and his fellow drivers — will compete at New Hampshire this weekend whether
changes are made or not. They will not, however, be happy about it.

In his words, "It will be on all our
minds. If there is not something there when we show up Thursday or Friday, I’m
going to be very disappointed."

NASCAR’s Helton has said the sanctioning
body is actively conducting tests to determine what type of barrier (if any) is
best suited for racing applications. While those tests are reportedly ongoing,
Helton said he does not expect results in time for this weekend’s race.

In his words, "We’ll have to wait and
see."

Last week, Helton did announce that NASCAR
will require restrictor plates at NHIS for the first time, in an effort to slow
the cars and reduce the severity of impact, should another crash occur. For
many, like driver Jeff Burton, it was a sign that NASCAR is indeed working to
solve the problem.

"If they (NASCAR) are putting an
effort into it and haven’t found a reasonable solution, then that’s
acceptable," he said. "If they haven’t put any effort into it, and
that’s why there’s no solution, that’s not acceptable."

Clearly, the issue of driver safety is
once again on NASCAR’s front burner. And clearly, it’s an issue that is not
going to go away, restrictor plates or no.

rrrr

And finally, ever wonder how dirt Late
Model drivers can race for million-dollar-to-win purses in their major, season
ending events, while their asphalt brethren are left to scrap over a small
percentage of that amount?

Here’s how.

Next month’s "Eldora Million"
at Rossberg, Ohio’s Eldora Speedway will pay its winner – as the name
implies – a cool million dollars. But a look at the entry blank and
advertising for the race reveals that racers, pit crews and fans will pay the
entire purse, and then some. Front-gate admission for the "Eldora
Million" begins at $30 for youngsters age 7-12, and doubles to $60 for kids
age 13-15. Anyone over the age of 16 will pay a whopping $85 per seat, and that’s
general admission. Reserved seats will cost you two bucks more.

Let’s do a little math, here. Eldora
regularly attracts 15-20,000 fans for major events. Even assuming an average
front-gate ticket price of just $60, with that many fannies in the stands,
promoter Earl Baltes will rake in a nifty $1.2 million, paying his purse (and
tucking away a nice little profit) without so much as opening his wallet.

But wait, there’s more.

Pit passes for the two-day affair sell for
$100 each, on top of a minimum $50 per car entry fee. Usually, events of this
magnitude attract more than 150 cars, and with an average of five crewmembers
per car (six counting the driver), we’re talking another $95,000 in back gate
fees alone. And again, we’re probably being conservative.

Factoring in event sponsorships,
contingencies, concessions, parking, programs, and souvenirs, Baltes’ income
for the weekend should easily top $1.5 million; more than enough to foot the
bill for a "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" Dirt Late Model show.