Nationwide Series Safety Concerns

Kerry Earnhardt’s accident Friday night on the pavement of iconic Daytona International Speedway made it clear that the Nationwide Series needs a version of the new car as it took over thirty agonizingly slow and painful seconds for Earnhardt to extract himself from his damaged car. The process of getting out of his car was apparently hampered by his helmet as he had to remove his helmet before getting out of the car, something that could result in severe injury or death under different circumstances.

Nationwide Series safety concerns

In addition to Earnhardt’s problems, Kertus Davis lost control of his vehicle due to a crash, which caused his car to burst into flames, and made him tumble out of his vehicle to escape the heat and flames of the crash. Thankfully, neither racer was injured severely, but if changes aren’t made soon to the Nationwide Series, this is going to change. It’s only a matter of time before someone is injured due to the present conditions with the car that’s being used in the Nationwide Series. Events like the ones above only highlight the need for a “new car” complete with the full array of safety features and enhancements of the Sprint Cup Series cars.

NASCAR has stated that a revised Nationwide Series car could be debuted on restrictor-plate tracks and road courses as early as 2010, with full implementation taking place possibly in 2011. This time table may have to be altered due to the present economic forecast though, so don’t start thinking that these comments are written in stone somewhere, because they aren’t, and they will probably change as the economy changes.

It’s unfortunate for Nationwide Series drivers who are every bit as deserving of state of the art safety features and enhancements as their better cared for Sprint Cup brethren that economic considerations could mean a death or severe injury to them or one of their fellow drivers, but this is the reality at present.

“Image: Zuma Press”