Safety first

Drivers calling on NASCAR to improve safety crews

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) -- Four-time Winston Cup champion Jeff Gordon has asked NASCAR to improve its safety crews, joining a growing list of drivers unsatisfied with the current rescue efforts.

Gordon was angry after Sunday's race in Watkins Glen, N.Y., when rescue workers were slow to get to him following his wreck near the finish line.

Once the crew got onto the track, the ambulance drove toward his car instead of Gordon, who was already walking away from them and angrily gesturing for the crew to come get him.

Then, the ride to the care center was in bumper-to-bumper fan traffic because there was no clear route for the ambulance to take.

"I was pretty upset at how long it took me to get to the infield care center, and I talked to NASCAR about it," Gordon said Tuesday. "I feel like they heard me loud and clear, and I think they know there is an issue here.

"And its unfortunate that we're being reactive instead of proactive."

Gordon's poor experience with a safety crew is just the latest in a string of complaints from drivers and car owners.

Bobby Labonte and Dale Jarrett were furious over slow response times when they were involved in fiery accidents, and Ryan Newman was angry after his car flipped on its side Friday at Watkins Glen.

"They were definitely late," Newman said. "It was pretty ridiculous. When they got there, they didn't know what they were doing. It seemed like they were pretty uneducated about what to do."

Unlike most other major racing series, NASCAR uses local emergency medical technicians as safety workers instead of a full-time traveling crew.

A full-time traveling crew knows every driver personally and is familiar with their medical histories, and has thorough experience in responding to wrecks.

NASCAR defends its system and points out that it holds training seminars for the local crews and feels confident the rescue workers on site each weekend are the best in the area. Gordon wants more.

"We need to know that they are properly trained, properly informed and prepared," he said. "I want to see trained guys that go to a course away from that race track and are prepared to deal with every situation."

Newman said the crew that responded to him at Watkins Glen was unsure how to help him get out of the car, and didn't even know if the car was still running.

"Maybe the response time could be quicker, and I know Ryan was pretty critical of them," driver Sterling Marlin said Tuesday. "He was trapped on the driver's side and there's a big fear there if gas was leaking it would catch on fire."

Part of the reason it takes crews so long to respond is because they have to wait for the cars to complete the lap and race back to the caution car before NASCAR officials dispatch them to the scene.

Other series use advanced scoring systems that "freeze" the field when an accident happens, prohibiting cars from racing back to the finish line and allowing the rescue crews immediate access to the track and the wreck.

"Racing back to the yellow is an issue and if we're not working on it now, we should be working on a computer program to freeze the field so we don't have to race back," Gordon said.

But car owner Richard Childress doesn't think that's the answer.

"Each situation is different and sometimes some are a lot tougher," Childress said. "If the pack is still coming, the cars are still racing and are going to be strung out. Slowing them down is going to make it longer to get them all together and make it safe for the rescue crew.

"The quicker the cars get back there to the yellow, the quicker the crews can get out there."

 

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