As we await the 2002 season, I have read alot about rules, safety and other changes. I am glad that money, TV deals, and greed have not been the headlines this off season. Safety is and always will be number one in my mind and it should be the same for others. However, winning at all costs seems to take its place way too often.
The crews have known forever of the dangers involved in being on pit road. Some teams have experimented with helmets and Cal Wells' operation set the standard. The main reason most teams refused to wear them was that they felt they would be at a disadvantage to the guys not wearing them. So, Nascar stepped in and made them mandatory for all. The playing field is now back to level.
ARCA followed suit, sort of. Jim Utter from That's Racin noted this: "All members of race teams who fuel cars - gasmen and those who hold catch-cans - will also be required to wear the safety equipment. Series officials will recommend, but not require, all additional over-the-wall team members wear the protective equipment." Why not require it? Is pit road at Daytona safer for ARCA cars and teams than Nascar teams? A good portion of the guys pitting the cars in ARCA are rented from Busch or Cup teams for the weekend. Maybe they will bring their safety equipment and set a standard.
Nascar's safety mandates made it to some of the lower divisions. The Busch North Series has pretty much followed suit and mandated Head and Neck devices, Pit crew helmets and also age limits. However, with the BGNN you must be 18 to run tracks over 7/10's of a mile in size. You can run the smaller tracks if younger than 18.
ARCA took that another step and I actually like their approach. ARCA said, "No drivers under the age of 18 will be approved to compete on series tracks greater than one-mile in length without prior experience in sanctioned superspeedway competition through 2003. Beyond 2003, no drivers under 18 will compete on tracks greater than one mile in length, regardless of previous experience." This sort of "grandfathers" in those already running and would have helped Kyle Busch in the Truck series tremendously.
So, with all this off season emphasis on safety, maybe, just maybe our sanctioning body, Nascar, has finally figured out what their primary role is. Once we have safety under hand, then we can promote lucrative TV deals and add new tracks and whatever else. But, safety is number one.
The big question now is, will they address the stiff chassis and make some changes there? These changes would obviously carry over to ARCA as a majority of teams purchase their cars from Winston Cup teams. And, just because the lower divisions of Nascar are not as well promoted to the masses, these rules should apply to them too. Hitting a wall with 10,000 people watching does not hurt any less than hitting a wall with millions watching. Your pride may hurt more on network TV, but your body takes the same blow.
Until next time...
Thanks for reading!
Rob
RobFaiella@insidethepitbox.com
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