Safety measures taken at Raceway

When Carl Edwards’ car flew into the catch fence at Talladega two weeks ago, NASCAR got a reminder as to just how dangerous racing can be.

Edwards walked away from the wreck, but seven fans were injured by debris.

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And though there haven’t been any driver or fan fatalities since Dale Earnhardt’s death at Daytona in 2001, Edwards’ wild ride has brought safety concerns back to the forefront of the sport.

Friday and Saturday, the NASCAR circuit roars into Darlington Raceway, where speeds are up considerably since the track was repaved a year ago.

“No track is totally foolproof but Darlington is a pretty safe race track,” Sprint Cup driver David Reutimann said. “Because the track is so narrow, it’s going to be hard for a car to take flight.”

University of Nebraska facility director Dean Sicking, who designed the SAFER barriers for NASCAR tracks, agrees with Reutimann and says the chances of an Edwards-type crash are minimal.

“Speeds are much lower at Darlington and therefore the risk of a car getting up in the air like the Talladega crash is much lesss,” Sicking said in an e-mail Wednesday. “And the way fences have evolved over the last 40 years and the risk of penetration is also much lower.”

Those might be calming words, but such wrecks at Darlington have happened before.

During the 1965 Southern 500, Cale Yarborough went over the wall and into the parking lot when he tried to pass Sam McQuagg.

Then there was Richard Petty’s serious wreck during the 1970 Rebel 400. NASCAR’s winningest driver cut a tire, hit the inside retaining wall in front of the old covered Brasington Grandstand and flipped eight times.

Petty suffered a shoulder injury, prompting NASCAR to mandate the installation of the safety net that covers the driver’s side window.

The last serious incident at Darlington came during a Busch Series race in 2001 when Steve Park was T-boned under a caution flag. Park, who is racing in the Camping World East Series, suffered a concussion and bruised neck and has never been the same.

Since then, Darlington has taken steps to further improve safety for drivers and fans.

In 2003, SAFER barriers, a new fence fabric and cabling were installed.

Last year, the track installed a SAFER barrier on the inside wall of the backstretch and increased the size of pit boxes.

“I think it is exceptional all the safety measures that have been taken, not just at our track, but throughout NASCAR,” Darlington Raceway President Chris Browning said.

Safety measures aren’t cheap. This week, New Hampshire Motor Speedway got an estimate of $400,000 to improve its catch fence.

Browning, though, said you can’t put a price on safety.

“If there is anything we can do, we are going to do it,” he said. “The last thing we want is anyone getting hurt at our track.”

— Staff writer Lou Bezjak can be reached at (843) 317-7260. Comment on this story at scnow.com.