DEATH AT RACE TRACKS
Stan
Posted at 12:02 a.m. EST Sunday, November 11, 2001
A surprising toll: 260 dead
By LIZ CHANDLER
The Charlotte Observer
When someone dies in auto racing, it's often called a freak thing or a
fluke - so isolated and rare it can't happen again.
But deaths aren't as rare or isolated as the racing world believes. An
Observer investigation found at least 260 people across America died in auto
racing since 1990. Patterns are evident; deaths occur an average of 22 times
a year.
Among those killed were 29 spectators, including five children.
An additional 200 drivers and fans suffered traumatic injuries.
In this year alone, a grandmother in a wheelchair was killed in the
grandstands at an Ohio track; a Florida driver was decapitated when he hit a
guardrail; and driver Dean Roper died 10 months after his son, Tony, was
killed in a wreck in Texas.
"That is not acceptable," said Lowe's Motor Speedway President H.A. "Humpy"
Wheeler, who like other racing leaders guessed the death toll was half of
what The Observer found. "This is something the industry has to deal with.
We have a moral obligation."
The toll also surprised former Indy racing champion Mario Andretti. "We know
how to make cars go fast," he said. "Now maybe we should spend even more
time and energy in making cars safer."
Stock car racing legend Richard Petty, whose grandson died in a racing
wreck, was surprised by the number, but characterized it as tolerable, given
the 12-year span of the study. "That's a lot of racing," he said.
No one keeps track of how many people die in racing. Since most deaths are
deemed freak accidents, the sport has been slow to detect patterns and make
changes that might save lives.
In a study of fatal wrecks since 1990, The Observer found these patterns:
Fences and barriers fail regularly.
In addition to the 29 spectator deaths, at least 70 were injured. Track
owners say car parts and debris commonly clear fences, which vary in height
from about 9 to 22 feet on oval tracks, and, typically, 4 to 6 feet on drag
strips. Walls and guardrails have failed to keep cars on smaller tracks.
Spectators are allowed into high-risk areas; some tracks allow children into
garages and pits, the least protected areas.
Potentially dangerous drivers are allowed to race.
Except in top divisions, drivers are rarely screened for experience or
health problems. Since 1990, at least 32 drivers died from heart attacks
while racing, sometimes hurting other drivers or fans. Children too young
for a driver's license can race at many tracks. Drivers with revoked
licenses or drunk driving convictions are allowed to compete
Head and neck injuries killed at least half the drivers.
Superstar Dale Earnhardt's death in February drew attention to the need for
head restraints, which NASCAR in October mandated for its top-level races.
But a majority of U.S. racers don't wear restraints. Most track owners and
racing groups don't require them.
Medical response can be inadequate.
Emergency preparedness varies, depending on a track's size and resources. In
at least 18 instances, families of dead and injured drivers say the rescue
response was inadequate. Some small tracks provide untrained rescuers and no
ambulances or firetrucks.
"Racing has become so popular that everybody wants a piece of it...but
nobody wants to take responsibility for safety," said Dr. Terry Trammell, an
Indianapolis surgeon and consultant for Championship Auto Racing Teams
(CART). "A few groups try to do the right thing, but the industry is so
fragmented that you have some terribly unsafe racing going on."
In more than 400 interviews, plus newspaper and Internet searches, The
Observer documented 260 deaths in all levels of U.S. auto racing - from
premier Winston Cup and Indy car events to dirt-track races. The study began
with deaths in 1990, when more media and databases became available on the
Internet. The study excluded deaths from youth go-karts, motorcycles,
monster trucks, mud racing and racing schools.
Among the dead were 204 drivers, 29 spectators, 24 track workers and crew,
and three journalists. The tally is likely low because some deaths receive
little, if any, media attention.
The study shows, on average, 14 drivers die in crashes yearly; three others
die of health problems on the track.
For comparison, in football, four players die from injuries playing the
sport each year, and nine from health problems, such as heatstroke, on the
field.
But more people play football than race. About 1.8 million play football
each year, from sandlot to pro leagues. Estimates of drivers range from
50,000 to 400,000. Using the highest number, which results in the most
conservative estimate, racing's rate of death is more than five times that
of football's.
Dangerous, with a growing appeal
In the 1990s, auto racing's popularity boomed. Attendance doubled at
NASCAR's Winston Cup events. Eleven major racetracks were built or planned
for stock cars and the sleeker open-wheeled cars.
The sport went Hollywood with its marketing, and to Wall Street, where stock
in racing organizations is now traded. In 2001, NASCAR landed a six-year,
$2.4 billion television deal.
The sport's speed and power, which draw fans, also make it inherently
dangerous. Promoters say they need danger.
"It's not a blood sport people want. The loudest roar you'll ever hear from
a crowd is when a driver who appears to be seriously hurt gets up and walks
away," said Lowe's speedway President Wheeler. "But you've got to walk the
line - and it's a tough line to walk. You've got to have some danger or it
gets boring and nobody wants to watch."
Leaders say racing is safer than it once was because they constantly
evaluate and improve safety. But even racing insiders call it a reactive
industry with too many deaths.
"We recognize that we need to get ahead of the curve instead of constantly
being reactive," said NASCAR vice president Jim Hunter, whose stock-car
governing body is among the largest of 200 groups that organize races.
NASCAR officials have been "Neanderthals" in their data collection and
accident investigation, Hunter said.
Earnhardt's death, and the questions it raised, intensified NASCAR's
attention to safety. In addition to mandating head restraints, it plans to
install crash data recorders in its premier cars, as CART has done. It also
plans a research center that will study both safety and competitive issues.
"It's a whole new world since Dale Earnhardt died," said Hunter.
But even Earnhardt's death hasn't united the fragmented racing industry.
Except for a few elite racing groups, most of the 200 race organizers
conduct little - if any - accident analysis, which could more quickly
identify patterns or risky conditions. When safety improvements are made,
they aren't adopted industrywide. And safety information isn't routinely
shared among groups, whose equipment and research is often considered
proprietary.
"These are basically 1,000 independent businesspeople across the country,"
said Allan Brown, publisher of The National Speedway Directory. "It's very
difficult to pin down what's going on out there."
About half of all U.S. races are controlled by those 200 racing
organizations, which generally schedule and promote the events. Most make
few - if any - demands on driver or fan safety.
About 10 of those groups, the largest and most influential in the U.S.
racing industry, control about 25 percent of the races across America, said
Brown, who contacts almost every track annually.
Among the most popular and safety-conscious are CART and Indy Racing League,
which have about 150 drivers. Their fenderless cars top 200 mph. They
collect detailed information on every accident within their divisions, which
they say helps identify patterns and reduce injuries. Since 1990, CART has
had two drivers die in the United States. IRL has not had a driver death.
Both groups, however, have had accidents that resulted in fan deaths. Now,
they require that tires be tethered to cars.
The balance of the 200 racing groups control another 25 percent of races.
Most of those are merely networks of drivers who just want a place to race.
Then there are the independents - the small-track owners who stage their own
races and run their own tracks as entrepreneurs. They control the remaining
50 percent of races, and are the most cost-sensitive to safety measures.
"If some group wants to put too many rules on me, they don't come in here,"
said Russell Hackett, owner of Caraway Speedway in Asheboro. "Nobody's going
to tell me how to run my business."
His track is safe, he said, because: "You learn through years of doing it."
Caraway's one death, he said, "was a freak thing. It was just the way he
hit."
Racing organizations generally leave safety to the track owners. Track
owners tend to rely on insurance companies to tell them what's safe.
Insurance companies say they're not safety experts either. They sell
insurance based on risks.
"Just because a track is insured doesn't mean it's safe," said Len Ashburn,
a retired insurance agent who specialized in racetrack policies.
Dr. Trammell, the CART consultant, visits tracks to help CART determine
hazards. "There's no manual for how you build or inspect a track, and
because there's no book and there's nothing organized, track owners build
something just like all the rest of the tracks," he said. "...All you do is
perpetuate the same old mistakes."
The Observer study found most deaths happened at the small tracks. But major
raceways - which make up 4 percent of America's 1,300 tracks - accounted for
a disproportionate 20 percent of deaths.
NASCAR had at least 36 deaths of drivers and fans - more than any other
racing group. Nineteen died at NASCAR-run races, including eight in its
Winston Cup series, where speeds are highest. The other 17 died at small
tracks where NASCAR sanctions races but leaves safety to local operators.
NASCAR uses the short-track races to help develop drivers and widen its
exposure, NASCAR's Hunter said. "We try to pick tracks and owners we think
are responsible, but we don't run the race. It's the track's responsibility
to make sure they run a safe event."
This year has been among racing's worst, with 33 deaths, 29 at small tracks.
In June, seven drivers died in seven states, all at small tracks. A wreck at
Lorain County Speedway in Ohio killed one fan and hurt 13.
"I almost lost my children at a sports event," said Ginger Jakupca of Akron,
Ohio, whose children were injured. "There's just no excuse for that."
Are fans protected?
Depending on a track's size, protection for fans ranges from reinforced
fences and concrete walls to dirt mounds, which can serve more as launch
pads than shields.
Cars and parts can turn into lethal projectiles. Drivers crashed through -
or over - barriers, striking scoreboards, flag stands, trees and bleachers.
A 10-year-old boy and his younger sister were killed in 1993 when a tire
cleared the fence at a small Kansas track. Three fans died in 1998 in
Michigan, and three more in 1999 near Charlotte, when car parts cleared the
fences at two major tracks.
Protection is particularly poor around infield, garage and pit areas - where
spectators wander amid working crews and moving vehicles. Fences and
barriers in those areas are typically less substantial than those guarding
stands.
At least nine spectators and 12 crew and track workers died in pits and
infields.
Rene Bourgois, 34, was killed and 21 were injured at Stockton (Calif.)
Speedway in 1993, when a car crashed through a pit fence and into seats for
drivers and crew. A father of triplets died at an Auburn, Mich., track in
1999 when a car hit him in the infield. And in 1996, at Indiana's Salem
Speedway, a 7-year-old girl visiting her father in the infield was killed
when a tire hit her head.
Some tracks bar fans from these high-risk areas; others charge them extra to
visit. People who enter the infield and pits must sign waivers promising not
to sue - even when race organizers are negligent. Courts typically uphold
such waivers, which allow tracks to avoid installing safety measures.
"You know what those waivers do? It gives them the power to kill you, and
there's nothing you can do about it," said Ron Landrum, whose 71-year-old
father was killed in 1996 by a tire in the pit at Texas' Thunderbird
Speedway.
Drivers take the risk
Richard Petty best defines drivers' acceptance of fate. His grandson, Adam,
died in 2000 when his car struck a wall in New Hampshire. He doesn't blame
racing. "If he was in an airplane, we wouldn't blame airplanes," he said.
Drivers need to believe it won't happen to them. "You get a guy who drives a
race car, he's a little like a hunter who could get shot, but he's never
thinking about getting shot," Petty said.
Families of drivers also have to accept fate. They have little recourse
because drivers, too, sign waivers that release organizers from
responsibility.
The youngest driver to die since 1990 was Jimmy Olson, 15. He suffered head
injuries last year when he crashed his pickup into a concrete wall at
Wisconsin's Lake Geneva Raceway. He wasn't wearing a head restraint, and
didn't have a driver's license. Most states, including the Carolinas, don't
require a license to race.
Lowe's speedway President Wheeler allows children as young as 12 to race
against each other in smaller, less powerful cars. But putting a child in a
full-size car to race with adults, "is like giving a kid a .357 magnum with
a feather-light trigger and telling him to scratch his head with the
barrel," said Wheeler.
California's Del Quinn - known as "The Mighty Quinn" - was the oldest driver
to die. The 68-year-old retired electrician had crossed the finish line at
Hanford's King Speedway when he had a heart attack in 2001.
In 1997, at a now-closed speedway in Rutherford County, N.C., a driver had a
heart attack and careened off the track, killing a retired truck driver who
pushed his girlfriend to safety.
Inexperienced drivers also elevate danger. Most small tracks don't screen
drivers for experience. Large tracks, too, host events for the
inexperienced. At Lowe's Motor Speedway, three drivers were killed in
separate races for novices.
ARCA (Auto Racing Club of America) is a developmental division that helps
drivers move from short tracks into the large ovals, but the group draws
criticism for its drivers' skills.
Julius "Slick" Johnson of Florence, S.C., died at Daytona in a 1990 ARCA
race. His car went into a spin; a driver behind him slammed into his car.
"I didn't want him to go," said his wife, Janice. "We all knew there were
going to be a lot of rookie drivers."
Rescue teams often lacking
Some small tracks provide poorly trained fire and rescue workers. Some have
firetrucks and ambulances standing by; some don't. Drivers and fans rush to
accident scenes, occasionally hampering rescue efforts.
Delmar "Junior" Riggins' gas tank exploded in a 1999 wreck at Oklahoma's
Enid Motor Speedway - where there was no firetruck on site. Extinguishers
were used to fight the fire, but Riggins, 44, died from his burns.
Driver Doug Wolfgang - trapped in his burning car for eight minutes in a
1992 wreck - won a $1.2 million verdict against Lakeside Speedway in Kansas
City, Kan., and the World of Outlaws sanctioning body. Wolfgang's case
focused on inadequate rescue measures.
"We proved beyond a shadow of a doubt it was gross, wanton negligence," said
Wolfgang, who endured 15 reconstructive surgeries. "But the truth is now
that 91/2 years have passed, nothing has changed....It's a forgotten issue
again."
3 Deaths in past month
The Oct. 4 death of driver Blaise Alexander Jr. was the most recent highly
publicized crash. Despite seven months of clamor about requiring head
restraints, he didn't wear one. He died at Lowe's Motor Speedway from a head
injury similar to Earnhardt's.
Since then, at least two more drivers have died.
On Oct. 19, Billy Anderson died in Minnesota of complications from a 1998
wreck at Iowa's Knoxville Speedway. It was that track's third fatality in
six years.
Anderson broke his neck when he ran over the wheel of another car and
flipped. For three years, he was in a wheelchair, unable to talk. His wife
nursed him through recurring infections. "This was a freak accident but it
can happen to anybody and that's what people need to realize," said Jenny
Anderson.
On Oct. 21, two days after Anderson died, Jimmy Jones was killed at
Indianapolis Raceway Park when his car went into a spin and was hit by
another car. Drivers had no radio warning of Jones' trouble. Race organizers
had banned radios, a safety tool, to help drivers save money.
Five days later, a track pace car led the procession from the funeral home
to the grave for the 26-year-old father of two young children.
"I don't want this to keep happening," said his mother, Sue, a day after the
funeral. "Something has to be done. We've got to stop burying these boys."
Criscorder
venues such as local dirt track and sprint car races. I would imagine the toll
is actually higher than 260.
Mark Cook
> I dont believe the 260 number takes into account deaths that happen at small
> venues such as local dirt track and sprint car races.
Sprint car drivers like Billy Anderson who died 3 years later of meningitis. Rich
Volger who was killed in a Sprint car in Salem, IN. Terry Egner, a crew man for
Terry English (LMS), at the Barren County Speedway in KY. This is a 3/8 miler dirt
oval. The total does include small venues and sprint car drivers.
> I would imagine the toll
> is actually higher than 260.
The total also includes drivers (32 of them) who died of natural causes in their
cars. Drivers such as Dean Roper. Including drivers who died of natural causes, in
my view, inflates the numbers.
Mark
-v-
"Mark Cook" <mc...@prodigy.net> wrote in message
news:3BF3F19D...@prodigy.net...
--
-v-
Go #8 # 20 #29
PHYDEAUX99
>--
>-v-
Well then the answer is simple....line up all of the promoters and racing
officials, and anyone with a wart on their nose.....BURN THEM!
(Don't gimme NOCRAP in E-mail)
shadowan...@gmail.com
a425couple
> My uncle died in 2006 at Enid speedway he is Billy W radians Saturday night in 2006 he got in a crash just a few minutes after the race started he was rushed to Oklahoma City hospital where he died on Wednesday he was the one who gave me a chance inside a race car
>
Are you interested and a fan of motorsports auto racing
that your father loved, or do you blame it and avoid it?
John McCoy
news:ppftm...@news2.newsguy.com:
think that someone who in 2018 responds to a post from 2001
by describing events that occurred in 2006 is unlikely to
be able to maintain a continuing conversation.
John
a425couple
I guess you are able to see something my screen does
not show.
How and Where do you see it is from 2001?
I'm seeing:
Ohh well.
thekma...@gmail.com
not show.
How and Where do you see it is from 2001?"
Still, I'm not anal-retentive, like others, about the original
posting date. If the topic piques my interest and the dialogue
is good, I'll chip in.
Carry on folks!
John McCoy
news:pph41...@news2.newsguy.com:
> John,
> I guess you are able to see something my screen does
> not show.
> How and Where do you see it is from 2001?
>
> I'm seeing:
> >> On 10/8/2018 12:12 AM, shadowan...@gmail.com wrote:
>
> Ohh well.
post (in Google Groups) which appears to be from 2001. Like
many Google Groups users, he seems to be unable to realize
that it's an archive, and that responding to 17 year old
posts is not likely to be productive.
John
thekma...@gmail.com
John "
productive" to respond to?
If something useful is gleaned from it, then it
is productive.
None
news:eb59df22-aa7a-44bc...@googlegroups.com...
> <flush theckmah>
Googletards still think this is "google groups". Fucking idiots.
thekma...@gmail.com
Don't be afraid of the spybot!
None
news:35882d82-032a-493d...@googlegroups.com...
> Stan, et al:
Stan hasn't been around here in decades, li'l buddy. He won't be reading
your little blurt. You'd know that from the numbers in his post header, if
you knew what a number was. But as you've explained, you're a short-bus
arithmetard who can't add two and two without jibbering incoherently and
getting the wrong answer.
> Don't be afraid of the spybot!