The Amazing Technology of The Catch Fence

Whether you were watching the Coke Zero 400 or not, you may have already seen the Austin Dillon last lap wreck where he gets caught up and turned into the catch fence. Not only did he get turned, but found himself airborne and his car hurtling straight at the stands where people were gathered in this rain-delayed race.

What you saw, watching live, was a heart wrenching moment as his car got up into the fence and then deflected back onto the track.

Denny Hamlin Sidelined, Tony Stewart Gets No Fine, The TRACK Should Get Fined!

Boys have at it has had quite the shining moment this past weekend in Fontana, in a big way or two, if you count both the Denny Hamlin and Tony Stewart altercations with Joey Logano.

What an interesting common denominator.

First up was the Denny Hamlin/Joey Logano spat that turned into a "I wasn't going to let him win" thing with Joey Logano.

Prior to knowing the extent of Hamlin's injuries, Logano was being quoted to saying "good" about Hamlin's wreck.

This is classic "Boys have at it," whether you like it or not.  But where Logano and Hamlin tangled, you'd never guess that this simple altercation between them would result in a fractured spinal column for Denny Hamlin, putting him out of the car.

But then again, it's always fun until someone gets hurt.  Right?

Hamlin is looking to be out six weeks to give his spine time to heal, and unless he sneaks in and drives the first lap of each of the next five races, he's probably not looking at being a contender for the Chase for the Cup... but hey, wilder things have happened.

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Then there's the Tony Stewart vs. Joey Logano spat, where Stewart got upset that someone raced him on the track.

If anything, it's not the altercation that should get a fine for Stewart, but rather, for being so silly about it.

Wah!  He did to me what I do to others... wah!

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You know who should get a fine?  Auto Club Speedway.  That's right!

Any track in this day and age that does not have the entirety of their track wall surfaces covered in safer-barriers, should get fined by NASCAR for being bone heads!

I don't care about the statistical chances of hitting or not hitting a wall... any point on any wall is suspect, and sooner or later, it will get hit.  Period.

-Bruce

Dale Earnhardt Jr Concussion - He's Out Of Car & This Impacts More than Team

With Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s concussion that is forcing him to step out of the No. 88 Chevy for the next few weeks is an interesting or important event.  But how important?  If you think about it, Dale Earnhardt Jr. stepping out of the car impacts

• His own day
• The team, Hendrick Motor Sports
• The sport, NASCAR as folks look at the company's response to this situation,
• And possibly any motorsport.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. having a concussion that pulls him out of a car is big news.  Dale Jr. is THE name driver of NASCAR and this event will span not just headlines within NASCAR, but headlines around the world.  And people will start looking at this aspect of the sport.  And no, Talladega didn't cause it... it was brewing from an earlier hit at Kansas in a tire test.

Sure, there are safety systems in place to help the driver survive crashes, but they're designed to prevent whiplash effects on the body itself.  But when the body stops suddenly, the brain still sloshes around.  I had a bicycle accident where I went from 30 to 0 instantly. I never hit my head, but the sudden stop gave me a doozy of a spin cycle in my brain and I had a concussion from the sudden stop.

Some folks are saying he needs to man up.  Sure, ask Rusty Wallace about that.  He had issues with shaking his head and getting dizzy for 15 years.  So one has to look down the road and not ignore the idea of the quality of life in the golden years.

It doesn't make the headlines often, but if you look around, I'm betting there are a lot of old football players that aren't doing too well. 

Many are saying kudos to Earnhardt Jr. for getting out of the car, but in the reality of the game, he can.  Other drivers who aren't on the radar don't have this luxury.  If they get out of a car, does their replacement do better than they do?  Or are they not missed by the sponsor.  Right now, Regan Smith is sitting in the No. 88.  His new ride, the No. 51, where he was taking over for Kurt Busch, will have A.J. Allmendinger driving for him.  ( I saw twitter reports that AJ couldn't reach the pedals and they were scrambling to fix the car for that)

This kind of smart move is something Dale can do.  Can or will other drivers do this?  It's not the kind of job you can call in sick, you only get in the seat 36 official times a year.  Period.

Hopefully we'll see Dale Jr. back in the car in the right amount of time to safely compete again.  Not the soonest amount of time, but the best amount of time.  And hope we don't have too many other guys out there driving dizzy or with headaches.

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But these things are nothing to mock about.  People who don't remember family or friends from good hits is a scary situation.  Having your career pulled up because of concussions is not a great experience.

Right now, his doctor's orders are to do nothing and rest his brain.  No video games, nothing mentally challenging.  They say he feels fine, so it's not like he's staggering around and not knowing anyone.  This is a purely precautionary move that he gets out of the car.

And now, it's time for Regan Smith to shine, as he takes over the No. 88 wheel.  And what's cool, is that HMS went after him...  that says something about him I'd think.

Should NASCAR Treat All Wrecks With Enforced Medical Reviews?

With the advent of Dale Earnhardt Jr. stepping out of the No. 88 car for the next few weeks, we saw that he had two good hits within 5 weeks of each other.  But after both hits, Dale Jr. wasn't forced to see a doctor by NASCAR, but rather, went on his own after a few days of headaches.

I don't want to say that NASCAR has to, but when they think they only had 9 concussions in their athletes over the last 5 years, I have to seriously wonder about that, considering how many hard hits are taken over the course of a month of racing.  And from what the empirical evidence says just from Dale Jr. alone, I'm thinking drivers aren't ready to report their headaches every time they have them.

As NASCAR rules state (If I'm recalling correctly), if a driver cannot drive the car back to the pits after a wreck, they have to go to the infield care center.  But I question out-loud, if they have the same rules during other track time like tire tests?  Or if they should start enforcing specific tests for any driver that hits the wall/gets spun etc.?

I get it when an athlete does not want to say, hey, look at me, the world is spinning and my head hurts!  (TV Ad:  Football player goes down, coach asks what his name is.  "I'm Batman!"  Remember that Snickers ad?)  Their livelihood is at stake, at many levels.  If a driver gets pulled every season for head spinning, would a sponsor want to stick with them?  What does that do to a team?

I just wonder, despite the old-school "man up" mode of drivers, if they're doing themselves long-term harm and, if in the short haul, putting other folk (drivers and fans) at risk?  I've driven a stock car doing 120-150 mph headed into the turns of CA Speedway. It felt like someone was doing chin-ups on my right arm while I was in the corners & my world started spinning from that simple maneuver and I was healthy!  Trained/experienced drivers may not have the same effect, but if they're spun up from a brain injury and experiencing multi-g turns, I have to wonder.

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This weekend and next, it looks like Regan Smith will be piloting the No. 88 Chevy. and A.J. Allmendinger gets back in a seat, in the No. 51 for Smith.  Despite all other worrisome news, this is the time both these boys need to shine.

[http://www.neurosurgery.pitt.edu/research/neurotrauma.html]