NASCAR cracks down on return after wreck
NASCAR announced two new procedures for the 2017 season that the sanctioning body says will improve health and safety for drivers and personnel at the racetrack.
NASCAR’s new damaged vehicle policy will prevent drivers from returning to races after heavy damage from accidents but will allow teams to make relatively minor repairs on pit road during a five-minute window.
NASCAR senior vice president of competition Scott Miller says the changes will enhance safety, both on-track and in speedway garages, and will be in effect for all three national series: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup, Xfinity and Camping World Truck.
“I’ve been involved in crash repairs, and that’s not a great situation in the garage with 20 people running around, oil leaking on the floor, things catching on fire and sharp sheet metal being cut off,” Miller said. “It’s a fairly unsafe situation. And at times it would be unsafe really for the driver to get back in a car that was damaged that heavily.
“It’s more about crashed vehicles and all that is involved with that, from the crew guys to the drivers to dropping more debris on the track, which always happens.”
Often, teams have repaired accident damage so that drivers can return to pick up points.
Teams will be allowed to correct mechanical problems or replace batteries and make similar repairs, but fixing extensive damage caused by accidents will no longer be allowed, Miller said.
NASCAR will also add a medical response team from an outside source to all Cup races, departing from a decades-long policy. The sanctioning body has long relied on track and local medical personnel.
Officials said those medical personnel — typically local emergency room physicians and nurses — would remain, but physicians and paramedics from Colorado-based American Medical Response would be added to the at-track staff. An AMR doctor will be NASCAR’s medical director.
“We’ve looked at the care we’ve had in place, and this is a partnership,” NASCAR executive vice president Steve O’Donnell said. “This will enhance that via ontrack response.”
NASCAR has been criticized by drivers and others for not having a traveling medical team, a concept that is standard in some other top-level series, including the Verizon IndyCar Series.
An AMR doctor and a paramedic will be situated in a “chase” vehicle, which will be among those that will respond to on-track and pit-road incidents. Four AMR doctors will revolve throughout the Cup schedule and will also work during other series’ events that occur at the same track on Cup weekends.
NASCAR also moved to clarify how its new segmented races would impact the point at which events are considered official in case of weather issues.
Previously, a race that reached the halfway point was considered official. Now, Miller said, races that reach the end of the second of three stages will be official.
Officials said Wednesday that the stages for the season-opening Daytona 500, scheduled for Feb. 26, would be 60 laps for stages one and two and 80 laps for stage three. The race would be considered official after 120 laps, as opposed to 100 laps (halfway) in previous seasons. Segment lengths for other races and tracks are being considered.