Ambulance issues concern NASCAR drivers
Former NASCAR champions Matt Kenseth and Kevin Harvick were among playoff drivers who on Wednesday criticized ambulance responses during NASCAR races and said the sanctioning body has work to do to recover from issues at last week’s regular-season finale at Richmond Raceway.
A misplaced ambulance blocked pit road late in Saturday’s race, complicating the finish and almost costing Kenseth a spot in the 16-driver playoff field.
Kenseth and Harvick said NASCAR has had other issues with ambulance traffic this season, including at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where Harvick complained about a slow response to a crash he was involved in.
“I think as you look at the ambulance issue, the ambulances for whatever reason this year have been more of an issue as far as getting to the accident, getting back, getting lost going to the in- field care center,” Harvick said. “Obviously, there are some things they have to work through from the NASCAR side of things to clean those things up.”
Series officials stressed Wednesday that discussion over the Richmond incident had taken place and more would be ongoing. NASCAR issued a statement to USA TODAY Sports that read:
“The follow-up discussions that centered around the ambulance issue at Richmond went well beyond where it parked and the procedure that led us to that point. It was all-encompassing, and we’ll continue to work with the tracks and safety teams to improve in every aspect of support. Safety is paramount, and it’s something we work hard at all year long, from the season-opening Summit to intensive weekly reviews of every incident response to continual training for crews. We hold ourselves to a very high standard of excellence.”
Kenseth reiterated that he wasn’t happy with the way NASCAR handled the ambulance situation at Richmond and said he has had other safety-related issues. “I think it was the spring Richmond race, I was driving around the infield for about five minutes with him and he was lost —couldn’t find the care center,” Kenseth said. “Thankfully, I wasn’t bleeding to death. And then the other one, I think it was after California or something like that, he drove so recklessly he threw me right off the bench. I almost hit my head in the ambulance. So yeah, there’s been a couple instances this year, actually.”
Harvick said ambulance direction plans need to be addressed.
“Getting the chase truck and ambulance to the crash scene when you know it’s a major impact is important,” he said. “They’re continuously working on trying to make that better, but the ambulances need to know where they’re going.”
NASCAR announced a partnership in February with American Medical Response. The AMR safety teams are staffed with a small pool of about six physicians along with an unspecified number of paramedics who rotate throughout the year. Larger tracks, such as Daytona International Speedway, and road courses have two AMR-staffed trucks, while intermediate and short tracks, such as Richmond, have one.
Denny Hamlin, who is on the drivers’ council, said they have talked with NASCAR about the ambulance and safety issues. He said Richard Petty Motorsports driver Aric Almirola, who broke his back in a crash at Kansas Speedway in May and missed seven races, had an issue with the ambulance that day.
“His ambulance got lost inside the racetrack and, I mean, he had a serious injury,” Hamlin said. “So that was an issue, for sure. I know they’re trying to do the best they can. They’re not doing it every week; they’re just doing it when we come to town.
“People argue it should be the same team everywhere, others think that the ambulance crew should be familiar with just that racetrack. I don’t know what the correct answer is, but we for sure can get better, because we’re not good right now.”
When asked if he thought a travel team, such as ones the Verizon IndyCar Series and NHRA use, could be beneficial, he said, “It’s been brought up, but (NASCAR) counters it with legally, I don’t know if people are allowed to practice medicine from state to state. I don’t know what all the rules are.
“If someone’s choking on an airplane and they’re in a different state, is that doctor not supposed to help? Let’s be real.”