Let me be up front from the go on this. I have never owned, driven or worked on a race car and am only a fan.

Having said that, Kevin Olson's article in the August issue of Sprint Car & Midget magazine touches on something I have always wondered about. And that is, does all the increased personal safety features we have today lead to more agressive driving? The same theory has been broached in football and hockey as well.

I just wonder what all you folks who actually do this think on the issue.

The logic behind such an argument makes perfect sense, but in reality I don't think it's all that big of a factor. I think every sprint and midget driver is well aware that, even with today's advancements in safety equipment, a crash in one of these race cars can still easily kill them or maim them for life. It's just as dangerous as it always has been and always will be. Because you can design equipment to lessen impacts, but you can't change the laws of physics and anatomy. The safety equipment advances at approximately the same rate as the speeds do. Almost fifty years ago, they were having the same argument when they were putting cages on these things.

Jerry

I read once where the USAC guys didn:t want cages on spint cars and midgets cuz that would make the local guys as brave as they were. Makes sence to me NOT

I think there are several factors, here are a few more to think about.

Look at the overall age of the drivers. The younger you are the more Invincible you think you are.

Team will fix it. How many drivers do you actually see work on there cars (getting wrenchs for crew, taking a hammer to some sheet metal, or changing tire does not count)?

Cost- How many drivers pay for there cars and parts? Ya some drivers might lose it out of there winnings. When was the last time you herd I got to come up with $500 by wed. to go buy x,y, and z that got broke in the crash saturday?

Availablity of parts. If you crash, go buy the replacements parts and bolt them on. How many teams actually make any parts on the car these days?

General lack of respect.

You can't blame just "young kids" for crashing. I see just as many old people that don't belong in racecars as I do young kids. Some of these kids have some awesome car control, and so do some adults. Never have been able to bulk age into anything, it's all about driver skill and that's about it in my book.

Look at football. The better the safety devices get, the harder people get hit. It's a false sense of security. Look at the Hans. I know it's not advertised this way, so don't twist my words, but really it screams "if you use me (because everybody makes you use me), and a full containment seat, you won't snap your neck."

Neckbraces didn't do that. When you bust your ass, it still hurts. Maybe that one that would have snapped your neck or killed you 20 years ago, may not today, which will lead to more invincibility.

Oh by far it is the reason for agressive driving. I haven't seen a old clip yet where drivers slammed the door or drove in to the corner so hard under someone it put them in the wall or in deep trouble.

The clips I watch and what I remember is they raced side by side. If it took ten laps to make one pass. Thats what it took.

You'd be surprised the number of old racers that didn't or rarely got upside down. Now its almost common.


Do I think todays racing is great? Sometimes yeah and sometimes You might win it, But you deserve the knuckle sandwich thats coming after victory lane.

I worked on USAC sprint cars in the 60s and 70s.
There is absolutely zero relationship between real sprint cars up through 1969 and 1970 when all sprint cars were turned into supermodifieds with mandatory roll cages..... This "bolt on brave" eliminated the art of race driving and replaced it with the chickencrap slide job.
Currently, the only restriction to unlimited fearlessness is how long mommy and daddy's check book holds out.

I'm sure some of you here have never even seen a real sprint car.
Check it out!
Parnelli Jones in the Fike Plumbing Spl. and A.J.Foyt in the Bowes Seal Fast OFFY

Back in the day you learned through the school of hard knocks. This was a way of life and it wasn't just about racing. Everyone pretty much respected other people and their possessions. You worked hard for what you had and valued it.

Today is a different generation. I like to call it the No Fear Factor. If something goes wrong the fingers get pointed. Folks today don't value the things that were important back in the day. Respect has gotten lost along the way and much of it has to do with mom & dad buying the way.

One word to me has been lost by so many. Integrity.

We were discussing this very topic last Saturday night.

I raced karts for 20 years. When I started (1977), we had tiny triangle shaped nerf bars, and short front bumpers that sometimes went under other people's rear bumpers. There was no 'knocking and banging' or 'bulldoze your way to the front'. That would get you or someone else upside down, or get you knocked on your butt! We were taught respect, and how to drive/race. Not how to play a high speed game of pinball!

And yeah, one night I had to take a fun trip in an ambulance to the ER, because some kid stuck a wheel in me going into turn 1, and I almost cleared a 8'+ high wall/fence! So I know first hand what it's like to 'take a ride'.

Now days, karts have tall/long nerf bars hidden behind side panels, and a V blade nose cone for plowing people out of the way.........

Midgets, sprints, and champ cars have changed too, and so has the way they are driven by some guys.

Roll cages, seats that look like they belong in a fighter plane, arm restraints, neck restraints, almost completely enclosed cockpits, etc, etc, etc.........for some, it seems to equal an added amount of bravery...

Safety is great, I'm not nocking it at all!! It has saved MANY people from severe injury or even death.

But, with the extra safety has come the wheel banging, chopping, driving at people in the corners, bonzi slide jobs, etc.

Some of the 'art' of racing seems to have disappeared.

I bet if we were to cut the cages off, it wouldn't take too long before some people's 'driving style' changed dramatically!!

Something else we talked about.

What's the deal with just walking away from the car, after you dump it? I always laugh when someboby steps on their johnson, and then just walks back to the pits....like the race car has a GPS to tell the wrecker driver where to drop it at!

Go to Youtube.com. Look at old footage of open wheel racers. Pay attention to driving styles. Look at footage from the past 10-15 years or so. See if there is any difference.