Another big crash occurred at Talladega Superspeedway Sunday afternoon, and Carl Edwards was the centerpiece of the crash.
Edwards was just seconds away from the victory before attempting to block Brad Keselowski causing his car to flip into the fencing used to separate the fans from the track. Seven fans were injured but fortunately none were severely injured.
It might have been one of the best finishes NASCAR has seen, but at what price do some of these great finishes come by? Certainly it's not a fan's or a driver's health, but Edwards definitely had a strong statement after the race.
"NASCAR puts us in this box [restrictor-plate racing], and will race this way until they kill somebody," Edwards said. That statement is a powerful one that had to be directly aimed at NASCAR officials.
Former NASCAR driver Bobby Allison retracted the statement and said that the potential for danger is part of the excitement and that there's nothing wrong with that.
I wonder if Allison would be singing a different tune if someone had been killed or seriously injured Sunday. The satisfaction of the fans is very important, but not as important as someone's life.
In no way am I saying that restrictor-plate racing should be abolished, but there is nothing wrong with examining the procedures and equipment we have in place now to make sure there is a middle-ground between excitement and safety.
Seven injuries is seven too many and obviously something may need to be tweaked. I'm sick and tired of officials from anything, whether it be sports or not, waiting to change things until someone is killed. A life shouldn't have to be lost to make things right. Simple as that.
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