Dateline: 05/23/01

Last year, Humpy Wheeler announced that Lowes Motor Speedway would use "soft wall technology" to help drivers survive accidents. During the ARCA race that preceeded The Winston, I saw that technology come into play and the result was spectacular.

On lap nine, a multi-car incident took out almost one-third of the field. During the melee, one car struck the inside wall almost head on. After a fountain of water was released when the wall collapsed, the driver crawled from the car uninjured. To me, this was the final proof that NASCAR should mandate this new technology at all of its tracks. While Lowes only has this technology available on the inside retaining walls, mandating it for all walls would greatly improve the safety for all drivers. With it, we might possibly be watching Dale Earnhardt race for the victory this Saturday in the Coca-Cola 600.

Other racing series have cars that disperse the energy of a crash, however NASCAR's body designs do not allow for this. Therefore the only other choice is to make the walls disperse the energy. Some preliminary test results show that approximately 40% of the energy of a crash on the driver's body can be eliminated by the use of soft walls.

Of course, the argument is made that soft walls require huge financial investments, but which is worse, spending the money or losing another driver to a hard impact with a concrete barrier? For most drivers, the answer is clear. If Lowes can afford to make these changes on their own, then other tracks can stand the same expense. I feel confident that fans would support such efforts in the form of a "surcharge" on tickets, rather than go through the terrible experience of another Daytona or New Hampshire. After watching these walls in action, it is my opinion that their time has come.

On another note, Sunday will be a big day for Tony Stewart, as he attempts to run both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600. Tony is an outstanding open-wheel competitor, as well as NASCAR driver, and he stands an excellent chance of possibly winning both events. Over the years he proved time and time again that he's capable of great things, and given some good racing luck, he could reach an unheard of level of greatness this weekend.

Robbie Gordon, another NASCAR veteran will be on the front row of Indy, and again, his experience could lead to a victory at The Brickyard. That, combined with the experience of his team owner, A.J. Foyt, could be an unbeatable combination. Like Stewart, Gordon has a wealth of open-wheeled experience and his outstanding qualifying speeds make him a real threat to win at Indy. Robbie and Tony won't be the only stock car veterans at the "500" this year. ARCA driver Jon Herb will start his first Indy 500 from the middle of the field and while not as experienced as Gordon and Stewart, should have a good showing. I'm sure that everyone reading this wishes these drivers the best of luck and safe racing.