Race car drivers understand the risk that accomplanies getting behind the wheel for competition. The death of 37-year-old NASCAR driver Jason Leffler this week is a reminder of the importance of safety equipment for drivers. (David Scrivner/The Gazette-KCRG)
CEDAR RAPIDS – The inherent danger is accepted by each and every driver that gets behind the wheel.
It comes with the territory when you’re zipping around a confined oval with traffic at speeds illegal on public streets.
The death of 37-year-old NASCAR driver Jason Leffler, following an accident during a sprint car race Wednesday night at Bridgeport (N.J.) Speedway, enforced the realization that race car drivers face tremendous risk in every competition. It will likely be on the minds of officials, drivers and fans when Hawkeye Downs Speedway hosts its weekly points races Friday night, beginning at 7:30.
Don’t expect drivers to slow down. They know the consequences.
“You know the dangers going into it,” Wall of Fame member and current legends division points leader Kevin Korsmo said. “We know it’s out there, the possibility of wrecking and being hurt. You can’t spend your time thinking about it or you wouldn’t be in a race car.”
Leffler wasn’t an inexperienced driver. He had three NASCAR victories - one Camping World Trucks Series and two Nationwide Series wins – and more than 423 starts on the nation’s premiere stock car circuits, beginning in 1999. Leffler’s death re-opened the wounds of auto racing fans, who were stunned when IZOD IndyCar Series driver Dan Wheldon died in a race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2011.
“NASCAR extends its thoughts, prayers and deepest sympathies to the family, friends and fans of Jason Leffler, who passed away (Wednesday) evening,” NASCAR officials said in a news release. “For more than a decade, Leffler was a fierce competitor in our sport, and he will be greatly missed.”
Read Iowa Speedway’s statement on Leffler’s death. Visit www.nascar.com for additional coverage on the career and death of the NASCAR veteran.
Cedar Rapids native Landon Cassill, a NASCAR Sprint Cup driver, competed against Leffler last weekend in the Party in the Poconos 400 at Pocono (Pa.) raceway. Cassill commented about the situation on Twitter Wednesday night.
“Had a great talk with him just the other day,” Cassill posted on his @landoncassill feed. “We reminded each other why we love racing and do what we do. He was family.”
Steve Wallace (66) and Jason Leffler (38) race neck-and-neck during the NASCAR Nationwide Series U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway in Newton on Saturday, Aug. 6, 2011. (David Scrivner/The Gazette-KCRG)
The threat of injury exists on any level, any class and at any venue.
“You don’t want to let your guard down anytime,” Korsmo said. “It can happen at any track. You have to make sure you’re prepared for it.”
The steps a driver takes before he even gets into the car is vital to safety. Competitors must have essential equipment, including helmets, gloves and harnesses, to help limit harm of a crash. Preparation can provide peace of mind, so the focus can be on racing.
“You can’t sit and dwell on that too much,” eight-time Hawkeye Downs track champion Tim Plummer said on accidents. “It makes you pretty complacent. You’re not going to do the things you need to do (on the track).”
Hawkeye Downs has made considerable effort to insure driver safety when Race Director Mike Becker took over in 2010. Drivers and track personnel go over the checklist and fill out weekly to make sure the car and all the equipment are up to standard. Becker and Plummer both said the death of Dale Earnhardt at the end of the 2001 Daytona 500 led to significant changes in safety requirements.
“We developed a safety inspection sheet for our tech officials and drivers,” Becker said. “They all have to work with us.”
Becker said he has kept drivers from taking the track due to safety concerns. One driver had a helmet that wasn’t sufficient and it was confiscated until a proper helmet was obtained. Another driver was held out, because of poor safety harnesses. Korsmo and Plummer said Hawkeye Downs has made sure drivers take protective precautions.
“We don’t like to be timid about that,” Becker said. “My goal is everybody race here on Friday and then get up on Saturday and do stuff with their family.”
The track witnessed a severe accident during this season. Hornets driver Jose DeJesus was racing down a straightaway during the feature when his car flipped and rolled off the quarter-mile, demolishing his race car. DeJesus scrambled from the wreckage and ran to safety. He was OK and even received a free dinner from track officials when he returned to race in his old car the next week.
“You lose your breath any time you see a car start to spin,” Becker said. “When Jose went flipping off the backstretch and barrel-rolled six times, everybody’s heart sank in the whole place. Nobody wants to see a driver get hurt.”
Korsmo said the track hasn’t had a fatal crash at the track since it became an asphalt surface in the late 1980′s. He recalled some accidents resulting in serious injury, but no deaths. One of the reasons might be the foam barrier that runs the outside of the half-mile oval.
“We were one of the first to put up that polystyrene wall,” Korsmo said. “Kudos to the track for spending the money to do that because I know that’s kept some people safe.”
On the track, drivers control their own fate, but rely on others to avoid issues during a race. A certain amount of trust exists that drivers will run clean and not thrust someone into peril.
“Especially in the modified class with the open wheel,” said Plummer, a late model and modified driver. “You bump wheels and then go airborne, and that’s when things get hairy.”
The last line of aid is the track’s emergency personnel. The Speedway Fire and Rescue Team are ready to assist those involved in an accident. Becker said the team experiences training exercises throughout the year, bringing in instructors and advisers to stay up on the latest procedures. It is important to know how to react to what has happened, what could happen and things responders want to avoid.
“The world changes every day and so does racing,” Becker said. “You have to stay on top of everything. The safety personnel is no different, and they do a good job.”