NASCAR running thread

I've said all of this for years until I'm blue in the face, and now NASCAR's chickens are coming home to roost. You always knew the "Days of Thunder crowd" as I call them would lose interest. As pointed out, there was the convergence of Days of Thunder and over the top country music to create a perfect storm and bring about the boom. Of course I personally benefited. That was when I was in the Navy, and I went from being quirky redneck to "ohhh, he's the real deal" all of a sudden.

The true long time fans in the South have gone back to Saturday night local track racing -- which NASCAR has tried to kill by doing so many Saturday night races, by the way.

 

Fan struck by lightning and killed today at Pocono.

I forget who it was on ESPN's crew -- Jarrett, I think -- who said he hoped all the fans were safe.

Apparently, severe thunderstorm warning was issued, yet the track never announced it. If so, that's unbelievable. We've advanced to the point that you can get text messages sent to your cell phone the second a severe thunderstorm warning is issued, yet Pocono couldn't give the fans a heads up? A horrible, preventable tragedy.

 

One would think after the stage rigging collapse in Indianapolis last year that severe thunderstorm warnings would be announced and precautions taken for.

At the Indy Grand Am race a couple of weeks back, some pretty strong storms rolled through during the race. Warnings were posted on all of the video boards and announced by the track PA. Tornadoes were in the area at the end of the 2004 Indianapolis 500. The race was flagged 20 laps early and I don't think I've ever seen 200,000 people scatter so fast in my life. By the time Buddy Rice got to the makeshift indoor Victory Lane, the place was practically empty.

 

According to this story, the track did alert fans about the oncoming storm, and advised them to take shelter.

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/other_sports/auto_racing/view.bg?articleid=1061151280&srvc=sports&position=recent

The person killed, according to the coroner, was standing near his car in the parking lot. Maybe you can argue whether the track should have made an announcement sooner, or advised fans to stay in the track (assuming there was enough shelter) until the storm passed, but it wasn't as if no announcement were made.

 

As a counterpoint, here's a meteorologist who says that NASCAR didn't take the fact that this was a "warning" (meaning that something bad was definitely going to happen) and not a "watch" (meaning that something bad might happen) until the cell was directly over the track:

http://www.sbnation.com/nascar/2012/8/6/3222550/nascar-lightning-pocono-weather-policy-2012

 

A. Warning doesn't mean something bad is definitely going to happen. It means that that specific weather has been spotted. A "watch" means that the conditions are right to produce the weather incident that is under watch. Just as a point of clarification. I've had plenty of "severe thunderstorm warnings" and not seen any lightning directly where I am.

B. It's all apples and oranges. What NASCAR should do has nothing to do with what they will do. They pull those cars off the track and it's just a light sprinkle, and they get angry fans. This happens, and they can throw Pocono Raceway under the bus and not take any fall for it at all.

You guys are crazy if you think NASCAR's going to stop its moneymaking machine because there's a storm coming. They will stop it well after it starts raining. They don't throw the yellow for clouds ... they throw it when the track's wet. That's it.

 

The guy who died--and may he rest in peace--was at his car but not in it. That is not the track's fault.

 

Good friend of mine was sitting in the Turn 3 grandstand and ducked out a little early when he saw the radar picture on his cellphone. Said he got a good parking spot and was gone and on the main road out when the storm rolled through, a difference of maybe 10 minutes.
Lucky, and smart, fella.

 

Bet the track still gets sued by the man's family.
Book it.

 

Dodge is out.

 

Link? Not because I don't believe you (seen it many places) but because it's not cool to c&p without credit to the original article.

 

IJAG, here is a link to the longer version of the AP story referenced earlier.
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ap-source-dodge-pull-nascar-161100814--nascar.html