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January 28, 1999                                  

                                           The Cost of Safety
                                                       or
                            Why New Smyrna Speedway Needs Help

Sometimes there are stories that just have to be told, regardless of inclinations to be conservative in your public disapproval of another’s actions. As an example I once wrote a story for the DeSoto Speedway Weekly Report, the first web site I ever created, which told the truth about some of the things that were in severe need of repair at the said speedway. I chastised the owner, Dewayne Musick, on several counts including the need to hire a Public Relations Director or a full time marketing person.

This ultimately led to the track’s General Manager informing me that DeWayne had instructed her to do “whatever it takes” to get the web site off the Internet.  And of course the combative GM probably misunderstood the boss’s intentions and subsequently used salt & vinegar instead of sugar in her communications with me. The track did later indeed hire an able promotion man, Todd Merikle, and with good results. And now DeWayne is selling the speedway to some folks in Indiana. I’m told he’s selling because he can’t “devote 110% to the business”.  If true, that’s very honorable to the fans.

But the fact that the track officials became upset at the criticism leveled was unfounded. The article was simply one person’s opinion based on stated facts, and followed with a realistic, achievable solution, and the resulting benefits to the speedway, the drivers and the fans. Being thin skinned in the entertainment business is an impediment to understanding your customers. Not to mention making real marketing impossible.

Some may take offense at the following story, but it’s one of those that need to be told.  It came to my attention the way most things on this site do: by the fans of stock car racing.  And it’s being written because it’s time for folks to realize that the owners of tracks are the people who are entrusted with cultivating and caring for this sport. They are not lords of some realm in which their actions and dictates are beyond scrutiny. Those days are over. There are many fine, caring, and energetic track owners in the state of Florida. Unfortunately there are some whose actions leave little room for doubt that they are stuck somewhere in the past.

Apparently there has been some controversy (translated: cheating) at New Smyrna Speedway in the Runabout racing division that has led to the formation of a similar but different series (4 & 8 cylinder Strictly Stock) in order to cure the problem. The way I understand it is that some drivers in this “novice “ class have taken to stretching the rules to get their cars lighter and faster, to the detriment of some of the competing cars. How unusual! 

One of the biggest concerns of all race drivers is fire. They have fire extinguishers in their cars but if you are hurt, it could be hard to get to that. So it makes total sense to have very little inside of the car to fuel a fire. Carpets burn, seats burn, door panels burn, and racecars do occasionally catch on fire. For that matter it’s not uncommon to see passenger vehicles catch on fire when involved in accidents even in low speed crashes. I have a video from DeSoto Speedway that I shot two years ago that shows an Open Wheel Modified burning in the infield. There wasn’t much left of the car, and thankfully the driver escaped unharmed. We have all seen racecars catch on fire.

Why then would an owner of a speedway with “25 years racing experience” choose not to make it mandatory to wear a firesuit when racing on a half-mile speedway in a weekly series? What could possibly justify “highly recommending”, but not making mandatory either a fuel cell or some other accepted safety precaution to ensure gasoline stays inside a container and is not spilled out into the vehicle? What could possibly justify demanding that a racer be fully loaded with flammables such as carpets, and interior plastics and other toxic materials?

Perhaps someone else may have better luck than I getting answers to those questions. I put the questions to Robert Hart, the owner of New Smyrna Speedway. One answer he gave me was “They’re just out there having good time...they think they’re racing”. He also assured me that the cars would only be traveling at “35-40 miles per hour”. Right! I suppose there must be some governor on the engine that isn’t explained in the rules.

I also spoke to several other track owners and numerous drivers about the safety factors involved with racing without a fire suit or fuel cells in a weekly racing series. In every case I was met with incredulity: “ludicrous”, ‘are you crazy”, “you have to care more about your drivers than that” were typical of the responses I was met with. 

Hart apparently wants to have a racing series that doesn’t cost much to get into. That’s admirable. However, at what cost do you make it easy for someone to get into racing? Not to mention that it seems rather obvious that if you are running a class that is designed as an entry level, beginning class, you want to ensure that drivers learn all the safety issues right from the start.

Hart also complained about how the car count had dropped off severely in the last several years. Inferring of course that by reducing operating costs for new drivers it would help reverse the trend. It’s no secret that Hart’s tracks have very low attendance figures. Making money at the back gate off the drivers, their families and friends, may be an accepted practice at certain tracks, but when it gets reduced to putting the very people who are paying your bills in severe danger, those actions become despicable, at least in my book.

In his defense the owner of New Smyrna Speedway does highly recommend that all drivers wear fire suits. And when I asked him what he would tell folks who are concerned about the safety issue, he said, “ I’d tell them to bring their firesuit”. Though he insists “ safety is my first concern”, the lack of mandatory safety rules doesn’t seem to demonstrate that concern.

One of the numerous letters in my inbox recently summed it up this way:

“I see exactly what happened at tracks in New England happening in Florida.
Riverside Park Speedway could do anything and have it work. They operated
With an amusement park (called Riverside Park, until Premiere Parks bought
It). Everything was clean, well lit, good sound system. They promoted
Professionally and always filled the stands. Lebanon Valley, NY was a dirt
track that was the same way. I've never seen a cleaner bathroom except at
Auburndale (remember, it is a dirt track). (Auburndale staffs their's.)
They were able to promote a weekly show, World of Outlaws, big mod special,
or a zany mid week race with the same vigor.

In the middle were tracks that survived on the core values of good racing.
Then there are Star and Hudson Speedways in NH. Both owned by the same man.
Older tracks (although I haven't found that age directly correlates with
being run down) with dwindling car numbers. The racing suffered and the
place was a pit. My father and I went to Star less and less, instead
choosing Riverside although it was farther away. The sign of it all was
when my father and I were talking with an old friend 'Nasty' Neil Murky
from his home town ((Woburn, MA) who was a car owner. Nasty said Star was
real racing. Seeing old friends at the track every week. The hard core
people who have racing in their blood. Maybe. But I'd still prefer a good
show. Orlando and New Smyrna seem to be trapped in the downward spiral of a dying race track. I'm not saying they are going to die. I just think they need a lot of help
to reverse the trend and make the tracks great.”

Another letter said:

“It is great to have a class for beginning racers, a starting point. But if
you ever talk to any of our Florida stock car drivers that have been on fire
in their racecars, they will be the first to tell you that this is not safe.

No matter what class you race, safety should always be first especially for
the novice driver. These are the guys who hit the walls the most and end up
on their roofs. They put on good shows, the fans love them, too bad the track
owners and management team don't.”

Yes, sometimes there are stories that just have to be told, regardless of inclinations to be conservative in your public disapproval of another’s actions. And when fans send heartfelt words expressing legitimate concerns over the safety of our Friday and Saturday night heroes, those words need to be heard. At no time time during my conversation with Robert Hart did he show a concern for what I or any other fan felt. Once again: vinegar & salt instead of sugar. Not that I expect him to roll over anytime myself or another fan approaches him with a problem. But to not earnestly listen and try to understand voices from the public, especially in the entertainment business is beyond my understanding.

Yes it’s a severe safety risk to allow men and women, many of them young teenagers, to risk their lives racing at high speeds around a half-mile oval track without the proper fire precautions. Yes it’s absurd to not wear a fire suit. Equally absurd is not requiring fuel cells or some form of protection from the gasoline in the tank. As is being required to carry lots of flammable carpet, plastics and such in the car. The rules for this class are available on the Strictly Stock Rules page .  Check them out for yourself.

The solution proposed to Robert Hart was simple: If you tell people it’s highly recommended to have a fire suit and fuel cell, why not go one step further and make it mandatory?  Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get an answer to that question.

It would raise the start up costs for a new driver no more than $500 at the very most to ensure that the same degree of safety is afforded them as other classes. If you want to save them money, don’t charge them at the back gate.

But then again “they’re not real racers”.

The above story actually just scatches the surface of a much deeper problem. And It’s a shame really, the New Smyrna Speedway has one of the richest histories of any track in the state, and could be one of the finest facilities in the state.

As I told Robert Hart this past week, take some of your money, or get some sponsors involved, or get some people to help you get some some sponsors involved, and fix up the delapidated buildings, stands, and bring New Smyrna Speedway up to modern standards.

Short track stock car racing can no longer live in the past, there are lessons to be learned from Bill France, and it’s high some some of those NASCAR lessons be applied to revitalize both the facilities and the sport that the fans love so dearly.

                                                                       -Jack Smith

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