Kevin Ward Jr.'s death could prompt safety changes in NASCAR

Kevin Ward Jr.'s death occurred in a sprint car race, but its implications could reach Sprint Cup — not only because the fatality involved a car driven by Tony Stewart.

When NASCAR officials hold their weekly competition meeting Tuesday, it's likely they will discuss the circumstances that allowed Ward to exit his cockpit and angrily scramble down the banking to confront Stewart under a yellow flag at Canandaigua (N.Y.) Motorsports Park.

Such expressions of frustration are common in racing, especially NASCAR. After a crash in Saturday's Nationwide Series race at Watkins Glen International, J.J. Yeley walked away from safety workers gathered around his crumpled car and approached the edge of traffic running under yellow so he could gesture at Trevor Bayne. In one of the more memorable flare-ups of Stewart's career, he hurled his heel pads at Kenny Irwin Jr. and tried to reach into his cockpit during yellow-flag laps after a wreck.

But Ward's death has prompted suggestions that rules are needed that keep drivers in their cars under caution until safety personnel arrive.

At least two dirt tracks in New York made changes Monday as Brewerton Speedway and Fulton Speedway announced in a website release that drivers would be required to stay in their cars during an accident. If a driver were to exit the car during a yellow, the race would be placed under a red flag, and the penalty could include a fine or suspension.

There is precedent for deaths in other series being the impetus for immediate changes in NASCAR.

When the investigation into the death of seven-time NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt Sr. —who was killed in a last-lap crash in the 2001 Daytona 500 — ended, the use of the HANS (head and neck restraint device) was mandated among other safety measures, in August 2001.

When Eric Martin was killed in an ARCA crash at Charlotte Motor Speedway in October 2002, NASCAR mandated the following day that spotters must be positioned above the grandstands during practices (just as they already were required during races).

"We always have discussions to become better," NASCAR spokesman Kerry Tharp told USA TODAY Sports. "NASCAR has a history of looking at situations, and we're not afraid to react to them."

There is an entertainment component to driver altercations, which often are used by speedways in promotions geared toward selling tickets. Among the most famous occurred in the November 2010 race at Texas Motor Speedway, where Jeff Burton and Jeff Gordon got into a shoving match on the backstretch under yellow after a crash.

But Texas Motor Speedway president Eddie Gossage said he would support a rule that would limit the opportunity for such fracases.

"That is just common sense to have a rule that says guys stay in your cars," Gossage told USA TODAY Sports. "Obviously safety trumps entertainment. We can joke and carry on about it, but safety, safety, safety. It's a no-brainer in that regard."

Gossage, who has worked in the racing industry for more than 30 years, said there was a time when it wasn't common for drivers to confront each other under caution, pointing to Kurt Busch wildly motioning at Jimmy Spencer after a crash in the 2002 Brickyard 400.

"It's become one of a driver's ways to try to show up someone else," he said.

With NASCAR often marketed around drama and charged emotion — in perhaps its most famous race, the 1979 Daytona 500 ended with a fistfight between Cale Yarborough and Bobby and Donnie Allison — Gossage said there still would be room for drivers to engage in postrace garage arguments.

"You have a problem, you go discuss it," he said. "That's the place for that, not on the track. I would have said that long ago, too, before this incident Saturday night."

NASCAR officials also plan to discuss safety improvements at Watkins Glen International, which Ryan Newman criticized as antiquated after a hard wreck Sunday and complained about lack of SAFER barriers. On the advisement of NASCAR, the track made multimillion-dollar upgrades to the 2.45-mile road course after heavy impacts in the 2009 and '11 races (including the installation of some SAFER barriers).

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