Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 16, 1994 TAG: 9402160041
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Jack Bogaczyk
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"It's just racing," said Rick Mast of the two deaths in 69 hours at Daytona International Speedway. "It's sad, but it's going to happen. Someone said the other day that until something like this happens, people tend to forget the dangers.
"I can tell you none of us drivers ever once forgets it. We just do what we can to make it as safe a sport as possible."
Mast, the NASCAR Winston Cup driver from Rockbridge Baths, was at the speedway Monday when rookie Rodney Orr crashed and died while practicing for the Daytona 500 - just as veteran Neil Bonnett had Friday.
Orr was the 26th Winston Cup driver to die in his car in 42 years. He was the 25th driver in all motorsports to die at Daytona since 1959. Mast, 36, remembered one of them although he never met him. It was his introduction to Daytona as a Grand National driver.
"The first time I came to Daytona, in 1985, we had made a deal to rent a gear from a guy," Mast said by phone Monday night from Daytona Beach. "We were there waiting in line to sign in for our credentials and I have the newspaper in my hand.
"I open it up and see this big picture of a car flipping. The headline says, `ARCA driver dies.' I start reading the story and see it was the guy I was supposed to rent this gear from. You're there for the first time. That gets your attention."
That was Francis Affleck, who also was killed in practice. Mast raced in the Goody's 300 a week later, but finished 32nd out of 33 starters. He went only 63 laps, but Daytona has become one of his best and favorite tracks. His best Winston Cup finish - fourth - came in the 1991 Daytona 500. The Skoal Ford driver made a name for himself when he led the '89 Daytona race.
"People say there are more [bad] wrecks here and at Talladega than other places," Mast said. "Well, the tracks are larger, so people go faster, so when you do wreck, there's a tendency to wreck harder. When that happens, it's all in the angles. The severity of the impact is greater because you're going faster."
A couple of decades ago, Pulitizer Prize-winning columnist Jim Murray began a column from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with this sentence: "Gentlemen, start your coffins." It was gallows humor, but it also was a plea to make this speedy occupation safer.
There's little question among experts that Winston Cup stock cars are the safest racing vehicles, and Mast pointed out that following every accident, NASCAR impounds the car. Rules are forever being changed, but don't expect to see rubber walls at trackside anytime soon.
"I don't think you're going to see the tracks change," Mast said. "First and foremost, you have to ensure the safety of the fans, the spectators. That comes way before the safety of the drivers. We understand that. We have restrictor plates. Those make it safer for the fans, but more dangerous for the drivers."
Mast also believes the increased popularity and attention Winston Cup racing has received magnifies the deaths. The Bonnett and Orr deaths in four days - multiplied by the fatal air crashes of Winston Cup stars Davey Allison and Alan Kulwicki in 1993 - "makes it all seem worse," he said.
"People have to understand - and it's hard - that sadly, these things are part of everyday business. It's what goes on. It's a dangerous sport, and at times it can become too dangerous.
"There's a certain amount of fear you have just have to deal with. You can't drive if you have no fear."
So, will the deaths of Bonnett and Orr change the way the drivers will approach the 2.5-mile tri-oval in Sunday's race?
"To be honest with you, I don't know," said Mast, who in a frustrating '93 finished 21st in the points standings and had five top 10 finishes. "The veterans, it's not going to change us because all of us have hit these walls a ton.
"You learn how it goes. Maybe you don't try to squeeze by, and it's not a fear thing, it's a thing of respect. Why try it when a half-lap later you can get by easily? The young guys, they're full of vinegar. I remember that. A hole was there, you went for it, and maybe you hit the wall or ended up upside down."
On the race track, knowing when to say when not only can determine whether you succeed, but whether you survive.
"When you pick your spots it's not a matter of being scared, it's a matter of respect," Mast said. "We're not paid to run all of the laps around the track in last place. We're paid to win or to finish as high as we can. And the hardest part is learning to be patient."
Keywords:
AUTO RACING FATALITY
by CNB