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Gordon questions Vegas safety

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Jeff Gordon told reporters that his crash during the U.A.W.-Dodge 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 2 was "probably the hardest I've ever hit." It came when he slid up the track on the backstretch and hit Matt Kenseth's racecar. Both cars spun and Gordon's No. 24 Chevrolet skidded into the infield toward an opening in the interior wall that allows access to the track. The front right corner of his racecar slammed flush into a wall on the far side of the opening. After the wreck, Gordon publicly scolded officials at the track for not having soft walls there. Las Vegas officials plan to install a Safer barrier along the wall where he hit. But officials declined to redesign the opening to prevent racecars from reaching that wall. Gordon is not sure he approves of the change. "I kind of left it in their hands and Nascar's hands to make the right decision to do what was best," Gordon said Friday at Lowe's. "In my opinion -- I'm not an expert, but I did hit the wall -- I don't think you should be able to get to the angle of that wall. I obviously would like to see them change any wall that we go to that has that kind of angle at it. And I think there's some ways to do it."

New York Times

Jeff Gordon, AP Jeff Gordon, AP

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May 18, 2008  12:21 PM ET
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Come on Jeff, it was a freak accident. The odds of someone else hitting that extact spot again are probably astronomical. I understand that after the hit you took you'd want them to change it, but, they need to be able to access the track quickly. Now, if it happens again, well, then there might be a real issue.

May 18, 2008  12:22 PM ET
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This is LAZINESS on the part of the racetrack. It is also because they don't want to spend the money.

There is NO EXCUSE for a car ever being able to hit an angled wall like that. The only angled walls on a racetrack should be angled so a car would need to run backwards to hit the wall.

The fix to this is very easy, however ownership at the track is not willing to do what needs to be done.

May 18, 2008  12:51 PM ET
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they are installing safer barriers at the spot he hit.....................they are not redesigning the opening........the opening is to allow safety vehicles and other emergency vehicles access to the track in a timely fashion........................stop whining jeff..............they are doing what is needed

May 18, 2008  01:02 PM ET
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They need to redesign the opening, that is the point. The opening should not be there in its current design.

this has nothing to do with limiting access to the racetrack. It would be very easy to design an opening that still allows access to the track track while eliminating those type openings. I managed to draw a quick design up in about 30 seconds that would prevent openings like that from being present but would still allow access to the race track just as quickly for safety crews.

May 18, 2008  01:10 PM ET
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chapman; Have you ever looked into the racetrack design field. They have ads every day in the Wall Street Journal for brilliant people that can draw up designs in 30 seconds. You could even venture into horse track design and redesign.

May 18, 2008  04:12 PM ET
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It is not that difficult to redesign a WALL, I am not talking about redesigning the entire facility. The wall is VERY easy to REDESIGN and keep the access to the racetrack that the safety crews need.

May 18, 2008  04:28 PM ET
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Now, Now, let's not fight.

 
May 18, 2008  09:53 PM ET
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Ok Jeff had an unusual accident. The track took action to fix the problem. The chances of that happening again are possible but slim. Good thing the track does not need Jeff's approval to continue operating. Jeff get over it.

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