Safe on Sunday; Unsafe on Monday?
Racers speak out on the safety at post-event test sessions By Bobby Bennett, Jr.; Photos by Roger Richards; Susan Wade contributed to this report
Whit Bazemore never has been one to mince words when it comes to safety. Whether talking about the shortcomings of tire safety or the race track surface, the veteran driver of Don Schumacher’s Matco Tools-sponsored Funny Car has spoken his mind with little fear of repercussion. He has another focus now – post-national-event safety.
His concerns have been addressed in some capacity with the recent announcement that the Safety Safari attending a limited number of these events. Until that point, racers were playing with fire – literally.
“I think having the Safety Safari on Monday is a huge step in the right direction. The situation has been really been inconsistent from track to track.” - Whit Bazemore
“I think having the Safety Safari on Monday is a huge step in the right direction,” Bazemore said. “The situation has been really been inconsistent from track to track.”
Bazemore said he wants to look at things in a positive light from this point forward, but it wasn’t always that way. He can recall test sessions where the safety crews have been less than adequate.
“There was the time that only one guy on the safety crew, who was the diver for this track, wasn’t dressed for the job,” Bazemore said. “He was wearing jeans, no helmet and had no gloves. If you’re in a Funny Car fire and you’re unconscious, you’re basically dead and even if you’re conscious, you are still dead.”
John Force gets the prize for the best true story. Force told of a time at Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, Georgia, in which he went to the "safety crew" truck and talked to the woman sitting inside. She was not dressed in any kind of firefighting gear and didn't appear to be equipped with any safety tools. Force asked her if she was with the safety crew, knowing at least two emergency workers were supposed to be present. The woman told him, "Not really. My friend is, though. They needed one more person, so I said I'd come over and help. I work at the doughnut shop in town."
Bazemore recalls such situations as those of injured drivers Don Gay, Jr. and Al DaPozzo in which drivers have been at the mercy of those rescuing them. His recollections also extend to Formula One racing. This is a realistic scenario, some say, that could play out on in Monday test sessions for the nitro teams. That fear is compounded with the presence of volatile factors as the rev-limiters and the testing of new and unproven race components.
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“I am not bashing the NHRA for any of this. It’s our problem and Bazemore has been the cheerleader for this. I want the proper safety on hand when I test. I want people who know how to properly lift the body and undo the safety hatch. I want people who know how to fight a nitromethane fire. It’s the driver’s responsibility to stand up and say that they are not going to test if they safety is not there." - Gary Scelzi
“The safety crews being ill-prepared has always been a big concern of mine,” Bazemore continued. “I’ve always wondered if the NHRA, whose motto has always been 'Dedicated to Safety', has had some sort of standard the tracks had to meet when a certain caliber of race car runs. Apparently there isn’t and if there is, there are some that aren’t following them.”
Team owner Schumacher said in a perfect world the Safety Safari would be at every test session. A realistic world suggests otherwise.
“PRO and the team owners were concerned with the safety at these test sessions,” Schumacher said. “That safety is deserved by these drivers.
“There are a number of facilities we test at that have competent safety crews,” Schumacher said. “My primary choice is to always have the Safety Safari whenever I run my cars. That is impossible when there are so many back-to-back races.”
Bazemore said that most of the tracks are more than willing to address the driver’s concerns when they are noted. Most tracks never hear this kind of feedback.
“When we got there to test another time, the safety crewman was wearing a fireman’s raincoat, a fireman’s helmet with the duckbill in the back and nothing covering his face. He was wearing a pair of suede gardening gloves. In 2006, come on. As drivers we shouldn’t have to subject ourselves to this crazy double standard that exists.”
Gary Scelzi said he remembers that day all too well.
“I didn’t feel safe at all,” Scelzi said. “On that day, Baze and I stayed suited up while one another ran. That was pretty much the end of my testing for that session.”
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“PRO and the team owners were concerned with the safety at these test sessions. That safety is deserved by these drivers.” - Don Schumacher
Bazemore pointed out the efforts of Schumacher and Kenny Bernstein of PRO as being a step in the right direction by bringing in the Safety Safari.
“PRO delivered in a big way for us,” Bazemore said. “I think the Safety Safari is making a big sacrifice for us. Those guys work awfully hard and put in long hours for us. They are underpaid for the value they bring to the table. This is a huge step in the right direction. It makes it possible for us to test with the same attitude that we maintain in a national event.
“It ensures we can give 110 percent when it comes to testing.”
Bazemore admitted that he wasn’t able to give that kind of unlimited effort at certain test sessions because of the increasing concern for his well-being.
“I am not willing to take those risks any more,” Bazemore said. “I was when I started doing this but not any more. I used to run at many tracks all over the Southeast without even an ambulance on the grounds. I didn’t care. I made that decision.
“I have made the decision now that if a certain safety standard is not present, I am not going to the finish line. I’ll make the decision and run shorter.”
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"We take risks and we know that comes with the territory. You don’t want to survive the crash and still die because of negligent situations and that the track isn’t prepared for safety." - Whit Bazemore
Bazemore is not lobbying for the Safety Safari to be in attendance every time a nitro car runs.
“It’s not a matter that they have to be there every time,” Bazemore said. “When they are there you feel a lot safer. There are a lot of tracks that have very good safety teams. I want to stress that.”
Bazemore says the crews at Las Vegas, Indianapolis and Gainesville are the best prepared tracks.
“I watched a video recently where a car burned to the ground in 10 minutes during a non-national event,” Bazemore said. “There was no one there to put that fire out. What if it had been at half-track and the car was upside down? He would have died.
“Look at Jerry Gannon -- the poor guy died and he didn’t have to. We take risks and we know that comes with the territory. You don’t want to survive the crash and still die because of negligent situations and that the track isn’t prepared for safety.”
One has to wonder if the NHRA’s concern for safety in the post-event test sessions inevitably will lead to a limit on these sessions. NASCAR limits the number of test sessions for its teams, not because of safety but rather to maintain a reasonably level playing field and because of the tire supply.
Such a measure, Schumacher said, could not be reasonably applied to drag racing.
“I don’t knowwhether that is applicable to our sport,” Schumacher said. “Some teams use test sessions as ways to make their cars go down the track. Others are testing new parts.”
Schumacher said the budgets for each time mandates the number of test sessions utilized.
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Teams are going to prefer testing on Monday after an event because it provides the closest track conditions to what they encounter on Sunday.
Despite the safety concern, Bazemore pointed out the Monday sessions provide the best track conditions for the teams to test and that’s why they are so crucial. The bottom line, as Bazemore said he sees it, is the tracks should have the same approach to safety that the teams do. Scelzi said that inevitably he makes the decision to nail the throttle and how long to stay in it.
“It’s my choice,” Scelzi said. “I am not bashing the NHRA for any of this. It’s our problem and Bazemore has been the cheerleader for this. I want the proper safety on hand when I test. I want people who know how to properly lift the body and undo the safety hatch. I want people who know how to fight a nitromethane fire.
“It’s the driver’s responsibility to stand up and say that they are not going to test if they safety is not there,” Scelzi said. “Anything can happen.”
I’m all for people making their own decisions,” Bazemore added. “They have to be willing to accept the responsibility for those actions as well. For me, at my age and having done this for as long as I have, I am just so enthused at the steps being made in the right direction by bringing in the Safety Safari. I hope it expands to more events.
“When you have a guy like Jerry Grice [Safety Safari team leader] it almost lets you grow another set.”
