Grandstands are the issue at Talladega

Monday, April 27, 2009 | 8:30 p.m.

We got a glimpse of NASCAR’s worst nightmare on Sunday as Carl Edwards’ car had a violent meeting with the catch fence at Talladega. The wreck, which sent some debris into the grandstands, was reminiscent of Bobby Allison’s catch-fence ripping, airborne wreck at the same track in 1987.

Allison’s accident was the impetus for the implementation of the restrictor plate as a way to slow the cars down enough to keep them from going into the stands.

Nevertheless, we have seen that cars can still become airborne and hit the catch fence. So what is the solution? Some say take off the restrictor plates, which, in theory, would draw out the field and keep the cars from running so close together. Others suggest the track be reconfigured with less banking to lower the speeds. And some suggest the yellow-line rule is to blame.

I think the restrictor plates should remain and the track should be left alone. I like restrictor-plate racing. It produces competition that keeps me on the edge of my seat, or completely out of my seat, as was the case on Sunday. How many times does a race accomplish that in a season? And why would anyone want to see some banking taken out of the track? Then we would be left with a giant version of the Auto Club Speedway with single-file racing and limited lead changes. As far as the yellow-line rule is concerned, I think the issue on Sunday had more to do with Edwards blocking Brad Keselowski than it had to do with the yellow-line rule. And even if you get rid of the rule, blocking that results in a car catching air can happen anywhere on the track.

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After repeatedly looking at the race ending, I think Edwards’ car may have come back down to earth if Ryan Newman’s car hadn’t hit the No.99 car and sent it into the airborne spin that propelled the car towards the fence.

Maybe the way to alleviate some of the potential for debris going into the stands is to rearrange the stands. Move the grandstands back or remove seats closest to the catch fence. NASCAR must have a pretty good idea how far debris flies when a car hits the fence. That measurement could give NASCAR a good indication of how close fans should be to the action on the track.

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Here is a New York Times story on Dale Earnhardt Jr. that I found interesting.

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Below is my editorial cartoon from Sunday’s Las Vegas Sun.