Talladega/Daytona to Raise Catch Fences

[zaw24fan]

From Jayski:

Talladega raises catchfence: UPDATE Daytona too: As a safety precaution to protect fans and competitors, Talladega Superspeedway extended the height of its frontstretch catch fence by eight feet, president Rick Humphrey told ESPN.com Monday. The decision was made in reaction to a horrific accident on the final lap of the Aaron's 499 Sprint Cup race on April 29, which sent Carl Edwards' Ford airborne into the previous fencing and sent debris spraying into the grandstands. The fence held up in the crash but was destroyed, creating concern about fan safety at the high-speed 2.66-mile venue. Humphrey and his staff hired an outside engineering firm to survey the damage. It was recommended that the fence height be extended. It stood 14 feet in April. It now stands 22 feet, and the top bows out over the track surface. There are other enhancements to the fence, too, though Humphrey said he is not at liberty to discuss them. "The engineering team we consulted with has that information," he said. "It is proprietary information that they've provided to us. They're okay with the height, that's something to the naked eye you'll certainly be able to see. There are other variables you can't get into."(ESPN.com)(10-6-2009)
UPDATE: Talladega Superspeedway and Daytona International Speedway are raising the height of their catch fences from 14 feet to 22 feet after analyzing their safety barriers following the accident that sent Carl Edwards flying into the Talladega fence in April. Talladega will get the frontstretch portion of its fence completed before its Oct. 30-Nov. 1 race weekend and will do the backstretch during the offseason. Daytona, which has no more NASCAR races this year, will complete its new fence on both the frontstretch and backstretch by mid-January. Other enhancements have been made to the fences at other tracks owned by International Speedway Corp., the parent company of both Talladega and Daytona, but neither [Talladega Superspeedway President Rick] Humphrey nor DIS President Robin Braig would go into more details.(SceneDaily)(10-6-2009)

I really don't know what to say. Yeah, it's a good call by NASCAR to do this, but really, Carl Edwards's car would have never hit the catch fence had Ryan Newman not hit him. The car would have simply picked up, lowered right back down, and backed into the wall if Newman wasn't there.

 

[Janitor Dave]

The whole premise behind this is that they just want to make SURE that no cars go through the fence. Which is a smart move, IMO.