Daytona backs up promise to install SAFER barriers everywhere
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Two hours after Kyle Busch slammed into a concrete wall last February at Daytona International Speedway, track president Joie Chitwood III made a stunning vow.
“This is not going to happen again,” Chitwood said. “We’re going to live up to our responsibility. We’re going to fix this. And it starts right now.”
Chitwood promised to install SAFER barriers “on every inch of this property” after Busch broke his right leg and left foot in a crash during the Feb. 21 Xfinity Series race.
With NASCAR rolling back into town for the start of Speedweeks, Chitwood said the track has lived up to its word.
“We did everything we committed to do,” he told USA TODAY Sports. “We completed all the inside turns and the inside backstretch (with SAFER barriers). All outside walls are complete.
“Now we’re ready to go.”
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It’s worth noting there is no SAFER barrier on pit road, but that would be impractical. Pit crews would have to jump over a large area of wall and cars would be unable to travel back and forth from the garage.
Still, Busch’s crash was the catalyst for change.
When NASCAR returned for the Coke Zero 400 in July, SAFER barriers had been installed everywhere but inside the turns. That has been added.
In addition, the track paved over a large grassy area in Turn 1 before July’s race. It also instituted a policy that no one is allowed on the “rim road” — the pathway right next to the fence — during races.
That might have saved some lives in July when Austin Dillon went airborne and tore down a portion of the fencing. He survived the crash uninjured and 13 fans were examined, with eight declining treatment. The other five suffered minor injuries.
Austin Dillon's terrifying crash at Coke Zero 400
Because of the Daytona Rising renovation project, the front row of the grandstands already was moved further from the track. The front row is about 20 feet further back and elevated 15 feet off the ground, Chitwood said.
Contributing: Mike Hembree
Follow Gluck on Twitter @jeff_gluck and Hembree @mikehembree
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