Brian Hoffman
Death Sport
From the February 16, 1994 edition of The New Castle Record
Over the years, the sport of hockey gas come under criticism for being too violent. Players now wear helmets and rules have been initiated to curb the fighting.
Football has always bee a target of those who oppose violence in our society. Artificial turf has been criticized, rules have been changed, and equipment continues to be upgraded.
But how many people have died playing professional football or ice hockey? How many have been maimed to the point of losing their memory or not being able to walk?
This is a regular occurrence in the sport of auto racing, and the carnage continues. What, if anything, can be done about it?
Last week Neil Bonnett died a senseless death in an auto crash less than an hour into the first practice of the NASCAR season. It’s a sad story.
Neil Bonnett had no business being in a race car. The guy had his head smacked so hard in 1990he couldn’t remember stuff for years. This wasn’t like Joe Montanna not remembering a first half touchdown. This was full scale amnesia due to head trauma.
Still, Bonnett vowed to return and drove one of Dale Earnhardt’s cars late last season and wrecked it. Everyone had a good laugh about it., but was it really that funny? It isn’t now.
At 47 years old, with that history, Bonnett should not have been allowed to climb back in a race car. He was a danger to others as well as himself. He did a disservice to friends and family who had to watch him die on the track.
That’s three big name casualties in the past year; Bonnett, Davey Allison, and Alan Kulwicki. In racing, it’s just “part of the game.”
What if Joe Carter, Barry Bonds, and Dave Winfield had been killed in the past year? Would that be, “part of the game?” Would people put up with it?
Carter compares favorably to Kulwicki, one a major league champion and one a NASCAR champion. Bonds and Allison match up, young stars of famous fathers in the same sport. And Winfield and Bonnett both entered 1994 admittedly past their prime.
Only difference is, when Winfield makes a mistake he strikes out Bonnett made a mistake, and he struck the wall.
Fans of NASCAR will quickly point out that Kulwicki and Allison were both killed in air accidents, and no one is suggesting air travel be banned. That’s a point well taken.
However, add to the list J.D. McDuffie and others who have been killed but weren’t the “big name” drivers like Kulwicki and Allison. Add Clifford Allison and the sad saga of the “Alabama Gang,” three dead and Bobby, the patriarch, sidelined after a bone chilling wreck that ended his racing career. How about the Formula I racers and all the big-name drivers who have been killed over the years?
Is this a sport or what? I like auto racing, but at what cost? As we sit and watch our heroes die, is it worth the excitement?
Looking back, I am sure glad Richard Petty got the car when he did. As he coasted around the track at a semi-competitive pace the past couple years of this career, I got a feeling Richard was just happy to be there and pick up the appearance money. His death would have been a real tragedy, as is the loss of any life.
Who will be next? Every race could be the last for larger-than -life stars like Dale Earnhardt, Rusty Wallace, and Darrell Waltrip. Who will have to die for people realize this just isn’t worth it?
You and I know the racing won’t stop. Ther’s too many dollars involved, and no one was ever forced to get in a race car. The drivers love it.
It just seems awfully barbaric for fans to b paying $50 a seat to watch men go real fast I cars with a chance one or more is going to die. A hundred years from now people are going to look back onus and think we were some kind of savages.
I have a friend who was a big Davey Allison fan. He always wanted one of those nice, expensive racing jackets, but he couldn’t afford it.
Well, Last year when Allsion died he broke down and bought one of those jackets and wore it everywhere. He said it was his last chance to get one.
Every time I saw him in that jacket, it reminded me of the terrible tragedy, and what a shame it was to see a young man die before his time. It was a sad reminder, sort of like the John Lennon shirt I bought years ago and have yet to wear.
The sad thing is, I don’t know what can be done abut this situation. People are going to race, and people are going to die; and many people are going to buy tickers to watch.
Sometimes I get a feeling the chance someone might die just adds to the excitement.
-Prepared by Shelly Koon