Oh
Where, Oh Where Is NASCAR’s Driver Alert System?
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Trevor
Bayne’s engine lets go going into Turn One.
First, a wisp of smoke from the right side and then erupting into a
solid cloud through Turn Two. As Bayne
drops to the apron and continues around the track seeking pit road, the thick
cloud grows, covering the track. Car after
car enters the fog. All but two emerge
unscathed. Bubba Wallace Jr. is unable
to see through the cloud to avoid or slow enough to keep from hitting Ricky
Stenhouse Jr. Both cars were
significantly damaged. Wallace went on
the six minute clock, but the crew was able to cut away enough damage to send
him back out for a 32nd place finish, six laps down.
As
I watched the smoke clear, I wondered... “Why doesn’t NASCAR use a Driver Alert
System?”
If
you are not familiar with them, these are systems that have a radio transmitter
connected to race control’s track signal system. As soon as race control throws a caution flag
the system simultaneously sends a radio signal to a receiver in each car that
instantaneously triggers an audible and/or light signal to the driver alerting
them of the change in race conditions.
With this information, drivers can then take evasive action, which most
often involves just lifting the throttle.
With all drivers using the same system and receiving the same alert at
the same time, drivers can do so with the confidence that the drivers behind
them received the same alert and will not plow into them if they do lift.
Currently,
for a driver to know that a caution flag is thrown they must either a) see the
wreck, b) see the caution lights on the track (which may or may not be
possible), c) see a hand signal from the driver ahead or d) the spotter hears
race control call for the caution or they see the lights and verbally transmit
that info to the driver. This creates a
time delay which may make the difference between avoiding the wreck, being in
the wreck or being involved in a secondary wreck.
Couple
this with the fact that when the driver receives word from the spotter of a
caution he has to hope any cars around him have received the same word and will
respond accordingly and not run into him.
Too many times we have seen that not happen and that results in the
secondary crashes.
These
warning systems in no way replaces the spotters. To say that spotters have a difficult job is an
understatement. I deeply respect and
admire the job they do. These warning
systems act as a supplement to them.
They do essentially cut out the “middle man” for that initial caution
call, saving valuable time. Think of it
as all the drivers being plugged into the very best spotter at the same time,
whose sole job it is to let everyone know the race has been yellow or red
flagged.
My
interest in driver alert systems began many years ago with the frustration over
drivers being penalized for pitting before pit road opened. It was a frequent occurrence in earlier times
and I thought there had to be a better way than a flag man at the end of pit
road waving a wimpy flag.
An
Internet search revealed there was a recently developed product which sent an
audible signal to the driver when a caution flag was thrown. It sent a different tone when the green flag
dropped and racing resumed. This
addressed another issue we see still today on restarts. A third signal is sent for a red flag. It sounded like the perfect solution and I
watched to see when it would be adopted, especially by NASCAR.
I
saw some early video of its use on short tracks. It was incredible to see the entire field
slow in unison. It reminded me of my old
slot car racing days at the Thatch in Owensboro when the track official would
stop the field by cutting the power to the track when “The Big One” occurred.
It was a sight I was very familiar with since I was often the cause. Now, I see something very similar at the
nearby indoor electric kart track when a wreck occurs there. They cut the power to all the karts so the
wreck can be safely cleared.
At
the Thatch, it kept folks from tearing up equipment (even if it was 1/24 scale)
and at the kart track it improved safety.
Could similar benefits be realized in NASCAR by adopting a Driver Alert
System?
I
soon learned of another company who developed a similar system that used dash
lights instead of the audible signal to alert the driver. Hot Rod
magazine wrote of both systems and made an initial cry for racing series to
adopt some type of driver alert system.
I
soon read that Ricky Craven, then driving for Cal Wells III (if that tells you
how long it’s been around) tested the audible system at Homestead and gave it
favorable marks. It was later used at Berlin
Raceway and at Hickory.
They
further improved their system by adding a dash
mounted light to their audible system.
This system was used at Colorado National Speedway and also adopted by
NAMARS (National Alliance of Midget Auto Racing Series).
The
light system made its way first into the DIRT series and later ASA. After the tragic 2002 practice accident at
Lowe’s Motor Speedway another
cry went out for series to adopt a driver warning system. In 2003, the ARCA
Series adopted this system.
A
short time later a third driver alert system was developed for the IRL series.
All
these years, now approaching two decades, all this technology and still nothing
had been adopted by NASCAR. Not in the
CWS Trucks, Xfinity or Monster Energy Series.
Why?
My
interest in this topic was renewed after coming across an excellent article
explaining the various systems in a January 2017 article on the site Building
Speed entitled “Can
NASCAR Stop Secondary Accidents?” In
it, Diandra Leslie-Pelecky
describes the problem behind secondary accidents in racing, describes the
various types of systems available today and offers the advantages
(scientifically) of each. She notes that
USAC had brought their own proprietary system on line this season. It uses lights to alert the driver as well as
following drivers of a caution.
She
concludes that as far as notifying drivers of a caution, spotters are not the
most efficient means available and because of the nature of the sport, total
elimination of all secondary accidents would be impossible, but that shouldn’t
deter the effort
“Arguments
can be made for a system based on light or a system based on sound; but based
on anecdotal data from other series, either type of in-car warning system would
likely decrease the number of severity of secondary accidents, thus keeping
drivers safe and decreasing costs by decreasing damage to cars.”
In
this day of reduced sponsorship dollars, reduced car counts, and new drivers
coming in at every level, isn’t the time right for NASCAR to adopt a driver
alert system?
Yet
another season has gone by since Leslie-Pelecky’s
plea. From my vantage point on this
subject I see what I’ve seen for almost two decades-nothing. All I hear are crickets.
If
a driver alert system had been in place...
-Would
it have helped Bubba Wallace or Ricky Stenhouse JR. at Atlanta?
-Last
year, could the “parked ambulance” SNAFU at Richmond been averted?
-Could
it have eliminated some of the last lap destruction in the Xfinity series at
Daytona?
NASCAR
says they are all about safety and reducing costs. Talk’s cheap.
Isn’t it about time for this Sanctioning Body to finally step up and
give these teams and drivers all the tools possible to truly improve safety and
reduce costs?
NASCAR
has repeatedly demonstrated they have no qualms, no, seem to almost relish
making drastic changes to the sport.
Yet, while other series have blown their doors off in this area, their
adoption of a driver alert system has moved at near glacial speed. There was good Kentucky bourbon barreled when
these systems were developed that have now been aged, bottled, sold and
consumed and still no change.
What’s
the hold up? Hasn’t it been long enough?
Oh
where, oh where is NASCAR’s Driver Alert System? Oh where, oh where can it be?