Atlanta adding more safety measures for race
Atlanta Motor Speedway is taking some extra measures for its race weekend.
The track is now the second weekend on the NASCAR circuit and announced Tuesday that it would put tire barriers on the inside turn four wall. In Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at Daytona, Kyle Busch hit an unprotected concrete wall and broke his right leg and left foot. After the Xfinity Series race, Daytona added tires to the inside wall Busch hit for the Daytona 500.
There isn’t enough time to have SAFER barriers installed before race activities begin, and the track said it would look at areas for SAFER barriers after the race. It’s also extending the pit road wall.
Both Charlotte Motor Speedway and Atlanta are tracks owned by Speedway Motorsports Inc.
Charlotte, New Hampshire and Kentucky (the latter two are SMI tracks as well) are also adding more SAFER barriers. Expect other tracks to make similar announcements as the season goes on.
Talladega president Grant Lynch told USA Today that he expects his track to follow the steps Daytona is taking.
While it’s easy to applaud the fact that tracks are making the move to install more protection for drivers, it’s a move that’s way, way too late. it doesn’t excuse that safety measures should have been at A-level standards at all tracks across the board before Busch’s crash.
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
