CUP: Pocono Planning Safety Improvements

Sprint Cup

CUP: Pocono Planning Safety Improvements

Pocono Raceway is considering adding a catch fence between turns 1 and 2...

Bob Pockrass | http://www.scenedaily.com | Posted August 01, 2010 Long Pond, PA

Pocono Raceway is known to be both unique and challenging. (Photo: Getty Images)

Pocono Raceway is looking at more safety changes to its track in light of Kasey Kahne nearly flying over the wall between turns 1 and 2 when the Sprint Cup circuit visited the track in June.

In that race, Kahne was forced down onto the infield grass, came back up the track and was hit by three cars at once and got airborne at the top of the wall.

He nearly hit the trees behind the wall but eventually came back down on the track.

“I don’t believe that what keeps cars from going outside the race track is a row of trees,” said Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon. “I was kind of shocked when I saw the video afterwards that that’s all there is. That’s not a catch fence back there.

“But, you know, Pocono is a great facility, great track. I love the people there. I know what their intentions are. That’s to have a great race track and a very safe race track for the drivers and the fans. But I think there are always areas you can improve. I think that’s an area they can improve in.”

Gordon isn’t alone in his feeling. Pocono Raceway President Brandon Igdalsky, grandson of track owners Doc and Rose Mattioli, agrees and plans to examine whether to put a catch fence in that area.

“We’re looking at options for the outside, whether it’s a catch fence or something else,” Igdalsky said Saturday at Pocono Raceway. “We’ll be doing something out there.

“I hadn’t seen that [accident like Kahne’s] in my 22 years working here. … It was a freak thing. It was unexpected.”

The track already had announced some safety enhancements prior to the June race. It is going to add SAFER barriers to the inside wall between turns 1 and 2 and turns 2 and 3 before the race next year.

A last-lap crash marred the finish of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Gillette Fusion Proglide 500 last month at Pocono Raceway. (Image: SPEED)

Another issue is the grass, which is what started the Kahne incident.

“I don’t think grass has any purpose inside the walls of a race track anymore,” said Jimmie Johnson. “There’s no friction to slow down the vehicle and then the cars just hammer the wall when that’s the case.

“And then you get mud and rain and a wheel can sink into the mud and flip the car over and get it flipping.”

But it’s not that simple. Environmental regulations for the area would require to put in a lake about half of the infield if it paved that area.

“We can’t pave that whole area, so does it mean we move the [inside] SAFER barrier closer to the track?” Igdalsky said. “If we had to pave that whole area, we would have to dig out half our infield and put a lake there because of our proximity to Long Pond, marshland and protected area. … We would lose half our infield to ‘Lake Doc’ out there.”

SceneDaily.com • Sprint Cup date for Kentucky could be announced Aug. 10