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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
WALLACE: Turning Point
Talladega was a monumental weekend for NASCAR – among the biggest sensations our sport has seen in years...
Kenny Wallace  |  Posted April 29, 2009   Charlotte, NC
Veteran NASCAR driver Kenny Wallace is an analyst for NASCAR RaceDay Built by the Home Depot and NASCAR Victory Lane on SPEED. (Photo: Getty Images)

Talladega was a monumental weekend for NASCAR – among the biggest sensations our sport has seen in years.

We celebrated a first-time winner Saturday in the NASCAR Nationwide Series with David Ragan, while Brad Keselowski scored his first NASCAR Sprint Cup win Sunday and for an independent car owner, nonetheless.

But while these are powerful, headline-grabbing stories most weeks, nothing comes close to matching the horrific scene of Carl Edwards’ No. 99 Ford flying through the air and almost into the grandstands, eerily reminiscent of the 1987 Talladega race when Bobby Allison’s right-rear tire blew and catapulted his car up and into the catch fence, ripping out part of the structure.

NASCAR has on its plate one of the most crucial decisions it has ever faced. During our NASCAR Victory Lane broadcast Sunday from Talladega, I watched Mike Helton congratulate Keselowski but never once saw Helton crack a smile. He appeared miserably serious throughout his visit and for good reason. We had just witnessed a near catastrophe that now has grabbed the attention of the national media.

So, where do we go and what do we do now?

Should NASCAR build a 15-foot-high concrete wall along the front straightaway because the walls aren’t tall enough?

Should the track be reconfigured or a smaller restrictor plate mandated to slow the cars down?

The debate over the infamous yellow line will rage on in various circles but this wreck was not about the out-of-bounds area but rather about Edwards’ car nearly landing in the grandstands and killing dozens of people. The real issue facing NASCAR is cars flying into the air like jets on the sport’s biggest track.

The speeds of the cars were incredibly disturbing Sunday. FOX Sports documented 201 and 202 miles-per-hour in the draft all day long, a blistering pace that caught everyone off-guard because it was six to 10 miles-per-hour faster than last year. Drivers learn something every week and they apparently have figured out how work this new car better in the draft. We all witnessed how fast a two-car pack was when perfectly hooked up – they picked up 10 miles-per-hour.

Unfortunately, Edwards’ wreck was the perfect storm because once he spun out, his car was almost guaranteed to lift up a little bit, but Ryan Newman’s Chevrolet was right there to hit and further propel it into the air. But the unexpected and unforeseen are the nature of the beast at Talladega and Daytona and we must be ready for the perfect storm. However, you can expect to see a smaller restrictor plate the next time around to take some of the velocity out of these superspeedway cars.


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