Then why race at all? Just shut down the sport because it is not worth the risk. Crap luck was the difference between a concussion and a fatality at this years Chili Bowl. Why do you race? I want to be at my absolute limit in the car, that is what makes all the cost and effort worthwhile. Yes a sprinter could bite me, but the fact that sprinters are such beasts is why I race them. Otherwise I would be racing 600's on a 1/5 mile track, or racing late models.

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Risk will always exist, its adds spice to life. What I'm talking about is improving survivability and lowering the odds of serious injury, so you can more likely come back again next week, next month, next season. Pushing yourself to the limit is what racing is all about, definitely. The limit of traction, the limit of skill, the limit of your wallet. Decreasing speeds is no guarantee of safety, limiting power doesn't guarantee survivability either. I'm not advocating limiting the cars in anyway, but some arena's could be better designed to allow for the higher terminal velocities. Perhaps some components are made a little too light. Better lighting and visibility. Better cage designs and materials. There are any number of things that could be improved to push the odds better in your favor.

You asked, "Why do I race?" I race for the thrill of competition. I race because I enjoy seeing things I've built and designed win races. I race because I like the comradery and brotherhood we enjoy as racers. I don't race to get a thrill from cheating death. I don't want to see a tribute video for you, I want to run into you at the track while you're teaching your grand kids about racing and getting them started. I want to live long enough to pass on what I've learned to the next generation.

all the talk about safety and nobody does the obvious.

Any track can bite you at any time. Every crash is different and the outcome unknown until it happens. Speed yes adds to that risk, but so does as a driver taking every precaution you can to make your car as safe as possible,that is partial up to the track and sanctioning bodies but also the driver. If you choice to race with minimal required safety equipment that is on the driver, if you as a driver feel a track is too fast don't run it. It is a reward vs risk situation which comes back to, do you as a driver feel as if you can control the risk enough to race that at that track that night.

Since we seem to be talking about Belleville in general I will share a couple stories I heard after we lost Bryan. One involves an owner mechanic, he tells me that hewent once in the past 10 years and as they were practicing or Qualifying and he said he looked up and said this if F'ing stupid and packed up his midgets and has not been back.

The other is a guy that was a regular in Midget and ran well with USAC in the 90's. He said he ran Belleville in the 90's once and said it was stupid fast and that the right front wheel would almost fit under the guardrail. He said that was the only time he ran there and had no desire to go back.

Closing rates and trying to stop a car on a track that fast has to be absolutely crazy. If a driver wants to race at a track like Belleville that is his or her choice or until the insurance company decides it is too much of a risk to insure a track that they feel is too much of a risk for them then they will race these tracks.

How do we slow them done I don't know, do we need to, me as a driver yes some of these track are getting too fast for the safety of the cars and the facility. Safer Barriers and taller better fencing is needed at many tracks.

You make some very good points. Are there more serious injuries involving midgets than sprints? Or is that just perception?

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Better not go to Salem, Winchester, Terre Haute, IMS, Bloomington, Putnamville, Eldora, etc... all have had fatalities. I suggest you try golf or tennis, much safer!

Bob

To answer the original question, what most places are doing is cutting half miles down to 3/8. Or, you could remove more banking. I hate either idea. The problem I see is today's race cars are too hooked up and hard on engines which are built too light. Simple rules could be made to cure those problems yet no one does it.

Belleville is a track I grew up going to. Went to the Nationals for almost 20 years. I'll be honest, after BC's death last year I will never look at that track and that race the same way again. The reality, though, is it can happen at any track at any time, whether it's a fast half mile, or a bull ring quarter mile. BC was the first death at Belleville in 25 years. Safety has come a long way, but freak accidents can still happen.