Catchfence

Racing insiders share opinions following Benson accident

Huntersville, N.C. (June 15, 2008) – Johnny Benson Jr.’s wreck at Berlin Raceway, located in Marne, Michigan, has the racing community being reminded how important safety is at all levels of racing.

During Saturday’s ISMA Supermodified event, Benson collided with another vehicle and caught fire. Fortunately the safety crew quickly arrived to extinguish the fire and extract Benson from his car. Benson escaped with injured ribs and is listed in serious but stable condition at the hospital. The incident has drivers discussing how far safety has developed on all levels of racing.

Bobby Labonte

“A few years ago we really made a big push with the safety of our cars at Bobby Labonte Racing (dirt late model team driven by Earl Pearson). It was after Earl got into a bad wreck in Florida. We looked at ways we could be proactive. We installed a fire extinguisher, looked at the driver area and Earl started using the HANS device. Those were a couple small things we did, but I think they make a big difference when you get into an accident.

“It’s really good to hear when someone has been involved in a wreck, especially one that involved fire, that they were able to escape without serious injury. It’s a testament to how strong these cars are built, how quick the response is from the track safety crews and how much people are thinking about safety. I think we’ve seen a lot of forward progress made and hopefully we’ll continue to get better.”

Alli Owens

“Sometimes local teams focus more on performance and less on safety. The tracks are usually smaller and teams think that drivers are less likely to get hurt, so safety takes a backburner to running fast. Johnny’s (Benson) accident is a reminder that safety needs to be a top priority. If his team had taken shortcuts on the car’s structural integrity, he could have been a lot worse off. Fortunately his team built a solid racecar that protected him from the impact. The safety crew knew exactly what to do, getting him quickly and safely from the car to the hospital. Everyone did a great job handling the situation. Berlin Speedway, their staff, the car structure, it all gave us a great example of how far we’ve come. It’s important, however, to continue to have thorough inspections and make sure that the safety crews are prepared.”

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