Richard Petty said yes. I think it needs to be addressed. Perhaps the banking should be made steeper to facilitate passage through the turn, he offered. Well, its roll cages and fuel cells are praised, but it lets drivers get away with the dirty tactic of tagging the leader from behind to pass and win. Its inner-liner tires and roof flaps are marvelous inventions, but it hasn't produced a preventative for the spectacular multicar crash that occurs in restrictor plate races at Talladega.
Fatalities are a part of racing.
You must come to terms with that aspect or find your sports entertainment elsewhere. You miss a turn, you lose your life. I came to terms with that aspect decades ago. But more and more I'm becoming attracted to the viewpoint of those who never could. Clyde Bolton has been a sports writer for The News since 1961.