"I think sometimes it goes in spurts," Sabates says. "We may not see another death in five years, but racing and death goes hand in hand. When these guys strap themselves in a car, they know their lives can be over in a few seconds. Look at the guys in the World Trade Center. They didn't expect to die.
"When the good Lord decides that's what he wants for you, there's nothing you can do about it."
Another Painful TimeThough many people think this may be NASCAR's darkest hour, with the deaths of Adam Petty, Kenny Irwin, Tony Roper and Dale Earnhardt, racing historian Bob Latford recalls an equally difficult time.
"Tragedy has seemed to come in bunches lately, but we went through the same thing in the mid-'60s," Latford says. "Everything started in 1964 in the season opener at Riverside when Joe Weatherly got killed. Joe is the only defending Winston Cup champion to ever be killed in a racing accident. Then Fireball Roberts was burned really badly at Charlotte in the World 600 (later succumbing to those injuries). In the fall of '64 at Charlotte, Jimmy Pardue was killed while tire testing.
"The next death came at Daytona in 1965 when Billy Wade was killed tire testing the inner-liner. Then we lost two more drivers in 1965 at Darlington and Charlotte."
The deaths prompted several improvements in safety.
Following Weatherly's crash, the use of a shoulder harness became mandatory, while Roberts' death led to the requirement of fuel cells. The other fatalities led to the reduction of steel guardrails, an additional crotch belt on the seat belt, as well as the introduction of driver's-side rollbars to protect the competitors in case of being hit in the driver-side door.
"Most of the tragedies in NASCAR have led to some kind of improvement to either the car or the track itself," Latford says. "Bad wrecks are something we do see, and it's tragic when it happens, but they have led to improvements in safety. I guess the nature of the beast in racing is bad things can happen, and it's important to learn from the bad to make for a safer future."-Jason Mitchell