A traveling safety team will have a presence at all Monster Energy Cup Series races, marking the first time NASCAR has had designated safety personnel traveling on a weekly basis to handle injuries.
NASCAR forms traveling safety team for 2017
The new safety procedures will be in place for every Cup Series race weekend.
Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images
Traveling safety teams have long been the standard in many forms of motorsports, with Formula One, IndyCar, and the NHRA all having teams that attend each race. But NASCAR has eschewed the practice, preferring track-specific medical teams local to the area including a doctor stationed in the infield care center.
NASCAR will partner with American Medical Response to create the traveling safety team, which will consist of four emergency trauma physicians who will rotate from race-to-race. The physician attending each race must be licensed within that state. Additionally, when an accident occurs, NASCAR will send a chase vehicle with an AMR doctor and a paramedic to administer treatment if needed.
An AMR physician will also serve as NASCAR’s medical director.
The new policy covers all 38 Cup Series events and any division racing on the same track on a Cup weekend, but does not pertain to standalone Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series races.
NASCAR drivers have been pushing for such a system for several years. IndyCar’s safety team has been lauded for saving several drivers’ lives, most recently James Hinchcliffe following a crash in practice for the 2015 Indianapolis 500.
Hinchcliffe’s car slammed into the outside wall at a high rate of speed with such impact that a suspension part went through his right thigh, struck an artery, and went out through his left thigh. Acting swiftly, the safety crew tied the artery together and rushed the Canadian to a nearby hospital. He made complete recovery and returned to racing in 2016.
“This partnership further strengthens NASCAR’s medical response capability, making our well-established, medical response system even better,” NASCAR chief racing development officer Steve O’Donnell said. “AMR is a leader in the emergency services sector, and its doctors and paramedics add another layer of expertise to the immediate response team.”
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