Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
The bombing during the Boston Marathon was an attack that will not be forgotten anytime soon. The horrific events which occurred on the afternoon of April 15 have risen questions about safety at sporting events. One that comes to mind includes NASCAR races.
For those who don’t know, NASCAR tracks can hold anywhere from 50,000-200,000 spectators. That’s by far more than a football field, baseball field or any other sporting facility. Besides that, everyone is directly next to each other and most tracks are in the middle of no where.
How many people have ever heard of Long Pond, PA besides those that reside there or live near there? Yeah, not too many. That’s where the Pocono Raceway is.
So obviously, like most sports, NASCAR has heavy duty security checks while entering tracks across the country. If a person were to attempt bringing in any deadly item of any sort, track officials would immediately confiscate it and simply make the person go home.
With the terror occurring at the Boston Marathon, many avid sports fans are afraid to walk into abundant crowds. NASCAR does a good job at preventing violence from occurring during races, yet one man did commit suicide by shooting himself in the head during the NRA 500 at Texas, which is exactly what NASCAR is trying to prevent.
That said, NASCAR and the Kansas Speedway will be on alert during this weekend as security measures will be at an all-time high, and several teams will be showing their support for the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing.
Michael Waltrip Racing will be having a different look to their cars this weekend. Their three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series vehicles will flash replica numbers to the Boston Marathon bib numbers which were on each of the nearly 30,000 runners on that horrific day.
Roush-Fenway Racing will also be showing their support, as they will have “B-Strong” decals on each of their race cars. Team owner Jack Roush will also donate $100 per lap lead on Sunday for the STP 400.
Joseph Wolkin can be followed on Twitter at @JosephNASCAR.
