Choosing a low point is difficult when things are generally bleak, but several
episodes stand out in Michael Waltrip's season of discontent.
At the Coca-Cola 600 in May, Waltrip was punted by Dale Earnhardt Inc. teammate
Dale Earnhardt Jr. while both were in the top 10 at Lowe's Motor Speedway, an
incident that mostly symbolized team-wide strife that hampered both drivers. The
October race there was a case study in bad luck as Waltrip's top-five run late
in the UAW-GM Quality 500 was scuttled by a blown tire and wreck that left him
29th.
In between, Robby Gordon threw his helmet at Waltrip in retaliation for a bump
at New Hampshire International Speedway that drew a trip to the Nextel Cup
trailer. All told, Waltrip was involved in 19 accidents or spins in 36 starts, a
52.8% average that topped Cup drivers with at least 30 starts, according to a
USA TODAY database examination of NASCAR box scores.
That more than doubled Waltrip's 2004 total of eight incidents (22%), proving
that when things go bad, there's no turning back.
"I'm responsible for my own actions, but I'm not usually a crasher," Waltrip
says. "But it's sometimes cyclical, and I just got in some wrecks, and in '05
that was the case for me. I look forward to 2006.
"It was just some bad breaks, and I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I
always seemed to wreck in the straightaways (as opposed to) the corners."
Though Waltrip — who will drive for Bill Davis Racing next season — led NASCAR
full-timers, Gordon again had the highest average (59%) with 17 incidents in 29
starts in his first year as an owner/driver.
His accident total matched his 2004 tally, which led the series.
Second among Cup regulars was 2004 champion Kurt Busch (50%), whose most
significant incident occurred off the track when a traffic dispute with Maricopa
County (Ariz.) authorities led to his being suspended for the final two races by
Roush Racing. Busch posted three victories and 18 top-10s on the way to
finishing 10th in the 10-race, playoff-style Chase for the Nextel Cup. But his
17 incidents more than doubled his 2004 total (eight), which had ranked among
the best.
Next were Jeff Green (47%) and second-year driver Kasey Kahne (44%), who had one
more wreck (16) than in 2004. Green's 17 wrecks were seven more than he had a
year earlier, a 70% jump.
Among first-year drivers, rookie of the year Kyle Busch and Travis Kvapil each
had 12 incidents (33%).
Then again, every driver felt the impact of a new, shorter spoiler that shaved
even more downforce from the cars and made them less manageable.
Mandated by NASCAR in hopes of creating more passing, the rule change instead
caused teams to search for grip through other methods.
The popular choice was running Goodyear's softer tires with lower air pressure,
which didn't always mesh with aggressive handling setups. Effects were
hit-or-miss (no pun intended), but almost every driver blew a tire at some point
and lost control, causing a caution with either a wreck or spin.
The good news is no rules changes are planned for 2006. If only drivers could
get that downforce back.
"It's because we don't have much grip," Jeremy Mayfield said of the aggressive
setups. "To get grip you lower the tire pressure. And when you lower the tire
pressure, you run the risk of tearing equipment up. That's pretty much what it
was.
"But it's not about tire pressure. It's about camber and a lot of issues that
can happen to a tire besides air pressure. It doesn't do me much good to talk
about it, but I wish we had the spoiler back."
Considering Mayfield figured in a series-low two incidents (5.6%), he adapted to
the rules as well as traffic, which is just as important as having a good car.
Not surprisingly, many of the 10 Chase drivers had lower incident rates.
Though his title quest was slowed by a blown tire and wreck in the fall race at
Lowe's Motor Speedway, newly crowned champion Tony Stewart was basically
trouble-free after a slow start and ranked second with just five incidents
(13.9%).
Tied for third were Mark Martin and non-Chase driver Kevin Harvick (16.7%). Ryan
Newman was fifth at 19.4%, a 16% drop from 2004. Matt Kenseth, Rusty Wallace and
Jimmie Johnson each had just eight incidents (22%).
Wallace said avoiding trouble wasn't easy given the tire/spoiler issue and what
he saw as continued risk-taking by drivers with nothing to lose.
"You certainly didn't see any courtesy out there, that's for sure," said the
1989 champion, who recently retired. "I saw a lot of wild, hard-core driving,
and this 'lucky dog' thing (allowing the first lapped car to get back on the
lead lap) created a lot of controversial moves.
"I saw a lot of guys out there for their own, trying to get the money and the
position because it got so competitive out there."
Said Waltrip: "The reason there were more accidents is that every day the
competition gets stiffer and stiffer and people are trying to occupy the same
space. With the expectations on the drivers (today), they're thinking, 'I just
need an inch,' and will try hard to get it."
Frequent crash club members
Drivers with the highest accident rate (minimum of 30 races)
Name %.
Michael Waltrip 52.8%
Kurt Busch 50.0%
Jeff Green 47.2%
Kasey Kahne 44.4%
Scott Riggs 41.7%
Dave Blaney 38.9%
Dale Jarrett 38.9%
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 38.9%
Scott Wimmer 38.9%
Elliott Sadler 36.1%
Source: USA TODAY research
Tracking the accidents by site
Top 10 races with the most accidents/spins, by year:
2005 Race Track Accidents/
spins
Coca-Cola 600 Lowe's Motor Speedway 16
Sharpie 500 Bristol Motor Speedway 16
Subway 500 Martinsville Speedway 15
Advance Auto Parts 500 Martinsville Speedway 12
UAW-GM Quality 500 Lowe's Motor Speedway 12
Food City 500 Bristol Motor Speedway 11
Chevy Rock & Roll 400 Richmond International Raceway 10
Carolina Dodge Dealers 500 Darlington Raceway 9
Sylvania 300 New Hampshire International Speedway 9
Chevy American Revolution 400 Richmond International Raceway 8
2004 Race Track Accidents/
spins
Subway 500 Martinsville Speedway 15
Advance Auto Parts 500 Martinsville Speedway 11
Food City 500 Bristol Motor Speedway 10
New England 300 New Hampshire International Speedway 9
Chevy Monte Carlo 400 Richmond International Raceway 9
MBNA America 400 Dover International Speedway 8
Brickyard 400 Indianapolis Motor Speedway 8
UAW-GM Quality 500 Lowe's Motor Speedway 8
Checker Auto Parts 500 Phoenix International Raceway 8
Ford 400 Homestead-Miami Speedway 8
Source: USA TODAY research
Incidents spike after resurfacing
Cautions and accidents at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. Lowe's grinded
the track smooth in 2005, which led to a spike in accidents and cautions:
