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Making the speedway safer Photo by Jim Craven David McKinley, left, and Jim Rogers string steel cable along the poles at the first turn at the Southern Oregon Speedway Thursday. Below them, guiding the cable, is Jeff Bewkes. New cable supposed to keep cars, fans apart By DON HUNT WHITE CITY -- Southern Oregon Speedway workers were busy installing heavy steel cable along the end of the track Thursday in an effort to prevent another accident like one that nearly proved deadly on July 19. Speedway promoter John Skinner ordered the three-quarter-inch-thick cable to run the length of a grassy area where a sprint car cartwheeled more than 100 feet into a group of spectators. The car landed on top of but did not seriously injure an 8-year-old girl and brushed up against a 13-year-old girl. The cable, strung horizontally at heights of 4, 8 and 12 feet between large wooden poles, is designed to keep cars from leaving the track. It is already in place along the front straightaway and portions of the back straightaway, where most spectators sit. Skinner, who spent much of this week at a mountain lake, was still shaken up over the mishap Thursday. "I can't believe a car could travel that far from the track," he said. The car, driven by Jay Smith of Stanwood, Wash., catapulted over a small concrete wall and sailed through a catch fence designed to contain tires and other debris. Witnesses said it flew at least 25 feet into the air. Skinner said he has taken a lot of flak since the accident. A couple of people have sent threatening e-mails, he added, declining to elaborate. "One thing that bugs me is that nobody ever said anything to me beforehand, as far as having cable in that area," Skinner said. "All of a sudden I'm a jerk for not providing ultimate protection to spectators 100 or more feet from the track." The steel cable has already stopped cars on the back straightaway several times, including once on the night of the near tragedy, speedway facility manager Jim Rogers said. But track officials admit that no matter how many steps they take to ensure fan safety, inherent dangers will always exist. "That's why we have signs posted at the gates: Enter at your own risk," Rogers said. "On the other hand, we think we have one of the safest stock-car tracks in the country. John Skinner did not cut any corners when he had it built." Fans along the main grandstand are protected not only by a reinforced concrete wall, fencing and the thick cable, but also poultry wiring that Rogers installed halfway through the inaugural 1996 season. Even so, small dirt clods fly through openings and often shower spectators. And most of those fans enjoy what speedway officials lightheartedly term "in-your-face racing." "Some of those people can keep a beer full without going back to the beer stand," Rogers said. "It just gets a little dark." Sunday in the Mail Tribune: How safe are the Southern Oregon Speedway and Dragway? Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA