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Associated Press 16y

Hendrick critical of Vegas walls; track vows to fix them

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Team owner Rick Hendrick thinks NASCAR
should not return to Las Vegas Motor Speedway until the retaining
wall Jeff Gordon slammed into is improved.

Special barriers are located in the outside walls at Las Vegas.
But the track did not install them along the inside wall, which the
four-time NASCAR champion hit in the closing laps Sunday. The force
was so violent Gordon's entire transmission was ripped from under
the hood.

"If the teams are asked to spend $8 million a piece for a car
that is a little bit safer, then we need to fix the damn walls at
the track," Hendrick told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "That
ought to be priority No. 1, and if the tracks don't have the walls,
then we shouldn't race there."

Track officials said owner Bruton Smith was assessing the walls
and anticipated SAFER (Steel and Foam Energy Reduction) barriers
installed along the inside before the Truck Series race there in
September.

"We would not do anything to the walls without first going to
NASCAR, but Bruton has said to me we will take immediate action
here before we have another NASCAR event," track president Chris
Powell told the AP.

Gordon's accident happened shortly after a restart with five
laps to go when Gordon made contact with Matt Kenseth, sending both
cars into a spin. Gordon's car smacked the inside wall.

Gordon said the accident was the "hardest I've ever hit" and
was highly critical of the lack of SAFER barriers. He also was
bothered that the angle of impact was nearly head-on because the
part of the wall he hit curved inward as an access point for safety
vehicles.

After being checked in the care center, Gordon delivered an
on-air message to the track owner.

"Bruton, you need a soft wall and to change the wall back there
on the back straightaway," he said. "It was a really, really hard
hit. It took me awhile to be able to catch my breath and to get
out.

"I couldn't have hit the wall at a worse angle. It really tore
the thing up. I'm really disappointed right now in this speedway
for not having a soft wall back there. And even being able to get
to that part of the wall shouldn't happen."

SAFER barriers were invented during a safety overhaul that
resulted from the 2001 death of Dale Earnhardt. The walls were
developed by Dr. Dean Sicking at the University of Nebraska and are
currently installed in some form at every track used by NASCAR's
top series.

Powell said speedway officials worked closely with NASCAR when
the original walls were installed, and would do the same this time.

NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said the sanctioning body will
meet with Sicking and the University of Nebraska.

"We obviously will take a close look with them, get with the
track and take a look at it and go from there," Poston said.

Hendrick called the absence of the SAFER barriers on the inside
wall "most likely an oversight."

"I don't worry about Bruton fixing his stuff," he said.
"He'll get this fixed."

Hendrick, NASCAR's most powerful owner, is not known for being
outspoken. He said Gordon told him he escaped serious injury only
because of the safety equipment provided by Hendrick Motorsports.

"These guys are star athletes," Hendrick said. "They make or
break the sport and we can't be putting them in danger."

Gordon was in a crash at Pocono in 2006 that until Las Vegas he
considered the hardest of his career. Hendrick said the Pocono
crash "was as bad as it gets" and "it nearly brought me to my
knees" when Gordon lost his brakes and went straight into the wall
at nearly 200 mph.

Pocono had a SAFER barrier where Gordon hit, and the impact tore
a huge chunk of the foam from the wall. Other than feeling a
"little fuzzy," Gordon was unscathed and credited his safety
equipment.

He did the same following Sunday's wreck.

"I've got an awesome team ... because they build a safe race
car," he said. "I'll tell you what: Several years ago those types
of hits, you wouldn't be standing here right now."

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