Busch crash prompts renewed safety efforts at The Glen

There have been some horrific crashes at Watkins Glen, like this Michael McDowell one last year

Joey Logano won a close Daytona 500 on Sunday, but his first win in NASCAR's premier event was somewhat overshadowed by renewed talks for increased track safety in the sport.

Logano's win at Daytona International Speedway came one day after Sprint Cup driver Kyle Busch was injured in a multicar crash during the NASCAR XFINITY Series race at the same track.

Busch – one of NASCAR's biggest stars – suffered a compound fracture of his lower right leg and a fracture to his left foot after he hit an inner concrete wall head-on with his No. 54 Toyota Camry. While much of the 2.5-mile Daytona track is lined with Steel and Foam Energy Reduction (SAFER) barriers, that section of concrete wall was unprotected by any kind of energy-absorbing barrier.

Daytona officials took swift action before Sunday's race in addressing the situation by adding temporary tire barriers to the section of wall that Busch hit. Daytona track president Joie Chitwood announced the speedway was going to install SAFER barrier "on every inch at this property. … This is not going to happen again."

The scope of Busch's injury and the enormous amount of extra attention normally given NASCAR's season-opening race have led a number of track owners to re-evaluate their safety efforts.

Atlanta Motor Speedway announced Tuesday it is adding tire packs to protect the inside wall in Turn 4 and the exit of pit road near Turn 1 before Sunday's Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 Sprint Cup event. The 130 feet of additional energy-absorbing barriers will be in place by Thursday.

At least four tracks will add SAFER barriers before their first Sprint Cup race this season. International Speedway Corp, Inc. which owns 12 tracks including Watkins Glen International, said in a statement it will review safety at all its facilities.

Talladega Superspeedway President Grant Lynch told USA TODAY Sports on Monday that track will add more SAFER barriers. On Tuesday, nascartalk.nbcsports.com reported Charlotte Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Kentucky Speedway planned to add more SAFER sections.

WGI President Michael Printup was out of town Wednesday and not available for comment.

ISC President John Saunders said in a statement Tuesday that they are "developing a significant plan" for SAFER barriers and other "impact-absorbing technologies," beginning with Daytona and Talladega.

"A thorough review of our other ISC facilities will continue, with the focus to prioritize each track's most critical areas first," Saunders said in the statement. "We will utilize all available tools to ensure the safety of the drivers and our fans. … It will remain our top priority."

Watkins Glen, like all road courses, typically uses guardrails as its main track barriers and lines them with tire stacks in high-impact areas.

While SAFER technology is found primarily on oval tracks, Watkins Glen installed sections of the soft wall in the Inner Loop and Turn 11 before the 2010 season, becoming the first road course to use the barriers. It was part of $1.3-million in safety renovations that also included paving over gravel traps in the Inner Loop and Turn 10 and moving the guardrails back at the exit of Turn 9 while placing sand barrels in place of the tire barriers there.

Those safety measures were initiated after a crash in the 2009 Glen Sprint Cup race in which a car careened off a guardrail and into the path of four-time Glen race champion Jeff Gordon.

Some NASCAR drivers expressed their concerns after a frightening multicar crash midway through last August's 90-lap Cheez-It 355 at The Glen.

The cars of Ryan Newman and Michael McDowell suffered the brunt of the damage in the 150 mph crash on the short straight between Turns 9 and 10, which resulted in a temporary stoppage of the race on lap 56. The cars of Newman and McDowell made huge impacts with the blue Armco guardrail that lines much of the 2.45-mile road course. Their cars were destroyed, but the drivers walked away unharmed.

Several Sprint Cup drivers weighed in on the matter of safety in that high-speed area to ESPN during the stoppage, including Jimmie Johnson, who said, "Armco barriers aren't the best for these big, heavy cars."

Last November, Printup said NASCAR officials looked at the affected area with their engineers and determined no changes are necessary to the guardrails "at this time."

"They all worked as intended and everybody came out safe," Printup said at the time. "We weren't (surprised) and NASCAR wasn't surprised."

Printup also said the track is in the middle of a multiyear, five-phase plan of safety measures. This summer, the entire 3.4-mile Glen circuit is undergoing a more than $12 million repaving project, with the bulk of the work taking place right after the Aug. 9 Cheez-It 355 at The Glen.

"With the track closed down, we'll definitely take a look at some of the additional safety features that will coincide with our existing plan," Printup said.

Busch is likely to miss numerous races while recovering from his injuries. He spent three nights at Halifax Health Center in Daytona Beach, where he underwent surgery on his right leg before being transported back to a hospital in the Charlotte area Tuesday. Joe Gibbs Racing announced David Ragan will fill in for Busch behind the wheel of the No. 18 Toyota. Ron Levanduski/Star Gazette