NASCAR to mandate baseline concussion testing in '14
NASCAR will mandate baseline concussion testing starting next season, the sanctioning body announced Thursday.
The baseline test will be required prior to the start of the season in order to measure it against another result in case a driver is involved in a crash. The comparison will be one of several factors that doctors use to diagnose and treat concussions.
'NASCAR made this decision because we think it is important to drivers' health for doctors to have the best information and tools available in evaluating injuries,' said Steve O'Donnell, NASCAR vice president of racing operations.
'Before announcing this rule, we provided drivers concussion and baseline testing education and created opportunities for them to ask any questions they may have to a top neurosurgeon that specializes in traumatic brain injuries. Also, remember that ImPACT tests are not new to our sport and have been used for treatment through the years.'
Dale Earnhardt Jr. sat out for two races last season with a concussion.
During Speedweeks media day in February, NASCAR spokesman Kerry Tharp said that the national touring series has been providing information during competitors' annual preseason physicals about the imPACT test, which measures several neurocognitive functions including memory, reaction time, attention span and other cognitive abilities.
'We're having conversations with drivers in the event we'd make it mandatory in 2014,' Tharp said.
The 30-minute computerized test is mandatory in the Izod IndyCar Series but hasn't been required in NASCAR, whose policies drew scrutiny last October when Earnhardt Jr. was sidelined for two races after sustaining two concussions in six weeks.
'It makes perfect sense to make it mandatory,' Earnhardt said in February. 'I think it was nice of them to look into ways they could protect us from ourselves really. The test is really simple, and it's pretty straightforward.'
Earnhardt took the test during his two-week evaluation by doctors after an Oct. 7, 2012 crash at Talladega Superspeedway.
'When you get into an accident, you can take this test again and find out exactly what is happening to your brain if things don't feel right,' he said. 'This test can pinpoint where in the brain you're struggling, what kind of injury you have, what kind of things you can do to rehab and to recover. It helped me a lot.'
Four-time champion Jeff Gordon took the imPACT test in February and said he was spurred by Earnhardt's ordeal last season.
'I think there's a potential for it to be mandatory in the future,' Gordon said. 'Why not go ahead and get ahead of the game? Plus, I'd rather have it before the season starts to get a baseline. I just think whether it's voluntary or not, it's a good idea to have. I don't think NASCAR necessarily has to make it mandatory. But if you're a race car driver, you feel like you're going to be here a while, then you need to make it mandatory to yourself.'
Under NASCAR's current policy, drivers must be seen by a board-certified neurologist or neurosurgeon who can use imPACT tests in approving a return to the track.
Last season, Earnhardt said he continued to race after suffering a concussion in an Aug. 29 testing crash at Kansas Speedway. Baseline testing would make it more difficult for drivers to hide concussions because doctors can compare their results with those before the crash and measure the impact of a brain injury.
Thinking ahead
The imPACT test does not require a three-hour visit to a doctor's office, but is done on a computer â?? somewhat similar to a game. The experience, Gordon said, was 'kind of fun' and 'went pretty smooth.'
'It was stressful; it makes you think really hard,' he said. 'Haven't had to think that hard in awhile, maybe other than the closing laps of a Talladega or Daytona race.'
So if drivers are at risk, why didn't NASCAR implement mandatory baseline testing right away? O'Donnell said in February it's because NASCAR knows once it changes the policy, drivers could be pulled from the car against their will. And that thought is extremely unsetting for some drivers â?? even more so than the consequences of racing injured.
In a sport where Ricky Rudd once taped his swollen eyelids open in order to race, drivers don't want the decision to be taken out of their hands.
'Let's say I tripped on a banana peel and broke my thumb,' Mark Martin told USA TODAY Sports. 'If I want to drive a race car with a broken thumb, I want to drive a race car. There's no reason why I shouldn't be able to. It would scare me to death if somebody told me, 'You can't do that.' '
Martin, who said he's never had a concussion or been knocked out, said he can't help his 'old school' mentality.
'I'm not comfortable with somebody saying (to sit out),' he said. 'I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Where do you draw the line on things?'
Jeff Burton told USA TODAY Sports he wants to investigate baseline testing further before committing to it, because he's apprehensive about what the results could show in case of a wreck.
'The interpretation of the results, I think, is everybody's concern,' he said. 'Nobody wants to drive in a condition they shouldn't drive in, but I think we all feel like we are our own best judge to determine if we should drive or not from an ability standpoint.'
O'Donnell emphasized in February the baseline test will be just one part of the evaluation process, but the drivers' concerns then were why the one-year waiting period was being used.
'We wanted to educate every one of our drivers and make them comfortable with what we're doing,' O'Donnell said then. 'We know it's something new and it's not the be-all, end-all from an evaluation standpoint, but it is affecting their ability to ultimately race. If you talk to any driver, that's a big concern for them.'
Former driver and current TV analyst Ricky Craven acknowledged the test is a positive step, but an imperfect solution. Drivers must embrace the policy, he said, or it won't be successful.
'They can't have any skepticism or apprehension for it to work,' he said. 'With the same level of responsibility Dale Jr. showed last year, I think it has a really positive effect.'
Follow Gluck on Twitter @jeff_gluck Contributing: Nate Ryan. Follow him on Twitter @nateryan
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