To say NASCAR had a rough 1993 was no exaggeration. Losing the 92 champion, Alan Kulwicki, to a plane crash was bad enough. Later on, Davey Allison would succumb to helicopter injuries. Both of these guys, particularly Allison, could have been guys that would have had more success if it weren't for these tragedies. For 1994, it was probably still in those minds heading for the Daytona 500, but to begin with even more tragedies says more about what NASCAR and motor sports would have to deal with for the next seven years.
I think a recent video from nascarman on YouTube does a great job of explaining one of the roughest times of NASCAR than I ever could. Even though it was a first win on the Winston Cup for Sterling Marlin, it was overshadowed by the deaths of Neil Bonnett and Rodney Orr. Bonnett was set to make a small comeback following a 1990 crash that gave him amnesia and had him being a broadcaster on several networks. Orr was a Goody's Dash champion. Both of their cars crashed into walls and the results, obviously, were not pretty.
Though there was investigations, there was no official statement on why those crashes happened. Early on, it was Hoosier tires, which was embroidered in issues at times in certain racing circuits. There was a broken part to Orr's car with the right rear shock absorber, which was said in the investigation. NASCAR did not make any statements, so anyone's guess could be anything. And the mere fact that Rusty Wallace talked about the tragedies at the drivers meeting at that time is one that needed discussion. After all, he took some big hits in 93 at the Daytona and Talladega races, one of the reasons they started implemented roof flaps that same year. The idea to drive smart is something drivers do have in mind. Some hit might be deliberate or accidental, but it is part of racing. However, the last thing anyone wants to see is someone getting injured badly or death.
The rest of 1994 wasn't horrible for the main series, but there was the near fatal crash of Ernie Irvan at Michigan. In May, Formula 1 racing took a huge hit with the death of Ayrton Senna. Some other smaller circuits had some other fatalities. As far as the main series, NASCAR avoided fatalities until 2000 with Kenny Irwin and ramping up safety with the most recent being the 2001 Daytona race with Dale Earnhardt.
For the Cup series to overcome it says a lot. Sure there are disagreements and big bumps and slides, but drivers know the stakes. As long as they aren't doing things on purpose (which some will break), there isn't much to worry about, especially with all the safety features of today's cars. Tragedies inspire some to take initiative and NASCAR knows that. One step ahead can prevent future deaths.
nascarman's video link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPEiSJR64-s
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