Sort of. Should we as participants not be concerned about other participants being killed, burned, disabled, flung from cars like we can see happening in old films of Indy and sprint cars? Should we be OK with guys wearing leather helmets and T-shirts at the speeds we are seeing now?

Plain vanilla bracket cars are going faster than Top Fuel cars were years ago. Should safety not also evolve to keep up? Why not take advantage of the technology? Should a person be allowed to drive a Top Sportsman car in a ball cap and shorts? What about his family? What about who's going to pay the medical bills for him being stupid if it's his turn to be unlucky?

Public image and insurability are two things that need to be at the top of the list, if we want to continue to do this. We've come a long way from the old street racing hoodlum days, despite the negative image portrayed in some current TV shows.

While I appreciate the Libertarian ideas of allowing people to be as stupid as they want to be, we are living in a world where BEING SAFE is often the most important consideration for any activity, if we want to be seen on the same level as other mainstream sports. Nothing happens anymore that doesn't get instantly spread through social media, especially if it is something bad. Frankly, I prefer to see video or reports of ridiculously bad accidents, fires, or the incidents that are inevitably going to happen, and see the guy walk away from it without a scratch. That's when the value of all this "safety crap" becomes evident.

Years ago, I did tech at a local track, and I looked at the cars, not just handed out stickers. It was unbelievable the crap some people would want to be allowed to run down the track. Then get mad at me because I didn't want to sign off on them racing in a death trap. So yes, some folks need to be protected from themselves to keep the rest of us from looking like idiots. I like to go to the range, do a little target shooting on occasion. And I really don't want to see an idiot shoot themselves, accidentally or otherwise, for many of the same obvious reasons I don't want to see anyone hurt in a race car. It's not a good look.