FORT WORTH, Texas — Izod IndyCar Series driver Graham Rahal didn't sound like a driver considering a boycott of the June 9 Firestone 550 during the Texas Motor Speedway media day on Tuesday.
Rahal said the drivers never considered a boycott because of concerns about safety at the track.
"In the drivers' association, that has never been discussed," Rahal said. "I think there's been a lot made of it. If they called anybody else to see if was true, everybody else would have said no."
The safety concerns centered on the fencing at Texas Motor Speedway, which is similar to that of the fencing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon was killed in an accident in Las Vegas last year when his head hit a pole on the fencing.
Rahal said the IndyCar series has been at the forefront of safety initiatives, including the SAFER barrier and the HANS device. He said figuring out how to make a safer fence should also be high on that list.
"We've stopped innovating a little bit," Rahal said. "We've got to find a way to develop the next thing. The next obvious thing is fencing. It doesn't just help us."
Texas Motor Speedway president Eddie Gossage said he never heard from a driver or official in the series about concerns over the fencing. When drivers raised issues about the aprons in turns one and two, the areas in question were paved. Gossage said track management has also talked to engineers about the fencing at the speedway.
Gossage said he didn't know there were any concerns at all until he saw a report on a web site.
"We're going to do what's right," Gossage said. "We're never going to compromise safety. I don't know why a speedway that had two races with one caution last year was suddenly the target. We're the only people that have had any engineers look at it. I think everybody has a better handle on it. They say they never talked about a boycott. That's great. I just know what I read."
The race is one of the most important on the schedule for the series. It's one of the best-attended races and has a history of fantastic finishes. Sixteen of the Indy races have been decided by less than a second.
Gossage understands the importance of safety in racing and that it shouldn't be taken lightly. But he also said emotion can't factor in a decision whether or not to race at a track.
"You can have emotional feelings about it, but the solution is a fact-based solution," he said. "I'm emotional about Dan because I cared a lot about Dan. He was a good guy, a good friend, . . . and it was so tragic. But when you start talking about now what, that has to be based solely on facts. Solely."
Defending Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart raced Indy cars at Texas in 1997 and 1998 and has never had an issue with safety at the track. He ran wide open during testing the first time he was at the track and was singing into his radio headset.
"We've ran IndyCar races here and never had a problem," Stewart said. "The races here at Texas are probably ones with the IRL that I really like to watch the most. It's probably the most competitive races right here. There's nothing wrong with this place."
