ADDS MANDATORY CREDIT - This July 5, 2014 photo provided by Empire Super Sprints, Inc., shows sprint car driver Kevin Ward Jr., in the vicotry lane with his car at the Fulton Speedway in Fulton, N.Y. Ward was killed Saturday, Aug. 9, 2014 at the Canandaigua Motorsports Park in Central Square, N.Y., when the car being driven by Tony Stewart struck the 20-year-old who had climbed from his crashed car and was on the darkened dirt track trying to confront Stewart following a bump with Stewart one lap earlier. (AP Photo/Empire Super Sprints, Inc.)
NASCAR could issue an edict as early as this weekend's race at Michigan International Speedway that makes it mandatory for drivers to stay in their cars until safety personnel arrive.
Tracks around the country have changed their rules in the wake of Kevin Ward Jr.'s death in a sprint car race.
Ward was sent into the wall when his car was bumped by Tony Stewart's in a dirt-track race on Saturday night in Canandaigua. Ward got out of the car and walked onto the track, where he was hit by Stewart.
Brewerton Speedway and Fulton Speedway, New York dirt tracks under the same management, announced new rules that drivers would be required to stay in their cars during an accident.
"If a driver, for whatever reason, exits a car on the track during a caution period, the race will automatically be placed under a red flag and all cars will come to a complete stop," a news release on the tracks' website says. "A driver may exit a car if requested by a safety crew member or if safety warrants in cases such as a fire. Drivers that exit a car without permission, for whatever reason, are subject to fine and/or suspension at the discretion of track management."
Brad Keselowski, the 2012 Sprint Cup champion, said it could be tough for NASCAR to enforce a similar rule.
"I'm not aware of any rule or law that works without the ability to enforce it," he said. "I don't know how you can enforce a rule like that unless you had a robot on the track to grab the person and put them back in the car. The only way you can enforce it is with a penalty system afterwards. Really, at that point, it's not effective. It's a difficult rule to try to make work."