Safety on everyone's mind at Daytona 500

Daytona International Speedway president Joie Chitwood III speaks during a news conference before the start of the Daytona 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. Several spectators were injured when a car crashed into the catch fence during the Nationwide Series auto race on Saturday sending debris into the grandstand. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)

Daytona International Speedway president Joie Chitwood III speaks during a news conference before the start of the Daytona 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. Several spectators were injured when a car crashed into the catch fence during the Nationwide Series auto race on Saturday sending debris into the grandstand. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)

Emergency officials put out a fire from driver Kyle Larson's engine after his car hit the wall and safety fence along the front grandstands on the final lap of a NASCAR Nationwide Series auto race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013. Larson's crash sent car parts and other debris flying into the stands injuring spectators. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

Injured spectators are treated after a crash at the conclusion of the NASCAR Nationwide Series auto race Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. Driver Kyle Larson's car hit the safety fence sending car parts and other debris flying into the stands. (AP Photo/David Graham)

A wheel, tire and suspension parts sit in the stands after crash on the final lap of the NASCAR Nationwide Series auto race Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. Several fans were injured when large chunks of debris sailed into the grandstands after a car flew into the fence. (AP Photo/David Graham)

Kyle Larson (32) goes airborne and into the catch fence in a multi-car crash involving Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88), Parker Kligerman (77), Justin Allgaier (31) and Brian Scott (2) during the final lap of the NASCAR Nationwide Series auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) ? Raymond Gober parked his motorcycle outside Daytona International Speedway, climbed off and briefly considered bringing his helmet into the track.

"I was about to wear it in, but I knew everyone would be laughing at me," said Gober, a pastor from outside Atlanta.

Maybe not.

Safety was on everyone's mind before and during the Daytona 500 on Sunday, a day after a horrific wreck in a second-tier NASCAR series race hurled chunks of debris, including a heavy tire, into the stands and injured nearly 30 people.

With small spots of blood still soaked into the concrete seating area, the accident raised questions about the safety of fans at race tracks. Should fences be higher and sturdier? Should grandstands be farther from the track?

NASCAR has long been a big draw because of its thrilling speeds, tight-knit racing, frantic finishes and the ability to get so close to the action.

That proximity comes with some risk.

And after Saturday's 12-car melee on the final lap of the Nationwide Series opener, some questioned whether that risk outweighed the reward.

"These are the best seats in the house, but they're also dangerous," Gober said.

Gober was one of thousands of fans who returned to Daytona less than 24 hours after Kyle Larson's car flew into the fence, crumbled into pieces and sprayed parts at spectators.

Early in the 500-mile "Great American Race," a nine-car wreck took out several top contenders.

Three-time NASCAR champion Tony Stewart and 2007 race winner Kevin Harvick were knocked out.

The wreck started when Kasey Kahne let off the gas to slow as they neared the first turn at Daytona International Speedway ? not too far from Saturday's near-disaster. Kyle Busch tried to do the same, but couldn't avoid contact.

Busch sent Kahne spinning across the track. Juan Pablo Montoya, 2010 race winner Jamie McMurray and defending series champion Brad Keselowski also were involved.

Thankfully, the wrecking cars stayed on the track. Things would be considerably different had they done the same Saturday.

"You don't have time to react, but I just remember thinking, 'This is gonna hurt,'" said Steve Bradford, of Dade City. "We were showered with debris."

Gober picked up a bolt that landed next to his left foot and plans to take it home as a souvenir from a crash that could have considerably worse.

He and Bradford have been coming to races at Daytona for years, always seeking out scalped tickets so they can get ultra-close to the cars zooming by at 200 mph.

Now, though?

"Needless to say, we won't be here next year," Bradford said ? meaning the seats, not the race.

He pointed at the upper level.

"Next year, we'll be up there," he said.

Not everyone felt the same way.

John and Andrea Crawford, of Streetsboro, Ohio, love sitting a few rows up. They were there Saturday and back again Sunday, just like so many in that seating section.

The area had rubber marks on seats hit by the tire. Several fans pointed out a chair bent backward, the spot one man was sitting when he got pummeled by the 60-pound tire and wheel.

"I'm not nervous," Andrea Crawford said. "It doesn't happen that much."

When Rick Barasso arrived at his seats, he noticed a few reporters and some tire marks. He asked what was going on and then couldn't stop smiling as he waved his friends over and shared details with them.

"These should be good seats," he said. "I mean, what are the chances?"

Maybe small, but there's little doubt the latest fallout could prompt NASCAR and track officials to consider changes ? at Daytona and elsewhere.

Daytona has plans to remodel the grandstands. Track President Joie Chitwood said Saturday's wreck could prompt sturdier fences or stands farther from the action.

"It's tough to connect the two right now in terms of a potential redevelopment and what occurred," Chitwood said. "We were prepared yesterday, had emergency medical respond. As we learn from this, you bet: If there are things that we can incorporate into the future, whether it's the current property now or any other redevelopment, we will.

"The key is sitting down with NASCAR, finding out the things that happened and how we deal with them."

Daytona reexamined its fencing and ended up replacing the entire thing following Carl Edwards' scary crash at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama in 2009. Edwards' car sailed into the fence and spewed debris into the stands.

"We've made improvements since then," Chitwood said. "I think that's the key: that we learn from this and figure out what else we need to do."

Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Johnny Rutherford said Sunday that things should be done across auto racing. It was just 16 months ago that IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon was killed when his car crashed into a fence at Las Vegas.

"Maybe we need a double fence, one behind the other, with maybe a space in between to do something to stop this," Rutherford said. "There's a lot of things. I'm sure NASCAR and the IndyCar series are looking at everything to make it safer. What happened yesterday was a terrible thing.

"The drivers, we accept that. That's part of the game. We have to roll the dice and move on. But you don't want to involve the fans."

Chitwood said any fans who felt uncomfortable with their up-close seating for the Daytona 500 could exchange their tickets for spots elsewhere.

"If fans are unhappy with their seating location or if they have any incidents, we would relocate them," Chitwood said. "So we'll treat that area like we do every other area of the grandstand. If a fan is not comfortable where they're sitting, we make every accommodation we can."

Few fans seemed willing to relocate.

"Real NASCAR fans ain't scared," said Zeb Daniels, who was attending his fifth Daytona 500 with his daughter. "If we see anything coming to the fence, we'll hit the floor and pray."

So why take a chance?

"We come for the thrill, the excitement," Daniels said. "We can feel the heat, the tire rubber in our eyes."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-02-24-NASCAR-Daytona%20500-Safety/id-b21d05fdccac496e8ec80f076f5dc46f

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Broncos, John Elway have enough room to play smart in NFL free agency

D.J. Williams. (The Associated Press)

Today's question about the Broncos comes from Estuardo Zepeda from Mexico:

Q: Is there any chance that the highest-paid Broncos (Elvis Dumervil, Champ Bailey, Peyton Manning) restructure their deals to provide more flexibility to the team? And with Wesley Woodyard on board, is D.J. Williams out? What salary cap penalties would apply if the Broncos cut him?

A: Estuardo, there is always a chance a team asks its highest-paid players to re-structure deals to help its cause, but the Broncos aren't in dire cap circumstances compared to some in the league.

They aren't among the teams with the most room either, but they have room to do a few things if they wish.

A look at the figures, before they've made any roster moves heading into free agency, shows they have roughly $14 million to $15 million worth of room if an $11.5 million "rollover" from this year is included and some pending bonuses are added in. With the collective bargaining agreement signed in 2011, teams have the option of rolling over cap room from the previous year into the next year.

It aided the Broncos' ability to sign Manning before this past season and will constitute the bulk of their cap room this year.

A look through their contract figures shows they sit at $119.6 million worth of cap commitments right now, including all bonuses, for the 2013 season. The salary cap won't officially be set for another few weeks, but most in the league expect a pretty flat increase compared to this past season.

In 2012 the salary cap was just above $120 million per team and it is expected to come in at around $121.1 million per team in the coming year. So, the Broncos will certainly make a few cuts, re-do a deal or two to trim the $119.6 worth of commitments before free agency opens and will have the ability to add the rollover room.

The Broncos also have very little dead money at the moment ? 2013 salary cap money committed to players no longer on the roster. They come in at less than $100,000 in dead money. That shows the fruits of a draft-first strategy and why the team has used far more one-year deals with late signings in free agency than other teams.

As of last week, there were nine teams above the projected salary cap for 2013, including the NFC champion 49ers. The Jets are in the worst cap shape for the upcoming year, with the Saints and Cowboys not far behind ? all are already at least $20 million over the projected cap figure.

The playoff teams in the best shape are Cincinnati and Indianapolis with both having at least $40 million worth of room if they use all of the rollover space available to them.

So, the Broncos are on solid footing, especially for a 13-win team. They have the ability to keep themselves in the playoff mix if they continue to carefully use their cap room and, as John Elway puts it, "stack good draft on good draft."

If they use the franchise tag on left tackle Ryan Clady, that's a guaranteed one-year deal for $9.66 million, so that's a big chunk of the current room if they don't elect to go with a long-term deal given his recent shoulder surgery.

Their biggest cap hits, beyond Manning, come on defense. Bailey's cap figure for 2013 is $10 million, including roster and workout bonuses. Dumervil has a $13.623 million cap figure, including a $10 million base salary, which the Broncos could turn into signing bonus in some way if they try to re-structure.

Also with the Broncos is former high-profile agent Michael Sullivan, who oversees the Broncos' work with contracts and the salary cap. Sullivan is highly-regarded in the league for his abilities.

Overall, D.J. Williams' status will certainly be addressed in some way, either by his release or a significant contract reduction. He was a situational player only last season who missed nine games because of two league suspensions.

His cap figure for 2013 is $7.732 million ? the final year of his deal ? that includes a $6 million base salary. The Broncos re-did the deal some in 2010, converting a portion of a roster bonus into signing bonus.

If they release Williams, he would carry $1.732 million cap charge for the remaining pro-rated amount of his signing bonus. But that is a savings of $6 million over his cap charge if he's on the roster, so it's a move they would certainly consider.

Since the start of the 2010 season Williams has earned $13.57 million in base salary alone from the Broncos ? a total that doesn't include any of his signing bonunses. He was not starter when he returned from suspensions and has not earned a Pro Bowl nod in any season.

Jeff Legwold: jlegwold@denverpost.com or twitter.com/jeff_legwold

Source: http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_22561234/broncos-john-elway-have-enough-room-play-smart?source=rss

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Stock market starts year strong, but can it last?

Matthew Craft , The Associated Press ? ? ? 4 hrs.

The pattern looks eerily familiar.

The stock market scampers up to historical heights to start the year then gets knocked on its back. Last year, worries about Greece and the U.S. economy helped flatten a rally by June. The year before it was an earthquake and tsunami in Japan along with a political fight in Washington.

This year, the stock market raced off to its best start since 1997. So, what could squash the good cheer this time?

The top candidates are two of the same culprits from the previous years: Europe and Washington. But the big difference is that the U.S. economy, corporate America and Europe are all in much better shape, investors say. A slump this year shouldn't be as bad.

"Even if we're tired of hearing about the dangers, dismissing them hasn't been a smart thing to do for the past few years," says Dan Greenhaus, chief global strategist at the brokerage BTIG.

History never repeats itself, exactly, but people who play with numbers for a living see patterns. Last year, strong corporate earnings and steady growth in the U.S. economy drove the S&P 500 index up 8 percent by the middle of February. Less than three months later, fears that Greece would drop the euro currency and a surprisingly weak employment report left the index back where it started.

In 2011, the broad-market index staggered higher to start the year, reaching a peak in May with a 9 percent gain. By August, it was all gone. That echoed the year before, and the year before that.

"It's funny how at the beginning of the year everybody gets excited and then by the middle of the year it's, 'Everything stinks,'" Greenhaus says.

Over the past week, Europe's troubles have recaptured investors' attention. In Spain, charges of bribery have put pressure on Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to resign. In Italy, polls show strong support for Silvio Berlusconi, the former prime minister, in elections later this month. The scandal-plagued Berlusconi has called for billions in tax rebates and amnesty for Italians who haven't paid them.

Both developments have heightened concerns that the two countries will be able to handle their struggling banks as well as their debts. As a result, interest rates for Spanish and Italian government bonds have edged higher over recent days.

But the damage won't be as deep as in prior years. Borrowing costs for Spain and Italy remain far below levels reached last year, thanks to the European Central Bank's pledge to stand behind the hardest hit countries and protect the euro currency. Last July, for example, the cost for Italy's government to borrow from the bond market for 10 years topped out at 7.5 percent. On Friday, after creeping higher all week, it was 4.5 percent.

The European debt crisis no longer has Wall Street's investment banks on a leash. Back in October 2011, fears that Greece would be unable to get another lifeline from lenders helped push Goldman Sachs's stock as low as $84.27. It's now $151.11.

Jeffrey Kleintop, the chief market strategist at LPL Financial, says the ECB's pledge largely removed the prospect of a financial crisis spreading from Europe to the rest of the world. Even though the scariest threat is gone, Europe's economic troubles still pose a risk.

If Germany, for instance, gets pulled into a recession with the rest of the region, the pain is bound to spread, Kleintop says. Added together, the 17 countries that use the euro rank as the world's second-largest economy. Europe is also China's top customer for exports.

The other major concern for investors stems from Washington, where drawn-out budget battles have turned into an annual event. Steep spending cuts are scheduled to kick in March 1, unless Congress and the White House find a way to avoid them. Previous high-stakes talks have rattled financial markets. In August 2011, a fight over raising the government's borrowing limit ended with the country losing its top credit rating and panicked investors fleeing for safety. Worries that lawmakers would fail to avoid budget cuts known as the "fiscal cliff" were blamed for the stock market's swoon last fall.

There's little agreement about what will happen this time, except that it won't be nearly as bad. Some think that investors have seen enough budget brawls that they won't be fazed by another one.

"People are pretty much sick of hearing about this," says Joseph Tanious, the global market strategist at JPMorgan Funds.

The S&P 500 is already off to its best start in decades, after climbing 6 percent this year. Kleintop, however, says the buoyant mood is unlikely to last. If more companies keep warning of slower earnings in the coming weeks, the pile-up of worries could unnerve investors. Without another last-minute deal between Congress and the White House to avoid the budget cuts, the stock market's gains could be erased as early as March, Kleintop says.

The good news is that even those who believe the ride is about to get bumpy expect it to end well. Unlike previous years, it's hard to find anyone predicting a crash or a replay of 2008. They mainly believe the stock market can't keep up its blistering start. Repeat the S&P 500's surge in January over the rest of 2013 and it works out to an annual gain of 79 percent -- roughly nine times better than the historical average.

For all his skepticism, Kleintop expects the S&P 500 to end the year trading around where it is now. He's drawn up a list of companies he plans to scoop up after the next big drop.

"It will be a buying opportunity," he says. "We'll be ready to step in, because this bull market isn't over."

? 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/stock-market-starts-year-strong-can-it-last-1B8310115

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