Sunday’s death of a track worker at Daytona International Speedway was shocking.
But it wasn’t anywhere near as shocking as the blatant insensitivity and unnecessary questions being raised in the national news media with regard to Ray Paprota’s disability.
The fact that Paprota, the driver whose car struck the track worker during the IPOWERacing Dash Series 150, is a paraplegic is irrelevant in these circumstances.
No driver – able-bodied or not – would have been able to avoid the man who had come out onto the racing surface to retrieve debris during a caution flag.
Yet, information about his disability appeared in or near the lead, and sometimes even the headline, of every news story I have read about the incident.
What happened Sunday was a miscommunication with a tragic ending.
Regardless of who failed to communicate – Paprota’s spotter or race officials and safety crews – disability was clearly not a factor in the accident.
He was merely following normal race protocol, which is to try to catch up to the lead line of cars after a pit stop.
It could have happened to anyone. It could have happened in the Daytona 500. The driver in question could be Matt Kenseth or Dale Earnhardt Jr.
But, if that were the case, would the media be questioning Kenseth’s or Earnhardt’s ability to drive a race car? Probably not.
So why are people questioning Paprota’s driving abilities?
Why is no one asking why such an experienced track worker stepped onto the track without knowing for sure he was in the clear?
Quotes in the Associated Press wire story basically implied that some race officials doubted whether or not Paprota should have ever been cleared to drive.
But all of these doubts about his skill as a driver have come to the forefront because of one incident – an incident that, had it happened to anybody else, probably would have never raised the same questions.
Were the driver in question someone else, I strongly suspect the event would be shrugged off as an “unfortunate incident.”
Tears would be shed, and life – and racing – would move on.
But because the driver involved is not your average NASCAR driver, people are now unfairly doubting whether or not he should even be allowed to drive in the series.
This event had absolutely nothing to do with Paprota’s disability, which was not acquired as a result of a racing incident, yet that disability played a starring role in nearly every news article when there was no real reason to mention it at all.
There are many other questions needing answers, and none of them have anything to do with Ray Paprota’s ability to safely pilot a stock car.
If he was incapable of handling the car safely and effectively, he would not have been cleared to run.
I look forward to seeing Ray Paprota compete in future NASCAR events and prove the nay-sayers wrong.
He’s got a fan in me.

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