Tim McCreadie’s recent violent crash at the Chili Bowl (see video here) has prompted a few of you to email asking about the situation with drivers and insurance. I would have answered the emails in yesterday’s “Ask The Insiders” post, but I wanted to have some space and freedom to explain.
In case you aren’t aware, McCreadie wrecked during a qualifier at the Chili Bowl and fractured a vertebrae. After the wreck, USAC established a fund for McCreadie where people could make donations to help pay for his medical expenses because he does not have health insurance. The question being asked is how can a guy that does something so dangerous for a living not have basic health insurance?
Here is why.
Drivers, from your local short track all the way to the Cup Series, are independent contractors. If they get paid to race, its not as an employee. Race teams pay them a fee to drive their cars and the drivers are responsible for their own expenses.
It’s like if you hire a house cleaner to come by once a week and clean your pad. You pay them a fee for services rendered, not as an employee. You are not responsible for their insurance, retirement, and other benefits. Drivers are treated the same way.
Because of this, what most drivers do is start their own companies. The race team issues a check to their company, and the driver draws a salary from that company. The established company provides the driver with their insurance, handles their taxes, manages investments and retirement, and other benefits.
The problem with all of that, is that setting up a company and hiring somebody to manage it is very expensive. And, insurance for these guys is astronomical. They don’t get to take advantage of a lower rate given to a big company and premiums are very high because of the inherent danger involved in being a professional racecar driver. Many of these guys have families and need to provide full coverage for everyone including dental, vision, and life insurance. They also need workman’s comp insurance in case they get injured and cannot drive. It all adds up very quickly.
In McCreadie’s case, we are talking about a guy who races on short tracks for a living. He’ll race a midget or sprint car on Thursday, again on Friday, and a dirt late model on Saturday. He probably only makes enough money to survive and get to the next race. Having a comprehensive insurance plan is just simply out of reach. It is an unfortunate reality of the sport.
Just to update McCreadie’s situation, the following is from TimMcCreadie.com:
Former WoO LMS champion Tim McCreadie is currently in Indianapolis awaiting an appointment with renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. Terry Trammell after suffering a back injury while competing in last week’s Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Midget Nationals.
McCreadie, 34, of Watertown, N.Y., had his fifth career appearance in the famed Chili Bowl indoor event at Tulsa (Okla.) Expo Raceway cut short when a broken right-rear axle sent his Wilke-Pak Midget flipping over the turn-one fence as he led last Wednesday night’s first ‘A’ qualifier. He was found to have a fractured T-3 vertebra and floating bone fragments in his back.
A winner of both the WoO LMS title and Chili Bowl ‘Golden Driller’ trophy in 2006, McCreadie was fitted in a back brace and discharged from a Tulsa hospital on Friday evening. He was driven to a nearby hotel by his close friend James Spink, who works as USAC’s Developmental Series Coordinator, and spent the r emainder of Friday and Saturday resting there in pronounced pain.
McCreadie and Spink were flown to Indianapolis on Sunday morning by NASCAR Sprint Cup star Tony Stewart, who graciously provided the use of his private plane so McCreadie could make the trip more comfortably. Now resting at Spink’s home, McCreadie has a Wednesday-afternoon examination scheduled with Trammell, who is well-known for his treatment of injured IndyCar drivers.
A Tulsa specialist informed McCreadie on Friday that he had no serious ligament damage; the front of his vertebra is shattered but its rear is still intact; and none of the bone fragments entered the cerebral canal. All indications are that McCreadie does not need surgery, but he will visit with Trammell for a second opinion before proceeding with treatment.
Related posts:
- Chase Drivers Shouldn’t Get Special Treatment
- The Off Track Businesses of NASCAR’s Drivers
- Why Tony Stewart Won’t Suck as an Owner
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on Jan 21st, 2009 at 8:32 pm
Thanks for the update on Tim McCreadie.
on Jan 22nd, 2009 at 7:17 am
I believe Jerry Nadeau’s situation was similar, after his crash at Richmond, prompting many drivers to re-evaluate their insurance coverage as independant contractors.
on Jan 22nd, 2009 at 7:27 am
Here’s a case where a union might be helpful if not just to secure medical insurance for its members.
on Jan 22nd, 2009 at 8:04 am
wasn’t Rusty Wallace in the sceen actors guild so he could have insurance at a resonable rate?
on Jan 22nd, 2009 at 8:41 am
TC, are over-the-wall pit crewmen covered by their team’s insurance?
I remember when Bobby Allison lost everything after his tragic wreck at Pocono, there was talk about trying to come up with an umbrella catastrophic health care policy to cover NASCAR drivers, but the talk just fizzled out.
on Jan 22nd, 2009 at 8:45 am
The crew insurance topic was also something I was asked about in emails, but I kind of ran out of space with the insurance post. Pit crew guys are covered by not only the team, but also by NASCAR. I have heard though, that a certain “supplemental insurance” company offered their plan to team employees, but refused to cover over-the-wall guys.
on Jan 22nd, 2009 at 8:46 am
Thanks for discussing this topic and for the update on Tim.
I work for a manufacturing company. We require that suppliers and contractors alike provide proof of insurance before they can step foot in our facilities to provide services. From that perspective, I guess I would have thought a facility/event like the Chili Bowl might require at least some sort of minimum insurance so they aren’t held responsible. Are the drivers signing something that basically says they won’t hold anyone responsible or something like that?
It was great to hear that Tony Stewart helped him out. I think Tim has a lot of friends in the NASCAR community and wasn’t surprised that at least one of them helped out immediately.
on Jan 22nd, 2009 at 9:52 am
Tara,
I’m sure there’s a disclaimer the track has that drivers compete at their own risk. Racing is inherently dangerous so the drivers assume the risk. The only way a track could really be held responsible is if there was some type of negligence on the track’s part. Such as having walls or fences that they know are unsafe for crowd protection or dangerous to a driver. Or knowing the track surface is unsafe. That being said, I would think any wall would be dangerous to a driver but that’s the assumption of risk.
on Jan 22nd, 2009 at 11:37 am
I feel for the driver(s) and understand their problem of high insurance premiums, however there are many everyday working people that face the same problem and earn much less to begin with. It cost me almost 4 grand a year to have my minor daughter on my policy at work on a income of less than 20K before taxes. Now with her off my policy I pay less than $144 a year for my health insurance.
Why don’t the drivers get together and get insurance companies to give them quotes on a group plan. I know where I live small business owners can get health insurance cheaper through a county business owner group.
They can buy (Cue the duck) AFLAC on their own – something is better than nothing.
on Jan 22nd, 2009 at 11:47 am
While it’s true that most State law says the participant assumes the risk, anyone can sue and win. This has been especially true in lawsuits filed against ski resorts. Signing a waiver doesn’t mean anything. I remember a case back in the 80s(?) where a guy was hurt skiing and he sued the resort and won. The resort argued that (1) he was skiing recklessly and (2) he signed a waiver when he got his season pass. The guy argued the ski resort was negligent but let’s face it, so many things in dangerous sports could be considered negligent after the fact.
on Jan 22nd, 2009 at 12:34 pm
Ross,
The skier, his attorney, the judge & the jury should be shot. How was the ski resort negligent? That’s the key. If he was a new skier & mistakenly went down a double black diamond because it wasn’t marked well or he was hanging upside down buck assed nekkid from a lift because the bar in the car wasn’t secured properly & he slid through then yes, you may have a case of negligence.
I could understand if you got killed on a roller coaster at an amusement park, you’d have a case. Even if the ride might be “dangerous” you still have a reasonable expectation that you won’t get killed while riding it.
Now driving a race car, I think there is a reasonable expectation of death every time you go out on the track. I think Jeff Gordon even brought this up in the divorce because the bulk of the money Brooke got was gained by him risking his life, therefor she really didn’t deserve it.
It depends on the situation.
on Jan 22nd, 2009 at 1:24 pm
Licker,
The guy ran into a pole at the bottom of the ski run. He was a seasoned skier (held season passes for years) and was allegedly skiing like…well…like Todd Bodine drives. This was before it was common practice to pad lift poles. (I’m sure this is the reason that poles are now padded.) But why stop there? Why not pad all the trees on the slopes?
on Jan 22nd, 2009 at 1:36 pm
By its very nature, racing is an inherently dangerous sport. Whether it be for monetary gain, recreation, or both, participants assume the risk involved. Personally, whether it’s in person or on TV, I don’t watch racing with the expectation or desire to see wrecks or any bodily harm. But let’s be honest here, if racing was 100% safe for the driver (which it is heading that way), we would (will) be bored out of our skulls. The element of risk, speed, ability, competition and color are what brings us to watch.
Now, notice I said “for the driver”. A fan, or even a crew member, doesn’t fully anticipate being injured in an event. The area of fan safety is where NASCAR walks on “pins and needles”. Things like restrictor plates, as result of Bobby Allison’s 1987 Talladega wreck, and pit road speed limits are not intended to protect the drivers first and foremost, but the fans and then the crew.
I say, dump the restrictor plates, move the fans back a few, make bigger pit stalls and let ‘em rip…
on Jan 22nd, 2009 at 2:03 pm
Ross, I’d rather run into a pole than be stuck hanging upside down from a lift car with my pants around my ankles and dozens of people taking pics of me with their camera phones. Shrinkage.
Neon, I don’t watch racing either expecting a wreck, I’m just saying in a legal sense that it is not unreasonable for a driver to expect serious harm or possible death by driving a race car. He assumes that risk.
As far as restrictor plates, I think that’s the most dangerous aspect of today’s NASCAR racing. I think a driver would have a good case against NASCAR in a suit for forcing teams to use restrictor plates when NASCAR (and everyone else) knows that restrictor plates put the driver in a needlessly dangerous situation. Hell, we even have a name for that situation “the big one.” I think NASCAR’s restrictor plate rule is 100% negligent.
But, then one says, superspeedway races without the plates are super boring. My answer, superspeedway races with the plates are boring too, until the last 10 laps. Take the plate off & shorten the race. 500 laps of Daytona is a waste of time & we wouldn’t have to deal with the big one every year. I hate the big one & I hate seeing someone get hurt in the big one because of those stupid plates.
on Jan 22nd, 2009 at 4:33 pm
Windowlicker-I think we’re on the same page here buddy!
on Jan 23rd, 2009 at 12:53 am
I remember reading a couple of years ago that Bobby Allison had just paid off his medical bills from his 1987 (?) crash. The same article said that top tier NASCAR drivers were paying upwards of $500,000 a year for comprehensive medical insurance.