TONY STEWART
Age: 28
Series: Winston Cup
Race Team:
Home Depot Pontiac

"I don't really think about it. I think it's more dangerous to drive on the interstate with most people than to drive on a race track with the guys I race with. I really don't look at it as a dangerous sport. The teams and the manufacturers do everything they can to protect us in the car. The sanctioning body and everybody is always working to make things better. As long as they keep doing that, I feel like I'm in one of the safest sports out there."

JUAN MONTOYA
Age: 24
Series: CART
Race Team:
Target Chip Ganassi

"The cars are much more safe now. They have done so much with the technology and the safety of our cars that I have a lot of confidence in their design for driver protection. For me there is no fear factor -- I am doing what I love to do and the day I have a fear getting in the car, is the day I need to stop racing. If you want to be quick you need to drive at the limit and to be at the limit you need to be in control or it does you no good. My scariest moment was last year at Montegi Twin Ring, Japan. I hit the wall for the first time on an oval and at 230 mph. It's a bit of a shock."

EDDIE CHEEVER
Age: 42
Series: IRL
Race Team:
Team Cheever

"I think anyone that doesn't acknowledge the danger involved in racing is an idiot. Idiots don't last long. I always make it a concern of mine to surround myself with the best people possible, who take the greatest care to remove as many elements of danger involved. Once I feel that that objective has been met, I'm OK, and the thoughts of danger go out of my mind. Turn 1 at Indy when I hit it at 230 mph stands in my mind as the scariest situation I've been in. Really dicey. When something like that is happening to you, you don't know whether two seconds later, you'll be there or not. I was very lucky. Though you tend to not think too much about these kinds of things, it eventually takes a toll on your psyche and one day, you decide you've hand enough."

BRYAN HERTA
Age: 29
Series: CART
Race Team:
Forsythe Championship Racing
"I am definitely aware of the elements of danger our sport has. Although there are times you may feel scared, most times you don't. You're just out there pushing and pushing, and trying to do your best. The scariest is when you see a fellow driver hurt or worse. It's a very immediate reminder of your position."

KENNY BERNSTEIN
Age: 55
Series: NHRA
Race Team:
Budweiser

"If fear is a factor with a driver, and he dwells on it, he won't be successful. We respect the machines and understand there can be danger, but you can't think about the danger factor all the time. We've had a few crashes, two last year, but I was never scared at the time the crash was happening -- you don't have time to be afraid. Something flashes through your mind about what the outcome might be --- but you're pretty busy trying to save yourself and the race car. When you become a rider because you're out of control, you just hope you don't hit anything solid. In drag racing, you have to push the limits and go as hard and fast as the car will go. In our sport, it's wide-open or nothing. You don't have the opportunity to run high or low, or choose different racing lines like you do in open cockpit or NASCAR racing. There is no balance for us."

MIKE SKINNER
Age: 42
Series: Winston Cup
Race Team:
Lowe's/RCR

"Well, we get a month-and-a-half off every year to heal back up. You know, it's one of those situations that's no different from being a boxer or a quarterback or a linebacker. You play in a sport that you take a chance in getting hurt, and if you don't want to get hurt you shouldn't play in the sport. It's just one of those things that comes with the territory and we deal with it the best we can. We're as careful as we can be and still as aggressive as we can be. I think, as you get more seat time, you start making moves that count and you don't put yourself on that line until it really counts."

JIMMY VASSER
Age: 34
Series: CART
Race Team:
Target Chip Ganassi

"I've been racing since I was six years old. I've learned to trust my instincts. My instincts tell me when to push and when to be cautious. The day I get scared, or stop trusting my instincts, is the day I'll quit racing."

MARK MARTIN
Age: 41
Series: Winston Cup
Race Team:
Valvoline/Roush Racing

"I am not afraid of getting hurt, I'm more afraid of tearing up a good race car that I can't replace. In order to be successful, you have to push the limit, but you have to be crafty enough to flirt with the edge and get away with it. My greatest fear as a driver is fire. Luckily, I've never been on fire, but that is my biggest fear."

AL UNSER JR.
Age: 36
Series: IRL
Race Team:
Galles ECR Racing

"As a driver, I realize that racing is a dangerous sport, however I do everything humanly possible to make it as safe as possible. I love racing, and I don't have a fear of it -- I respect it. The scariest position I have had on a race track is racing with my family. One day at Indy there was a wreck and I could not recognize the car that had crashed. I knew my dad was in the race and did not know he was OK until my crew radioed me and told me he was not in the accident."

PAUL TRACY
Age: 31
Series: CART
Race Team:
Team Kool Green

"I suppose fear is a factor, but while I'm driving I don't think about it -- good drivers don't. As a driver, you just have to get in the car and do it."

JERRY NADEAU
Age: 29
Series: Winston Cup
Race Team:
Michael Holigan/Hendrick Motorsports
"I think you learn that at a young age, if you don't have fear, you're nuts. Everybody has fears. You put them aside when you are racing, because all you are really concentrating on is the race itself, trying to beat the next guy and doing the best job you can in the race car. There's an edge that you have to find. Sometimes you make a mistake and you get yourself in trouble. But you basically try to control your edge at speed and just race. I've had a few bruises and scars from accidents, but really the only one that surprised me was at Talladega last year when we got in a wreck. It really wasn't a bad wreck, but the car caught on fire and the heat was so extreme that I got a little worried. You're doing 150 miles an hour and there's fire in the car and it's like 'what do I do next?'. I didn't really think about the fire bottle, I was more worried about getting the car stopped and getting out. Then when I finally got out and I knew I was OK, I reached in and hit the fire bottle and put the flames out. But I think the cars are very safe. The teams and NASCAR do a very good job of keeping the drivers safe."

ADRIAN FERNANDEZ
Age: 34
Series: CART
Race Team:
Patrick Racing

"There is always fear; fear of control. This doesn't happen to me on any road course, it happens to me only on ovals. Fears are when things can go wrong, like what happened to Dario (Franchitti) or what happened to me in Fontana when I had my accident and something broke. That's the fear that you always have. That doesn't limit you to get to the limits of the car and on racing. Of course you try to respect more your competitors on this type of track because you cannot play games because it can be very dangerous. But that doesn?t limit my driving to 100 percent. I drive as hard as I can drive a road course, but always in the back of my mind you have this fear that if something happens you are going to hit hard. The scariest situation I have been was in practice in Fontana and I was traveling 230 mph and something broke on the rear of the car. I hit the wall pretty hard and that is the type of thing you are always in fear about."

RICHIE HEARN
Age: 29
Series: CART
Race Team:
Della Penna Motorsports

"The danger factor is always there, but most of us have been racing for so long that it is just an accepted part of the job. Of course, we, as drivers, are always trying to make the sport safer, but it will never be perfect. To be honest, the danger factor is a little appealing. Most of the time though, I'm so focused on the car and the competition in trying to win the race that I don't have time to really think about it too much. My scariest incident was in an Atlantic car at Nazareth in 1994. I was going into Turn 3 trying to pass a lapped car on the inside when he decided to turn. My car jumped over his left front with my right rear that sent me almost head on into the wall with little or no chance to slow the car down. It was a big hit."

ROBBIE MCGEHEE
Age: 26
Series: IRL
Race Team:
Treadway Racing

"There is quite a bit of fear involved, especially right after something like what happens to Sam (Schmidt) happened. It kind of makes you wonder whether or not it is worth it. The fear goes away on the track, because a real racer shows his tendencies, gets into a zone where nothing in the outside world can effect the job at hand. I have had so many 'high-pucker factor' ordeals on track that it is hard to single out one!"

WARREN JOHNSON
Age: 56
Series: NHRA
Race Team:
GM Goodwrench

"I really don't have any concerns about my safety in my race car -- I'm more concerned for my safety when I drive on the highway! Safety in racing has been well addressed by the sanctioning bodies in conjunction with the car builders and competitors. It's really a three-way street. You can't conduct a major-league race without proper insurance, so the sanctioning bodies have an obligation to minimize the risks to drivers, crews, fans and officials. Historically the sanctioning bodies have responded quickly to situations when safety could be improved by requiring more effective roll cages, improving the track facilities, or addressing dangerous driving. I certainly have a great deal of confidence in the structural integrity of my race car and the safety of the track when I strap myself in before a race. I feel fortunate that I've never experienced a really scary episode on the race track. I've banged the wall a few times after parachute failures, but nothing major. And I'd like to keep my driving record clean!"

ROB SLAVINSKI
Age: 39
Series: NHRA
Race Team:
Kessinger Motorsports/Castrol

"I don't look at auto racing as having a fear factor. I don't think it's one bit dangerous. With all the safety features that are required within the sanctioning bodies, I firmly believe racing is a very safe environment. The worst situation I have found myself in was not using the chute on my first 190 mph pass.The sand trap came real fast and rattled my brain after stopping so abruptly."