The gas NASCAR didn't see. (NASCAR).

Where the health and safety of its drivers are concerned, NASCAR needs to change its modus operandi from reaction to action.

Not until Dale Earnhardt died in a final-lap crash in the 2001 Daytona did NASCAR begin in earnest the examination process that led to mandatory head and neck restraints.

Now, Winston Cup racing has another victim. Rick Mast announced his retirement last week. Mast didn't leave the sport because of a lack of desire. Nor was it because of age; Mast, 45, is younger than Rusty Wallace, Bill Elliott, Ken Schrader, Terry Labonte and Ricky Rudd.

Mast retired because he is physically unable to drive a stock car. For that matter, he no longer can drive a riding lawn mower or a convertible. Forty years of exposure to carbon monoxide emissions polluted his blood. Quite simply, he is poisoned, and any exposure to carbon monoxide, an invisible gas, is an immediate threat to his health. As early as last August, Mast's condition was a matter of speculation. In reply to a letter from reader of the SPORTING NEWS, I said carbon monoxide poisoning was the probable reason for Mast's absence from the sport.

But why did it take NASCAR so long to address this problem? For years, it has seen drivers "gassed" from overexposure to carbon monoxide. Why hasn't NASCAR taken the precautions necessary to prevent a driver's career from ending prematurely?

It's another case of reaction, not action.

Certainly, NASCAR has stepped up its safety efforts since Earnhardt's death. But other than the formality of an annual physical, NASCAR has left the health of drivers to the individual or the teams. Penske Racing is one of several organizations that regularly checks the levels of toxicity within its drivers and crew members.