Gordon to meet next week with NASCAR over track safety

   Four-time Sprint Cup series champion Jeff Gordon said he has a planned meeting with NASCAR officials next week in Charlotte to discuss the sport’s safety measures, including the progress on expanding the use of energy-absorbing SAFER barriers at tracks.

   “I just reached out to them to discuss some things, that being one of them,” Gordon said. “They have been sharing a lot of information with drivers, a lot more than in the past.”

   Gordon's meeting is scheduled for Tuesday at the research and development center in Concord, N.C.

   Gordon, an outspoken advocate for the use of SAFER barriers at all tracks, was involved in a wreck in last Sunday’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway and slammed into a wall not covered by protective barriers.

  

   Cup driver Kyle Busch remains sidelined this season after suffering a broken leg and foot in the season-opening Xfinity Series race at Daytona after hitting an unprotected interior track wall.

   After that race, NASCAR officials vowed to review each track to determine whether additional safety measures can be undertaken. Atlanta brought in additional tire barriers last weekend and Phoenix plans to do the same next weekend.