I know guys who ran TF and funny cars there back in the day lol
geebus...
IIRC there is a form of "fencing" in front of the bleachers because they are literally track side... I mean like the front row can prop their legs up on the sides of the track. And the track is nowhere near as wide as a current NHRA track...maybe half that wide. Like lets say 3 cars wide total...
Drag racing IMO is a pretty sketchy deal for spectators as you generally can line the wall the entire length of the track... The dangerous part is generally half track and further.
We watched a drifting event a few weeks ago and the shit they get away with on the track would get us actual track rats banned from the track forever. Some dude GOT OUT OF HIS CAR while the track was hot, to rip his bumper off, toss it away, and then keep going. The first session they said "oh we had a car catch on fire" and the rest of us went "holy shit thats bad" and the guy goes "they didnt even stop the event, just put it out with some fire extinguishers and kept rolling"