The Never Ending Debate: SAFETY

Over the past year, safety in NASCAR has
exploded as a hot topic in the sports world. For the drivers, safety is an
afterthought to what they love, racing. The importance of safety in a stock car
is a very thorough matter that must be examined repeatedly. After all, lives are
at risk every time the drivers sit in their cars and take to the track, at every
facility, in every turn. Driving at speeds over 150 miles per hour is exciting
to see but when forty three cars are put on track together at those speeds,
accidents are bound to happen. The problem is not preventing the accidents, but
lessening the impact and preventing injury, which is sometimes fatal. I am going
to examine what measures NASCAR has taken to provide drivers with the best
available safety features.

In 1948 when NASCAR became a sanctioned
organization, safety wasn’t an issue. Drivers took their streetcars to the
track and raced in blue jeans. The tracks were a far cry from what we see today,
races were run on anything from sandy beaches to dirt tracks. With changed
times, it’s evident the way NASCAR tracks have evolved. They are now made of
asphalt and concrete and are lined with concrete walls. When walls began being
put up, they were simple metal guardrails. Changes not only occurred at the
tracks but also on the cars themselves. To prevent the cars from flipping during
an accident, all cars now have roof flaps. The flaps lift up and prevent the air
from grabbing and tossing the car upside down. Window nets have also been added.
Since the cars are made minus glass windows (yet another safety precaution), it
is a possibility for arms, or even the head to fall out of the vehicle during an
accident. Hence, the creation of the window net. The most important feature of
the car is the roll cage. During high impact a car suffers much damage. To
prevent the driver from being trapped in the aftermath, the roll cage helps to
maintain the shape of the car, keeping the cockpit fully intact.

Although the developments of many great
safety features have helped to save lives, we now have to pose the question, is
it enough? The answer is no. Over the past two years NASCAR has lost five
drivers due to head and neck injuries. Adam Petty, Kenny Irwin, Dale Earnhardt,
and most recently, Blaise Alexander all lost their lives due to heavy impact
with retaining walls, causing the head to whip, suffering basil skull fractures.
Driver Tony Roper lost his life last year when he suffered a broken neck also
due to high impact of a crash. In 1998 another driver, John Nemechek lost his
life when his head struck the concrete wall, even with the window net intact.
Since then, most drivers now place a second net alongside the driver’s seat.
Nemechek was wearing a helmet, which obviously is to prevent injuries to the
head. Many will be shocked to learn the helmet is not mandated in the NASCAR
rulebook, it is simply stated as "optional." Also falling into the
optional category is the driver’s fire suit, which is worn to prevent burns if
a fire ensues. With so many accidents happening involving the head and neck,
many people are pressing to mandate head and neck restraints such as the HANS
(head and neck restraint system) or the Hutchens device (named after maker Bobby
Hutchens.) If fire suits and helmets are not mandatory, one wonders how NASCAR
can mandate something that has yet to be proven life saving in an actual head on
collision with a wall. In the six aforementioned cases, only one driver was
wearing some sort of head/neck device. Twenty five-year-old Blaise Alexander was
wearing neither the HANS or Hutchens, but a simple foam collar. ARCA (Automobile
Racing Club of America) has mandated the collar but it only supports the neck,
it does not restrict the head from moving forward or to the side.

With the death of seven time Winston Cup
Series Champion Dale Earnhardt, along came speculation of safety manufacturer
Bill Simpson’s racing products. Simpson is a man who spent most of his life
developing products for racers after he lost a close friend in a racing
accident. Simpson’s fire suits are the majority in the garage area today. When
Bill first introduced his fire suit, he set himself on fire to prove its
durability. He has also supplied NASCAR with seats, and seat belts. During
Earnhardt’s fatal accident earlier this year, NASCAR found a tear in one of
the six harness belts he was wearing. NASCAR hired bio-medical Dr. Dean Sicking
and Dr. James Raddin, director of Biodynamic Research Corp. to further detail
the matter. The six month multi-million dollar investigation was very particular
in describing the kinematics, g-force, loading and dumping of the crash. Yet no
simple answer as to whether or not a head and neck restraint could have changed
the outcome. Speculation now flies around Simpson’s products, racer Jeremy
Mayfield’s seat belt was found slightly tore after he was involved in an
accident just a few weeks ago. NASCAR has since mandated labels to be removed
from the belt at areas where it is attached to the belt adjusters. It is
believed that the label gets into the adjuster and causes "dumping".
The dumping happens when the material is bunched together and eventually weakens
the strength of the belt’s material, causing it to tear. As with the Earnhardt
accident, the fast speeds cause hard impact and with that the body moves
forward. When the body moves forward at such a rapid speed, the already weak
belt gives way. Broken seat belt aside, many still wonder if Earnhardt would
still be alive if wearing some sort of restraint. The sad reality is we’ll
never know. After losing six lives in the past few years, NASCAR is quickly
scrambling to find an answer to the problem. There is no way to bring back those
lost, but it is possible to save others from the same tragic fate. Safety in
NASCAR will remain a hot topic until the problem stops and we can see every
driver walk away from every accident.