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Tuesday, August 21 Simpson says he warned Earnhardt Associated Press ATLANTA -- The maker of the seat belt that broke during Dale Earnhardt's fatal crash contends he warned the racing great for years that he was not installing the belts properly. In its report into Earnhardt's death, NASCAR on Tuesday reiterated that the belt broke when Earnhardt slammed into a wall at about 160 mph at the Daytona 500 on Feb. 18. The report said the broken belt was not the sole factor in Earnhardt's death, but that it played a role along with several other factors. Bill Simpson, founder of Simpson Performance Products, agreed that the belt broke, but he contended proper installation would have prevented that. "Bill Simpson told him for years that the way he was using the belts was not safe," said Bob Horn, one of Simpson's lawyers. "Dale listened, but his response was to do it the way he wanted to do it." NASCAR's report, however, said the separation of the belt was "not caused by driver adjustment." Still, several drivers, including Rusty Wallace, have said Earnhardt preferred to sit back lower and farther from the steering wheel than most drivers. That's one possible explanation for why his seat belt might have been altered. "The way he set up his restraint system, he believed it was the safest way for him," NASCAR vice president George Pyne said in response to Simpson's claim. "He designed his restraint system in what he felt was in his best interest and as a driver involved in numerous crashes, he had a right to have a point of view on that." Simpson came from North Carolina on Tuesday with two lawyers and a team of investigators hired by the company to prepare their own report. They watched NASCAR's presentation on closed-circuit TV in a separate room, then held their own news conference to address the findings. Simpson, who cited stress from Earnhardt's death in resigning as head of his company last month, was not permitted by his lawyers to answer questions during the report. He fidgeted and his face turned red when the lawyers were pressed about the way Earnhardt installed his belts. The only question Simpson answered was about his well being. "I'm doing fine," he said. According to a report Simpson commissioned, the lap belt in Earnhardt's car was not installed following the guidelines that were supplied with the belt. Simpson recommends that the belts be mounted 2½ inches forward of the extended back line of the seat, but he claims Earnhardt mounted his 5 inches behind the back line of the seat. The report also said that Earnhardt's belt was not in compliance with Simpson's 45 degree recommendation and that the way Earnhardt used the adjuster of the belt left it prone to rotation when it was tightened. "Testing the belt that way showed it had a reduction in strength of approximately 60 percent," said Charles Manning, an engineer with Accident Reconstruction Analysis of Raleigh, N.C. "A belt assembly that would ordinarily sustain approximately 5,000 lbs. per belt will fail at approximately 2,000 lbs. per belt when there is significant rotation of the adjuster." Simpson's report claimed the restraint system worked, at least in part, in decelerating Earnhardt's body during the collision and it said hip abrasions found in the autopsy report proved that.  Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
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