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Thursday, August 23
Safety inside car is priority No. 1
By Mike Griffith
Scripps Howard News Service
SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. -- How quickly can NASCAR react?
Former Winston Cup champion Dale Jarrett says that's the biggest
question left after NASCAR released a detailed study of the crash that
killed Dale Earnhardt at Daytona in February.
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Testing the 'Humpy Bumper'
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H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler, president and general manager of Lowe's Motor Speedway, and Paul Lew of Lew Composites will be on hand Tuesday, Aug. 28 at LMS to oversee a crash test of the energy-absorbing composite device nicknamed the "Humpy Bumper." The composite bumper will be fitted on a Winston Cup car that is then propelled into the Turn 1 wall. This crash will be the final step in a series of extensive tests that began in May.
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"It's a question that's hard to answer," Jarrett said. "I think
that certainly within the next year we'll find some things that will
alleviate some of the G-forces we get inside of the car from that
angle of attack (contact) we have with the walls. Once we do that,
then I think we'll see things much safer."
On Tuesday, the findings of a six-month study conducted by
biomechanical and medical experts hired by NASCAR served to further
explain Earnhardt's death.
The investigation revealed that a cascade of events -- an improperly
mounted seat belt separating and contact from another car prior to
Earnhardt's car striking the wall -- contributed significantly to the
fatal head impact.
NASCAR President Mike Helton has promised safety advances in the
future, via a new research and development center in Conover, N.C.,
and the insertion of black box crash recorders in cars beginning in
2002, but no significant changes are expected to be made in the final
13 races of this season.
Some drivers, such as Jeff Burton of the Roush Racing stable, have
taken it upon themselves to implement changes.
"My seat is a lot different than most, the biggest difference
being stronger, longer and bigger head rests and shoulder supports,"
said Burton, who dug into his own pocket to conduct seat research.
"In fact, we tested it in a practical way at Bristol in the spring
race when we blew a right front tire and hit the wall."
Burton, who has been one of the more outspoken drivers on the
issues of safety since Earnhardt's fatal crash, said seats made of
composite materials could be in the future.
"The composite seat is down the road, but it's not going to happen
tomorrow or maybe even next year," Burton said. "The positive of the
composite seat is that it's very, very strong. The negative is they
are very expensive. You can't just have one mold and build a seat for
every Winston Cup driver; it's going to take several molds.
"The expense will be prohibitive, maybe not for Winston Cup teams,
but it certainly will be for a lot of Busch teams and truck teams, and
I guarantee it will be cost prohibitive for late model teams and dirt
track cars."
Burton said maximizing the safety of the aluminum seats currently
in use is a step in the right direction as NASCAR looks to become a
safer sport.
"The first priority is in the driver's area, the seats, seat belts
and head restraints; you've got to get all that right," he said.
"The next priority turns to the soft walls. But that's long term -- we
need to see stuff today."
Ford is developing a new seat that it hopes can be in use before
the end of this season.
Jarrett agreed with Burton that the implementation of soft walls
could be a ways off.
"Soft walls aren't as easy as they sound," Jarrett said. "You
can't just put some barrier out there that would soften the blow,
because it could actually create a bigger problem by pulling you in
more and not letting go, so you're absorbing all the energy instead of
some of that energy releasing.
"But the other thing we're looking at now is how we can lessen the
impact in the frontal area of the car," Jarrett said. "From that
front bumper area back to chassis, we need something there to help
absorb that blow, because right now there's basically nothing there
except for a few bars. That's an area we have a lot of concern
about."
Humpy Wheeler, president of Speedway Motorsports Inc., has said in
published reports that impact-absorbing bumpers and soft walls could
be implemented on a limited basis when the Cup circuit returns to
Lowe's Motor Speedway in October. A test is expected to be conducted
at that 1.5-mile track next week. Both safety additions would have to
be approved by NASCAR.
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Safety isn't a goal, it's a mission, and it changes all the time.” |
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—Jeff Burton |
The biggest change currently in effect this season has been more
drivers wearing head and neck (HANS) support devices. Jarrett was one
of only six drivers to use such a device in the season-opening Daytona
500. The following week, after Earnhardt's death, 14 drivers used the
device. Last week, at Michigan, 41 of the 43 drivers were wearing a
head and neck support harnesses.
"There's a lot of things still out there, and a lot of improvement
we need to make," Burton said. "But five years from now, there will
still be a lot of things we need to improve on.
"Safety isn't a goal, it's a mission, and it changes all the
time."
Multi-car owner Jack Roush said that next Monday NASCAR officials
will be at Talladega Superspeedway to review possible safety changes
for the two giant tracks where restrictor plates are used to slow the
cars.
"There are going to be considerations of things that would allow
the cars to compete effectively on the Daytona and Talladega tracks
and not get as solidified as they do with many cars in the draft,"
Roush said. "They're wanting to separate them and I think they may
have some ideas to improve on that for Daytona. It's an ongoing
analysis by NASCAR."
The races at Daytona (2.5-mile trioval) and Talladega (2.66)
produce the most lead changes, closest racing and highest speeds.
Roush proposes changing the layout of the tracks.
"Put chicanes in the backstretch to slow them down," Roush said,
"so you would have to brake and accelerate and wouldn't have these
speeds that threaten to have the cars fly out of the race track."
Mike Griffith writes for The Knoxville News-Sentinel in Tennessee. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
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