SAFETY FIRST

Cost concerns the chief reason why safety innovations aren’t prominent at lower levels

JW Martin

It’s what every fan pays to see and what every driver prays to avoid. Mistakes are its precursor and plums of smoke and silence are classic symptoms of its existence. In the aftermath jangled wads of sheetmetal and puddles of oil and despair intertwine with the raving cheers of an excited crowd.

This is the essence of a crash- a racing incident that can spark a myriad of feelings and hatch instant controversy between those involved and those gathered. Left in its wake are as many different viewpoints and opinions as there are people present.

But while there are many different factors to a crash, as well as many different outcomes, driver safety reigns as the common denominator and theme paramount to such an event.

The concern of driver safety has become a staple conversation piece in the NASCAR community. The recent upswing in deaths attributed to on-track accidents around the turn of the century – including that of racing legend Dale Earnhardt – has led the sport to take a more proactive role in insuring the health of drivers throughout every sanctioning division in NASCAR. Safety innovations and advancements are widespread and are included in every facet of the sport today.

Designed in the 1980’s by Dr. Robert Hubbard, the HANS (Head and Neck Support) device has become the most acclaimed safety instrument in the garage area. Celebrated by critics and advocates alike, and worn by drivers in every division of motor racing in the United States, the device has become the most noticeable safety feature in racing to date.

Constructed primarily of carbon-fiber, the HANS device is designed to eliminate the ‘whiplash’ effect a driver experiences in an accident, thereby reducing head and neck injuries. The device is fastened only to the helmet of the driver and works in tandem with the seatbelts to reduce the velocity of the impact. It transfers the energy away from the head while keeping the entire body properly positioned.

This particular blueprint has become the premier head and neck restraint system throughout the country, replacing the elder Hutchens device as the only mandated NASCAR sanctioned apparatus of its kind.

Safety innovations are not restricted to the cockpits of racecars, however. Lining the retaining fences of many major racing venues today is a steel and foam paradox: soft walls. While the SAFER (Steel and Foam Energy Reduction) barrier -the official name given to the technology- is far from soft; its implementation is designed to reduce the impact sustained by a racecar upon contact with the wall.

The brainchild of Dean Sicking and a team of engineers from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the SAFER Barrier is nothing more than an appendage of a pre-existing wall. Steel tubes form the outer barricade while a series of strategically placed polystyrene foam blocks wedge between the pair of walls, aiding in support.

While ‘soft walls’ come in many styles, the theory is the same: reducing impact by displacing the kinetic energy released when a car hits the wall.

These are just two of the more prominent safety innovations that have become fundamental aspects of the racing macrocosm, and are seen weekly during NASCAR truck, Nationwide and Sprint Cup events.

But, at the lower levels these advancements-and others aimed at driver health, are not as prominent. SAFER Barriers are nonexistent at the majority of tracks licensed by NASCAR, and although the HANS device is mandated in most levels of NASCAR competition, the device is not mandated in the WHELEN All- American Series.

Perhaps the biggest factor to blame for the absence of these innovations is, quite simply, money.

The cost to implement the SAFER Barrier around a racetrack ranges anywhere from $800,000 to well over $1 million, depending on the length of the speedway. Compounding the fact is that the tracks themselves must foot the bill, without any monetary assistance from NASCAR.

The capital to fund such a colossal undertaking is a concern of many speedway administrators, including Randy Merriman, director of competition at Motor Mile Speedway.

“It’s something we have talked about doing, but it’s extremely expensive,” explains Merriman. “But, then again, you don’t need to put a price on someone’s safety.”

At a base-level cost of $695, the HANS device doesn’t come cheap. And with nothing to help offset the cost, drivers must pay out-of-pocket for the increased protection a HANS device affords. Money, again, is the reason such an exceptional safety feature is uncommon at local tracks.

It is this growing disparity between the upper and lower divisions in NASCAR that has led many to wonder if more can be done for those drivers competing in lower divisions such as the WHELEN All-American Series. Ultimately, it comes down to the NASCAR hierarchy; what the guys at the top are willing to do for the guys at the bottom.

But the director of competition at Motor Mile Speedway is quick to point out changes have been made to increase driver safety and believes more changes for the betterment of drivers is on the horizon.

“This year NASCAR has mandated for the late model stock class an eighth-inch steel plate to go in the driver’s door to keep protruding objects from going through the roll bars and getting to the driver,” Merriman says.

Other minor changes have been made to the rule book this year, and Merriman thinks the SAFER Barrier system could find its way to MMS sometime in the future. And as far as NASCAR mandating the HANS device in the lower tiers of competition?

“It’s coming. I have a feeling it’s coming right around the corner.”