Tracks step up safety

[FlatTire]

An engineer that works for one of major head and neck restraint companies once told me exactly what Pig Tracker pointed out. In a longitudinal impact with a head and neck restraint, all you have done is transferred the load to the next weakest part which is the brain impacting the skull.

If Earnhardt would have been wearing a head and neck restraint, the risk of injury due to basal skull fracture would have been lessened/prevented but a severe concussion/ permanent brain injury would have been the end result.

I don't follow NASCAR like I used to, but have the number of concussions increased since they mandated head and neck restraints?

One thing I would like to see changed is the window openings need increased to allow for ease of exit when the driver has to get out. Its too hard with all your safety equipment on and a containment seat. I've tried to do it while upside down, just glad I wasn't on fire.

[old fan]

and how about the one piece steering wheels not many use I them it helps save your hands

[FlatTire]

I have a clear lexan disc I made for my steering wheel after multiple broken thumbs and a wrist over the last 12yrs or so. I've asked 3 of the major manufacturers to copy my idea and mass produce it. None of them have taken me up on that idea yet. With the clear disc you can still see your gauges and with the center out of the disc, you can still release the steering wheel.

[BloomerHarvickFan]

What about SAFER barriers. Do any dirt tracks use those? I think they would also aid in hard impact crashes.

[Cardirt0]

What about SAFER barriers. Do any dirt tracks use those? I think they would also aid in hard impact crashes.

Cost too do 200 feet of wall 1/4 mill in bucks...If dirt gets behind them then they will not work as good.. So you have a lot of work too maintain them..Some tracks cant keep the grass cut...

[Cardirt0]

like pig said, been racing latemodels close to 30 years hit about everything but the grader over the years, even destroyed one that what was left fit in a tot and bent the deck with my head, last ten years with full containment seat [ a good one] had by bell rung more than once by that seat on a rough track, I use a simpson hybrid head support but run the tethers loose. also there a young kid at the track that parents bought him best of every thing , suit gloves helmet, best cont, seat and a hans, he is on his 4th concussion and was told he should stop before serious damage happens, I believe if the helmet stops to fast the head and brain wont, containment seat that the helmet is not tight on both sides that you cant move your head is asking for trouble. my opinion but what do I know.

Yep all the safety stuff in the world will not help if it is not used Right...I think it all has too give some.. If you can not move your head at all then the brain is a ping pong ball in a box.. the soft wall Gives so the restraints on your neck and head need too give some so the brain dont take it all,,,
add
Look at all the NASCAR drivers that hit the wall .. and the next day they have Bruises on there bodys the next day when the belts dont let them move at all..now the head cant move and the brain still want to move ...maybe they have gone too far.. and made it were it still hurts you...

[Cardirt0]

Not a LM, but this will probably open some peoples eyes or least surprise them some:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOsoNGwDTcg

You may not want to watch all of it, but least look at the 2nd crash test at the 2 min mark.

Thats scary I have to think they need to look at doing something to the top of the car...

[heinen81]

Did anyone on here actually see the incident? I just talked to someone who did, and I got the impression he was hard on the brakes and slowed, he tagged the back of a nearly stopped car, drivers door to left rear wheel area, and went up the track and bumped the wall, if that. Was told the safety workers were walking around the car, so it was not pinned drivers side door into the wall. Was told if not for cutting the cage to get him out, it looked like replace a wheel/tire and some sheet metal work and it could have been fixed in 15 minutes. Is it possible he had a medical emergency during/after?

[bayou tuff]

Question? Have dirt cars with all the new technology available become unsafe because of the speed and grip they are able to generate outpacing the ability of the tracks to handle these cars. Some tracks haven't had safety upgrades for years. They remain the same every year. I've been attending races for 36 years and some tracks I have been to recently haven't changed anything in 30 years. Still the same ol' dirt(surface), same ol' fences and still not the right emergency equipment on scene.

[Cardirt0]

Will FarmerCity did a lot of Improvements Because the IN. Com. told them too do them...
Fairbury fixed lot of the fences and walls this year...So some tracks are....

[brsteg]

I think some more studies and testing need to be done on the HANS device before it becomes mandatory. My concerns are with all the concussions that are showing up with drivers using the HANS. Could it be possible that we have eliminated neck injures and replaced it with brain injures? Could it be that now the head is being held too rigid and the brain is still moving in the head and contacting the skull with a greater force than before? I'm just a dumb old driver but I have been thinking about this for about 6 months or more with all the concussions that are now coming to light. Any thoughts.

Are you suggesting that we have drivers die instantly from a broken neck instead of being out for a month or 2 with concussions?
Also a HANS is designed for a head on crash, it has much less effect in a side impact.
I didn't see the wreck but hearing accounts, I think he hit his head against the wall or roll bar. Maybe I'm wrong; but full containment seat would have been the best beat to prevent that from happening. That's just not the direction a HANS was designed for.

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

Are you suggesting that we have drivers die instantly from a broken neck instead of being out for a month or 2 with concussions?
Also a HANS is designed for a head on crash, it has much less effect in a side impact.
I didn't see the wreck but hearing accounts, I think he hit his head against the wall or roll bar. Maybe I'm wrong; but full containment seat would have been the best beat to prevent that from happening. That's just not the direction a HANS was designed for.

Are you suggesting that LM drivers have, in the past, died from lack of HANS?

[Aluminium Block]

Some items that are considered a safety item in one situation can make another one dangerous. Two drivers have died in Ohio this year. One because he couldn't get out of his car on fire. Did HANS, full containment seat, etc hinder that? The other one died from apparent impact where these items may have been helpful. Making something mandatory that could hinder exit from a burning car may not be the answer...........

[pap]

Something I have noticed, drivers sitting too high in the car, head even to or above halo. Watch DOD video of the the World and watch Mcdowell's head. This was a big thing back in the 80's, and it seems I'm seeing more guys either sitting to high or having a lower halo.

[pig tracker]

I'm not suggesting anything other than more studies might need to be done before we just say "let's make a HANS mandatory". Are they saving a particular injury and possible creating another. Also, 4 or 5 concussions can create a whole slew of medical problems. Most people do not die instantly from a broken neck. More times than not they have more damage done by personnel that are not properly trained on moving a person with a broken neck. Does it happen? Yes. But very rarely. And on a side note, I am surprised that window nets are not required in all classes. I race USAR modified and if you don't have a window net don't even start your car in the pits, because you're not racing that night. Of course, they don't require gloves for protection, which I find that odd. Seems to me that falls right in there with wearing a helmet, fire retardant suit and shoes, and safety harness.

[STRONGERTHANDIRT]

I assume there will be an autopsy?

[Waldo]

I don't think racing gloves are even Mandatory in Nascar. It seems everybody has them but I don't think they are Mandatory.

[ClampedUp]

I don't think racing gloves are even Mandatory in Nascar. It seems everybody has them but I don't think they are Mandatory.

Yes they are...
Ryan Blaney got his butt chewed out by NASCAR for not wearing them in practice at Darlington a couple weeks back.

[plunks7]

We all could talk about how to make it safer. And I have to believe the Higher Powers with in talk just like we do. Some times you never have a answer for something that went wrong. And if you even start to second guess your self. That could be where all the troubles could begin. This was a very unfortunate accident that went wrong. And this will not be the last!! Their are things in one's life we have no control of. As Bobby did mention to his Wife, We care and cry for you. This is the route that we all should be looking at!!!!!!!!!

[rakracing]

always thought from day one head and neck device needs to be progressive , much like a fall restraint system that stitches tear at certain g forces, I love the containment seat up to the halo, would prefer the old stye kirkey head support and a window net. secondly, these chassis builder have no rules any tubing ,any thickness ,cages to small and to low if nascar or nhra tested and controlled this 1990s cars would win again, anyone dumped a late model on its cage that wasn't totaled? check out the rules if you want to build a asphalt whelen modified frame.