No C ockpit Chassis Adjustments For All 3 USAC National Series'

[CIRF]

USAC is doing away with all c ockpit suspension adjustments on all three national divisions From a bleacher jockey point of view I think this is a good rule. Puts added value on set-ups and driver.

USAC also has mandated full containment seats. I've heard some rumblings that FC seats can, and does, precipitate concussions. Haven't seen any data on that. It might be a little hard to track down solid data simply because some of these concussions go unreported. The FC seat might be the lesser of the 2 evils. According to reports Dave Steele's death could possibly been avoided had he been running a FC seat.

Here's the new rules from USAC:

[CageFaraday]

An FC would've helped Dave Steele, but it wasn't the only solution that would've worked, a net on the left side would've most likely done the trick. I'm not a fan of FC, I know quite a few guys who've suffered a brain injury(concussion) without even being in a crash, just a rough track. Think "shaken Baby" syndrome. They've been doing a study at UCLA on their football team and concussions with sensors and have made several discoveries that hadn't occurred to researchers before. There is a video about it on youtube, If I remember I'll search it out and post the link if I have time. If I remember it was a TED Talk. Whenever tragedy happens there is a danger of reacting too quickly and irrationally as well as a general misunderstanding of what certain safety gear is designed to do. While I was still involved in DLM we had a string of highly publicized career ending concussions and 2 deaths and 1 injury from fire/entrapment. The knee jerk response was MANDATE FC SEATS and FIRE SUPPRESSION systems to appear that they were doing something to help. The problem was every single one of those injuries and deaths ALL already had HANS and FC seats when they got hurt... One of the deaths did NOT have the FC seat, but he died from internal injuries, NOT a SKULL or BRAIN injury, so FC would've done nothing. What was even worse they didn't just say must be an FC seat, it had to be a NASCAR SFI RATED seat, which is overkill, EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE and is so huge it makes escaping a burning car almost impossible, which is what happen to Charlie Floyd, he couldn't escape his burning car, a prisoner of his safety devices... This is the exact issue that made me leave DLM after 30 years, I refuse to trap myself in the vehicle because of a knee-jerk and in my view unnecessary mandate. I'm a bigger guy, so if the car gets upside down with the driver side obstructed in a DLM I have NO other avenue of escape with an FC seat. The rule USAC had with either head rests and/or nets was a good balance with individual choice still involved, but I'm no fan of FC seats, I've seen the damage they cause. No thank you. Leadership in motorsports is as dysfunctional as our political system today, it doesn't work, its no longer logical and sensible, its broken.

One last thing, when I pointed out the entrapment concerns I had to a prominent series promoter, he told me not to worry, they had a blanket and would come get me... WHAT?! I'm not waiting in a burning car for anyone to come get me, I WANT OUT NOW! I pray that sensible heads will intervene on this.

[Krooser]

Beware of unintended consequences...

[CIRF]

An FC would've helped Dave Steele, but it wasn't the only solution that would've worked, a net on the left side would've most likely done the trick. I'm not a fan of FC, I know quite a few guys who've suffered a brain injury(concussion) without even being in a crash, just a rough track. Think "shaken Baby" syndrome. They've been doing a study at UCLA on their football team and concussions with sensors and have made several discoveries that hadn't occurred to researchers before. There is a video about it on youtube, If I remember I'll search it out and post the link if I have time. If I remember it was a TED Talk. Whenever tragedy happens there is a danger of reacting too quickly and irrationally as well as a general misunderstanding of what certain safety gear is designed to do. While I was still involved in DLM we had a string of highly publicized career ending concussions and 2 deaths and 1 injury from fire/entrapment. The knee jerk response was MANDATE FC SEATS and FIRE SUPPRESSION systems to appear that they were doing something to help. The problem was every single one of those injuries and deaths ALL already had HANS and FC seats when they got hurt... One of the deaths did NOT have the FC seat, but he died from internal injuries, NOT a SKULL or BRAIN injury, so FC would've done nothing. What was even worse they didn't just say must be an FC seat, it had to be a NASCAR SFI RATED seat, which is overkill, EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE and is so huge it makes escaping a burning car almost impossible, which is what happen to Charlie Floyd, he couldn't escape his burning car, a prisoner of his safety devices... This is the exact issue that made me leave DLM after 30 years, I refuse to trap myself in the vehicle because of a knee-jerk and in my view unnecessary mandate. I'm a bigger guy, so if the car gets upside down with the driver side obstructed in a DLM I have NO other avenue of escape with an FC seat. The rule USAC had with either head rests and/or nets was a good balance with individual choice still involved, but I'm no fan of FC seats, I've seen the damage they cause. No thank you. Leadership in motorsports is as dysfunctional as our political system today, it doesn't work, its no longer logical and sensible, its broken.

One last thing, when I pointed out the entrapment concerns I had to a prominent series promoter, he told me not to worry, they had a blanket and would come get me... WHAT?! I'm not waiting in a burning car for anyone to come get me, I WANT OUT NOW! I pray that sensible heads will intervene on this.

Krooser, I have no doubts that your concern is well founded and legit. The last time I was closely involved with a racecar it was well prior to FC seats so you know what you're talking about and I don't. Bear with me, just a bit.

A discussion I was involved in with a couple of midget car owners and a driver not long after the Dave Steele tragedy enlightened me to the drawbacks to the FC seat. All three spoke of exactly the possibility of you mentioned in regards to shaken baby syndrome. One car owner knew of multiple cases of concussions caused just by a rough track.

Could it be that USAC is trying to compromise the risk of concussions/head injuries and the added safety a FC seat gives in the event of hard wall contact?

Also, if you look at the dates that the FC seat becomes mandatory it is just over 2 weeks prior to the USAC National Sprint Cars being scheduled to be at Eldora. IIRC Eldora Speedway now mandates FC seats. If I'm mistaken someone please set the record straight. Can it be that USAC had only two choices? Either mandate the FC seats or abandon racing at Eldora.

[CageFaraday]

Something else that makes Dave Steele's situation different is that Asphalt sprints are allowed lots of left side offset and so the driver ends up sitting almost on top of LR tire. So if you hit wall left side first like Dave you're only a few inches from wall on impact anyway. Dirt Sprints aren't allowed to be offset like that, to me the cars need a redesign, but what do i know. Nascar is looked upon as who to emulate and so tracks and sanctions try to do what they do, which doesn't always translate. A Dlm has a very small c0ckpit compared to a wide open Nascar car, so shoving one of those lazy boy recliner Nascar-esque FC seats inside a DLM is a death sentence in a rollover. Now a sprint/midget bounce and shake a good bit too. Another issue with FC in a non-wing sprint is it tends to hold the drivers head straight up and down, so in the event of c0ckpit incursion your head is held up like you'd hold up a nail before you drive it... Hello spinal injury! The DLM powers that be came out guns blazing last year with this same $hit including Nascar SFI rating, but they had to back away when the outcry got loud enough. As it stands I can scratch USAC, LUCAS, WoO and Eldora off my bucket list as I refuse to acquiesce to these "knee-jerk" demands. I enjoy having full brain function, thank you.