NASCAR Returns to Daytona
July 6, 2001 -- When NASCAR returns to the Daytona speedway this weekend, for the first time since Dale Earnhardt's fatal crash in February, most drivers will be wearing head restraints — of their own accord.
Earnhardt, who was the sport's biggest star, was killed at the track when his car crashed into a barrier at 180 mph. It is not clear whether his death could have been prevented if he had been wearing a different safety device when he crashed.
Before Earnhardt's death, very few NASCAR drivers wore the bulky, highly protective head-restraint devices. Earnhardt said he found them uncomfortable, and stuck to his standard helmet. Most other drivers followed his lead.
But now, NASCAR drivers have done an about-face, and most of the drivers racing in Saturday's Pepsi 400 will be wearing them.
"I hope to get a little bit safer for myself, says driver Bobby Labonte. "And everybody's doing the same thing, I believe."
Earnhardt was just one of four drivers killed in NASCAR racing in the past year. What killed all those drivers, doctors say, were head-snapping G-forces that broke their necks. Head restraints and other safety improvements could help prevent those.
Racer Jeff Gordon is convinced. In a wall-slamming crash six weeks ago, he was wearing a head restraint, and able not only to crawl out of his car, but to jump into another, and win the race.
"I'm using it everywhere I go," he says now.
Leaving It Up to the Drivers
It's a decision drivers have made on their own. NASCAR does not require the restraints. The organization has a longstanding policy of leaving safety decisions — and the extensive work of safety research — up to the drivers. But critics have blasted that policy, saying NASCAR should lead the way.
"I think it should be NASCAR's burden," says Dr. Roger Cantu, a neurosurgeon and former president of the American College of Sports Medicine.
Taking Measures
NASCAR is responding to such criticism by building a research facility in North Carolina to crash-test safety equipment this winter. The association is also looking at new devices like a bumper that minimizes G-forces.
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