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.

Although NASCAR has not made head restraints compulsory, it recently ordered drivers to widen their windows by 1 inch, so those who wear the bulky restraints can get out in a crash.

But some racers wonder if the association should have gone further.

"Why did they settle on 1 inch? Why not two?" asks driver Michael Waltrip.

Getting answers may be tough. NASCAR is notoriously tight-lipped, some say almost secretive. Critics point to the association's decision to investigate the past year's fatal crashes on its own.

"They are allegedly doing their own investigation, but they're not bringing in outside organizations and independent experts," says Cantu.

NASCAR finds nothing wrong with that.

"We are conducting what we believe to be a credible process with credible people," responds George Pyne, NASCAR's senior vice president.