NASCAR May Be a Dangerous Sport but Safety Has Come a long way!
Top ways NASCAR has become safer
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Dale Earnhardt Sr. ‘s death at the 2001 Daytona 500 in Daytona Beach, Florida. This tragedy was a significant loss to the whole racing community, but it was the start of the safety enhancements in NASCAR. Whether it be NASCAR, IndyCar, or dirt racing, the racing circuit is a dangerous sport with vehicles exceeding 220 miles per hour while racing inches away from the wall and other drivers.
Imagine driving down your local streets at speeds of 100 miles per hour, and all of a sudden, a tire blows out, and you lose control. What protections do you have? Seat belts, airbags, and possible side airbags? Now imagine racing at speeds more than 200 miles per hour, three cars wide, on a fifty-foot-wide track, or even on dirt, and the same thing happens. There are no protections manufactured in Detroit that can protect your body from severe harm, however since Dale Earnhardt’s death, NASCAR had done this and led other racing circuits.
Motorsport racing is a dangerous sport, possibly the most dangerous sport. In NASCAR Series, drivers are racing cars that weigh more than 3,000 pounds speeding around the track at about 200 miles per hour. Under such conditions, there are going to be crashes. The purpose of the safety equipment in NASCAR vehicles is to minimize the harm caused when one or more of these cars veers out of control. Safety equipment can be found in the car’s design and structure, the driver’s apparel, and the safer barriers installed at all the racetracks.
There are three parts to the structure of a race car: front clip, rear clip, and the middle section, and each is designed with safety in mind. The front and rear
clips are built from the thinner steel tubing to crush when the car hits another car or the wall. The middle section, called the roll cage, is designed to be strong enough to maintain its integrity during a crash, thereby protecting the driver.
Another safety device is the seat. The seat has several important jobs, it must keep the driver inside the roll cage, it must keep the driver from contacting anything hard during the crash, and it must absorb some of the energy of the collision by bending with the impacts. The design of the seat protects the rib cage and shoulders of the drivers. In the past, several deaths occurred when drivers, still in their seats, were thrown from cars. To eliminate the driver from being launched, NASCAR rules now require that the seats be attached, at several points, directly to the tubular structure.
A third safety improvement is the seat belts, called a five-point harness. Unlike the family car, whereby seat belts are designed to stretch during a crash, the seat belts in a NASCAR vehicle are more rigid and are designed to hold the driver tightly in his seat, therefore his body slows down with the car.
Two straps come down over the driver’s shoulders, two straps wrap around his waist, and one comes up between his legs, all connecting in the middle.
The HANS device, or Head and Neck Safety device, is equipment to protect the driver’s neck from whiplash, which may cause breaking their neck in a crash. If this device were installed in Dale Earnhardt Sr. ‘s car, his neck would not have been broken, and it might have saved his life.
Two flexible tethers, or straps, on the collar are attached to the helmet, coupled to the seat back and the seat belt. This is to prevent the head from snapping forward or side to side during a wreck. After Dale Earnhardt Sr’s death, this device was mandated to be installed in all racing vehicles.
At speeds of 200 miles per hour, NASCAR vehicles tend to get airborne and flip on their roof. Today, when a car spins out on the track, it is prevented from rolling or spinning in the air thanks to roof flaps.
NASCAR developed a set of flaps that are recessed into pockets on the roof of the car. The roof flaps extend and keep the car on the ground as it spins; thus, allowing the skidding tires to scrub off some of the speed, hopefully allowing the driver to regain control.
Perhaps the most recognizable piece of NASCAR racing gear is the drivers’ suit which is covered with patches of the team’s sponsors. While most of us think of this suit as a walking billboard, it is quite essential for the driver’s safety. This suit is made up of a flame retardant material to protect the driver in a fire up to 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit.
Since 2001 there have been ZERO deaths in NASCAR, which indicates the testament to NASCAR’s safety.