Saturday Practice @THR

[jracer98]

That looks like a lefthander chassis. All things considered, it performed pretty well.

Jay

[kelyd13]

To the Nauman family:

 

The love of racing keeps us chasing a dream we all love to dream. Although racing is in my opinion is one of the most dangerous sports we choose to participate in it one way or another. My first year in WOW/Roadrunner was a lucky one because I had a few mishaps that almost sent me into the wall and I still cringe at the fact that the possiblity of that happening will always be there. After viewing the pictures of H.E Nauman's wreck I can't believe that he was in the condition he was in.....it's a miracle!

 

I will keep that image in my head for a long time but in a positive way because in reality a race car is far more safer then our own personal vehicles and those pictures will be a reminder of that for me each time I climb into my race car. I will be sure to always check my safety equipment and use it accordingly.

 

I'm sure racing is in your blood so there is no doubt that you will return and when you do my prayers will be extened to you that you will always be safe. Good luck and take care.

 

Kelly Earnhardt

[fatboyracing7]

Last season at SAS James Cole hit the turn 1 wall very hard and his chin strap broke where is attaches to the side of the helmet and the helmet came off during impact. Simpson did look at many things to see what may have caused it to break but i never heard the end result. i know Simpson came to SAS afterwards to inspect all helmets and replaced a couple.

 

I am glad to hear the H.E. and the 23 driver are doing ok and widh them a speedy recovery.

[NickHolt]

Got a quick question from the pictures it looked like H wasnt wearing gloves. If he wasnt were his hands ok?

 

If he wasnt wearing them why was he allowed to go out on the track with out all the correct safety equipment?

Josh,

 

It is the driver's responsibility to insure that his/her safety equipment is on, is up to date, is functioning properly and that it has been well-maintained. It is not the track's responsibility to do that.

 

Most tracks perform a safety check before the season starts, but they do not, cannot and will not take on the liability of insuring competitors' personal safety. Those safety checks are more designed to draw the team's attention to safety items and certainly in no way guarantee a driver's safety if they "pass" the safety check.

 

Of course, a track official can prevent a competitor from going on track if they believe something is not safe. However, there is not a local track or regional series that has the expertise, manpower or resources to provide comprehensive safety inspections every time someone hits the track.

 

You may not agree with this, but it's the way it is.

 

Nick Holt

[tqj3]

Nick-

 

Good points. Most of us are aware that NASCAR didn't even mandate fire suits and helmets until after Earnhardt's death, and then only in response to negative PR from people who don't know any better. (Odd how everything has a PR component, isn't it?)

 

Richard Petty never wore gloves in a race car in his career, to my knowledge, and drivers in the early days wore pretty much what they wanted to wear. (I think Carroll Shelby may have won LeMans once wearing his signature coveralls, and I know he won some U. S. road racing events dressed that way.)

 

NASCAR didn't mandate safety gear precisely to avoid liability issues ("You made us wear XYZ helmets, and mine broke, so it's your fault.")

 

Sometimes, someone does take action. Mike Helton noted that NASCAR regs didn't even require a fire suit and such at the time of Earnhardt's death, but also said if anyone tried to go out on the track without them, NASCAR would probably revisit that issue. And NASCAR has recently "unapproved" the Hutchens device in NASCAR competition, even down to the Grand National West series.

 

The fact that the ROMCO (USRA) cars have to run restrictor plates on the oval at Texas Motor Speedway is just an acceptance of the reality that those cars aren't intended to race, or crash, at the speeds they would attain without restrictor plates on a superspeedway. That said, H. E. Naumann hit the wall a ton and a half in a modified on a short track. We're all a bit surprised he was (relatively) unhurt, but many people were also surprised that Earnhardt died in a crash that wasn't any worse than a dozen others he'd had. Weird things sometimes happen in race crashes, and all we can do is find and use the best safety equipment we can.

 

The short tracks have enough problems finding qualified people to do everything, from tech inspection and corner working to announcing and public relations, and aren't likely to have (or be able to afford) people to write and enforce safety equipment issues.

 

In the final analysis, the choice and use of safety equipment has to be up to the driver and crew. As Honda once put it in a classic ad campaign for decent motorcycle helmets, "If you have a ten-dollar head, wear a ten dollar helmet."