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Recommended reading NASCAR rule book leaves a lot to interpretation
By Mike Fish, CNNSI.com To judge the emphasis placed on safety by NASCAR, you need just flip through the 2001 edition of the Winston Cup rule book, and see how it stacks up to those published by rival sanctioning bodies. The other governing bodies tend to require things related to safety. The NASCAR way is to put the onus squarely on the driver and recommend or encourage, rather than matter-of-factly mandate. "NASCAR recommends a lot more than requires," said John Melvin, a biomechanical engineer and an occasional consultant to the sanctioning body. Others are less kind, referring to the Winston Cup rule book as an advisory pamphlet. And for sure, it's unfair comparing the 3,400-pound Winston Cup cars to the sleek open-wheel racers of Formula One, CART and the Indy Racing League. But it should be open season when it comes to things germane to racing safety -- like the standards required for drivers' helmets, how long safety belts can be used before replacement is required and whether the sanctioning body pays to have full-time medical and safety teams.
Consider these key safety issues:
Driver HelmetsIf you take it to an extreme, Jimmy Spencer could show up with something off the shelf of his car sponsor, Kmart. The NASCAR rule book devotes a sentence to helmets, saying only it's recommended they meet specifications of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard Regulations or American National Standards Institute -- both considerably less stringent than the SA Standard Snell Sticker or SFI 31-2 certification required by the other racing bodies. Both CART and the IRL also require the director of safety or medical personnel inspect the helmets -- and full-face helmets are a must. Bill Simpson, founder of the company that has supplied helmets to racers for three decades, said NASCAR drivers take it upon themselves to wear top-of-the-line helmets, though questioning why the sanctioning body fails to require the tougher Snell standard. "The standards should all call for a minimum of a Snell certified helmet, or what Snell calls a special application so it is made specifically for motor sports," Simpson said. "The [federal] standard is quite different than the Snell. It's the bare minimum. On the first impact they're wonderful and the second impact they're marginal." As for the issue of drivers continuing to wear an open-face helmet, it's a split decision within the sanctioning bodies. Only CART and the IRL require a full-face mask. "That's always been a great debate, and it's up to the driver," said Jim Hunter, a NASCAR vice president. "I've heard drivers who use the open-face say they can't see as good or they lose their touch when they put on the full-face helmet." Others think it is shortsighted. "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that with those guys sitting so close to the steering wheels that a full-face helmet is a minimum you should do to keep your teeth in," said open-wheel car owner Derrick Walker, one-time Formula One chief mechanic and CART team general manager. Seat BeltsWhen it comes to telling drivers how to wear and properly mount their belts, NASCAR rules say very little. The requirements are that the minimum allowable width for shoulder harnesses is three inches and that seat belts must not be used beyond five years. The other racing bodies delve into considerably more requirements along with detailing the proper use and mounting of belts. Formula One, alone, sets aside 72 pages dealing with its safety harness standards -- almost the entire size of the Winston Cup guide.
CART rules specify a minimum tensile strength of 8,000 pounds (loop test), and state the seat belt: "Must be worn in such a manner that it passes around the pelvic area at a point below the anterior superior iliac spine. Under no condition may it be worn over the area of the intestines or abdomen." The IRL requires that belts be replaced after two years, while CART says three years. NASCAR and Formula don't allow belts to be used beyond five years. "The life span is important because ultra violet light severely affects nylon webbing," explained Simpson, his former company a major supplier of racing belts. "It is nylon, unlike would you have in your automobile. So, if it gets ultra violet light on it, it can lose a lot of strength after about two years. We find that if it's been exposed to sun light a lot that the breaking strength, for example on a three-inch piece of webbing, will go from 9,000 pounds down to about 5,000 or 6,000 pounds. "It's like if you take a T-shirt out in sunlight for four or five days, pretty soon it will come apart on you." Engineering manager David Funnell of Autoliv, one of the largest manufacturers of safety restraint systems, acknowledged nylon belts weaken, though refusing to address a specific time frame. "Nylon is pretty resistant to heat, but it will degrade over time with sun exposure," Funnell said. "It loses about half of its strength and it starts to flatten out ... and it's more susceptible to breaking under load."
Full-time Medical/Safety TeamsIf a driver suffers post-concussion syndrome or comes down with a sinus infection, a doctor with another of the sanctioning bodies is likely to hear about it. That's not true in NASCAR. It's the only sanctioning body that fails to employ a medical director or safety chief. NASCAR puts the burden for medical and safety needs on racetracks, so physicians who know nothing about their medical histories often attend to drivers. To help address the concern, NASCAR may hire a medical liaison that would travel the circuit and coordinate coverage with local medical staffs. "My personal biggest beef is that we don't have a traveling safety or medical team in NASCAR," said Mark McArdle, lead engineer for Cal Well's PPI Motorsports and a former open-wheeler. "In my mind, that one is reprehensible today. Steve Olvey is virtually the family doctor for all CART drivers. Henry Bock is for IRL. Sidney Watkins is for the F-1 drivers. "You got your models in place, and it doesn't cost a lot of money." Olvey said CART budgets $1 million annually for its medical team, and its traveling equipment cost an additional $1.5 million. The cost shouldn't be an obstacle for NASCAR, after recently signing a $2.4 billion TV deal. Head and Neck Restraint SystemsIn recent months, NASCAR has encouraged drivers to wear head and neck restraint systems -- particularly in light of four driver deaths linked to basal skull fractures. But it hasn't required usage, and isn't planning to any time soon. Since the season-opening Daytona 500 crash that killed Earnhardt, more than 75 percent of Winston Cup drivers use some kind of head and neck restraint device. CART mandates use of the device on the oval circuit and plans to add road courses next year. The system is also to be required by Formula One next year. "People don't like to change and they won't do it," Olvey said. "You need requirements. You'll get drivers say, 'We don't want NASCAR to set up rules and regulate [safety].' But that is an ignorant statement." The NASCAR position is that it's better to "highly recommend" use of a head and neck restraint system, while at the same time bringing in medical and safety experts to advise drivers on the advantages. Hunter said: "[NASCAR president] Mike Helton met with the drivers and owners up in Richmond, and at a meeting he said, 'Look guys, the experts say you're better off with a head and neck restraint system. I know one size doesn't fit all, but the experts believe it is safer. If you have any questions call Dr. Melvin or [Robert] Hubbard.'"
Accident Data RecorderNASCAR officials have shied away from electronic gizmos, fearing that if computerized crash recorders were allowed, teams would use the devices to conceal high-tech methods of cheating. Officials go so far as to impose a minimum $5,000 fine to anyone caught with an electronic recording device in their car. But officials are rethinking the policy, and it appears likely to change as soon as next season. The other sanctioning bodies already require that data recorders be on-board. "It would be very useful for NASCAR," Melvin said. "It might have explained some things in the crashes we have seen. We've learned lot about the way Indy racing cars crash. So there is a lot of knowledge to be gained, and it's quicker and less expensive than crash testing cars."
Fire SafetyWant to light up a cigarette along pit row? No problem with the NASCAR crowd, whose rules don't prohibit smoking around the flammable fuel in the pits. Officials say they leave it up to the individual tracks, but it's common to see smoking in the pits -- in some cases, even with uniformed team members. Other sanctioning bodies have strict rules against smoking in the pits. "Smoking in the pits -- you're kidding," Olvey said. "That's extremely dangerous around gasoline." That's hardly the only issue where NASCAR and other racing bodies are at odds. NASCAR doesn't require drivers wear a fire resistant suit or gloves, only recommending. Nor is it mandatory to have a fire extinguisher in the pits -- though most recognize it's good sense. And there's no requirement that pit crew members wear fire resistant suits or a helmet.
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