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Improved safety is 2002 goal

In response to Dale Earnhardt's death in a last-lap crash at the 2001 Daytona 500, several changes will make stock car racing safer for 2002.

Most of the gains have been made in the driver compartment, with the addition of head and neck support devices, five- and six-point harnesses and more rigid seats.

"I feel so much safer in there now," four-time Winston Cup champion Jeff Gordon said. "I don't feel indestructible, like you can't hurt me. But I certainly feel that if a failure happened or an accident out of my control, I would be in much better shape than before."

Safety-related changes implemented by NASCAR for 2002:

As mandated near the end of last season, all drivers must wear a head and neck restraint device. The HANS and Hutchens devices, designed to prevent violent head-whip, are approved.

A carbon fiber driver's seat designed by PPI team owner Cal Wells, who came to NASCAR last season from the Championship Auto Racing Teams open-wheel series, recently was approved. Previously, only aluminum seats were approved.

The composite seat is stronger, with bead-foam inserts that surround the head and body. Six-point harnesses mount directly to the seat. All over-the-wall pit crew members must wear helmets and fire suits. Any crew member who steps into the pit box must wear a helmet and anyone involved in fueling must wear a full-faced helmet and fire-resistant head sock. Also, over-the-wall NASCAR officials must wear helmets.

Several members of Ricky Rudd's pit crew, and one NASCAR official, were injured in a pit-road accident at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November, when there were no such regulations.

A research and development center that opened last year in Conover, N.C., has outgrown its home. A bigger facility is being built in Concord, N.C., where engineers will build and study race cars using a computer model created during the Earnhardt crash investigation.

A crash investigator was hired who will create a strict procedure to be followed after crashes. Impact-data recorders, commonly known as black boxes, will be mounted in each car to record crash data. Previously, NASCAR feared teams could use such information to gain a competitive advantage.

Three traveling medical liaisons have been hired, one each for the Winston Cup, Busch Grand National and Craftsman Truck touring series, to work in conjunction with local medical personnel at each track.

A minimum age of 18 was established for drivers, crew members and other participants in the BGN, Truck and all NASCAR Touring series. The age limit already was in place for Winston Cup.

NASCAR continues to examine the structure of its cars, hoping to make the frames less rigid. It also is working in cooperation with the Indy Racing League and outside experts to develop an energy-absorbent barrier material.

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