DAYTONA BEACH - In the wake of fiery crashes over the past two months, NASCAR said Wednesday all vehicles in its three top series soon will have a fire-extinguishing cylinder in the fuel cell area.
Winston Cup drivers Ken Schrader, Dale Jarrett, Ryan Newman and Bobby Labonte were forced to scramble from burning cars.
The requirement goes into effect for the Winston Cup, Busch and Craftsman Truck series beginning Aug.13. But NASCAR was recommending teams adopt the change immediately.
"We've been working diligently on fire prevention and fire containment at the NASCAR Research and Development Center over the last few months," said Gary Nelson, head of the R&D operation. "After researching and testing various systems, we felt this was the most viable one for containment of potential fires coming from the fuel cell area."
With this system, the extinguisher releases Halon, a proven fire suppressant, in the area of the blaze. Halon is a liquefied compressed gas that stops the spread of fire by chemically disrupting combustion.
It will be an automatic system but also will have an override from the driver-activated system already located in cockpit.
NASCAR also enhanced its requirements and specifications for the on-board driver system as well as the fuel-cell vent area.
In a related project, NASCAR will conduct a test of its alternate exit, known as the roof hatch, Aug.6. The Midwest Roadside Facility in Lincoln, Neb., will conduct a crash test that will simulate a rollover-type accident.
Nelson said a successful test could lead to a recommendation of the safety component by NASCAR to teams in the Cup and Busch series.
NASCAR NEWBIE AT THE GLEN: Add another ringer to the Winston Cup field at Watkins Glen International. Canadian Scott Maxwell, one of the world's top sports car racers, will drive the No.43 Dodge of Petty Enterprises on Aug.10 in New York. He replaces Christian Fittipaldi, who will drive the No.44 Dodge in the Sirius at The Glen.
Maxwell won this year's 24-hour race at Daytona in the Prototype class in February.
"I've never even attended a NASCAR Winston Cup race before," Maxwell said. "But to actually be competing in one is really exciting."
Maxwell won at Daytona and Le Mans and is the 2002 Grand Am Cup series champion. He set a track record at Watkins Glen in the Motorola Cup North American Street Stock Championship series in 1999. He now drives in the Grand Am and American Le Mans series.
STILL NO VEGAS FOR IRL: Talks between Las Vegas Motor Speedway and the IRL to get the track back on the IndyCar Series schedule in 2004 were called off. The IRL, which began competition in 1996, ran at LVMS through the 2000 season.
