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Earnhardt Jr. approves report

Everything that (the experts) believe and have found was real consistent with my beliefs and understandings."

By JOANNE KORTH

© St. Petersburg Times,
published August 23, 2001

Dale Earnhardt Jr. didn't go so far as to say, "I told you so."

But the day after NASCAR announced that a separated seat belt played a role in his father's fatal crash on the last lap of the Daytona 500 in February, Earnhardt Jr. felt secure in his understanding of the events.

He always did.

"Everything that (the experts) believe and have found was real consistent with my beliefs and understandings," said Earnhardt Jr., who maintained the torn left lap belt was a factor even after court-appointed medical examiner Barry Myers of Duke University concluded in April that the belt, broken or not, did not play a role.

"The family's very content with everything that has been done and how it's been handled. I'm real satisfied with how NASCAR handled it. I think they did a great job. They've been scrutinized for being secretive about everything, but they handled it in a respectful manner."

A team of independent experts hired by the sanctioning body presented Tuesday their conclusion that Dale Earnhardt died of a basilar skull fracture caused by a blow to the back of his head. A combination of factors, including the broken lap belt, caused the fatal injury, with no one factor solely responsible.

Earnhardt Jr., attending a promotional event Wednesday at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina, was upbeat and accommodating in answering questions about the report and safety issues.

He will continue to use an occupant restraint system manufactured by Simpson Performance Products, the same company that made his father's belts, but is not happy with Simpson's racing suits because they shrink.

"I'm going to switch to a different manufacturer for the uniforms next season, but seat belt-wise, Simpson's are the only belts that I know of that I've ever used. ... I still feel comfortable with them."

Earnhardt Jr. also will continue to wear a Hutchens device, a head-and-neck safety system designed by a member of Richard Childress Racing. He used it for the first time last weekend in Michigan at the urging of fellow drivers. Of the 43 drivers in the race, 41 wore some type of head restraint system.

Earnhardt Jr. experienced some discomfort with the Hutchens, which is less restrictive than the HANS system. Fearing the helmet straps were too tight and might pull the helmet off his head in a crash, Earnhardt Jr. felt better after adjusting the straps during the rain delay.

With regard to the lengthy report released Tuesday, Earnhardt was not surprised by any of the findings.

In explaining the biomechanics of the accident, Dr. James Raddin said Earnhardt's head was thrust down and to the right and his helmet pushed forward on his head during a right-side impact from the No. 36 car driven by Ken Schrader.

Milliseconds later, the lap belt broke upon impact with the wall, pitching Earnhardt farther forward and to the right.

As his body rebounded to the left, the exposed lower left portion of his head struck either the rim of the steering wheel or the back of the seat, or both, causing the fatal skull fracture.

"I pretty much knew everything, or had figured it out for myself," he said. "I don't know if you can ever say you move on, but it puts a lot of stuff behind us."

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