PPI Motorsports to introduce extra safety measures for team and crew

[KC]

In an effort to keep his drivers and crew from facing serious injuries Cal Wells III has added the following safety equipment to his team.

1. Drivers Ricky Craven and Andy Houston will use the latest generation of HANS head and neck support device to help prevent neck injuries in the event of a crash.

2. The drivers will also be held in place by a six-point racing harness replacing the traditional five point harness. An extra belt has been added around the upper chest to further support the shoulder belts and help keep the driver locked into the seat. It is believed that the shoulder belts contributed to Bobby Labonte's shoulder blade injury along with the angle of the impact in his crash. The upper chest belt will lower the point loading on the shoulders.

3. The drivers will also employ custom-formed foam bead seat liners used in most open-wheel cars to further protect the driver from impacts in the racing seat.

4. The cars are being equipped with foot activated kill switches and a cable-linkage throttle return to give the driver a chance to correct a hung throttle.

5. The crew will be wearing driver-style fire retardent Nomex suits used by the drivers to help eliminate burns as seen with Matt Kenseth's crew last year.

6. All over-the-wall crew will wear wide visor helmets to protect their heads in the event of a pit crash. The helmets feature a full face shield with a wide view opening to give the crew full peripheral vision.

Its good to see some of the safety gear making it in NASCAR. No one wants to see a driver or crewman get injured if some safety gear can help.

[Joe Fan]

I think the HANS device is something that NASCAR should adopt immediately but it appears that they want more info and feedback before making them mandatory. Foot activated kill switches have already been used for awhile by Rusty Wallace.