Nascar Crashes

As the sport saw more NASCAR crashes interrupt races, and hurt both drivers and fans, it was forced to implement new measures to increase safety. No matter how much fans claim to like crashes and dislike change, NASCAR had to do something to protect people. Presented for your approval are some well known NASCAR crashes and the way they impacted NASCAR.

No crash had more impact on NASCAR, the drivers and fans, than the horrible event that ended Dale Earnhardt’s life during the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. At the time Earnhardt was the sport which had never lost such an important figure in the prime of his life and career. As expected NASCAR fans reacted in a huge way – showing their love for the fallen hero and their concern over the tragedy.

But the event meant a lot more to NASCAR than fan reaction or new merchandise based on the fallen racing saint. Racing safety and NASCAR’s attitude towards it were forever changed by this, the worst of all NASCAR crashes. Three important changes resulted:

- HANS – Head and Neck Support – devices became mandatory in every car.

- Steel and Foam Energy Reduction (SAFER) soft barriers replaced hard concrete walls around tracks.

- Research and development of the Car of Tomorrow sped up greatly.

When a driver slammed his Car of Tomorrow into a SAFER barrier while qualifying for the Samsung 500 at the Texas Motor Speedway, the new measures had a severe test. It was a rousing success as, thanks to COT and SAFER, the driver was uninjured despite having what was considered one of the hardest impacts in the history of NASCAR.

Now the lost drivers of the past could be remembered for helping to protect the drivers of the present with new safety measures resulting from tragedy. The success, however, led to a bad effect – overconfidence that now no crash would be harmful.

The science of crashing is a key to survival. In 1993 Rusty Wallace had his car take off into the air not once, but twice – at Talladega and Daytona. Momentum means energy, which was lost with each turn the car took in the air. Injuries wouldn’t be severe as long as the driver wasn’t crushed as he was protected by the safety cage – which is what happened both times for Wallace.

Try finding more about NASCAR crashes and the safety features that help drivers survive them with an online search.

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