Dateline: 08/29/01

People have now had a chance to review and digest the NASCAR report on the death of Dale Earnhardt. I'm sure many people have their own opinions of this report, as do I, but this isn't the place to take up time talking about what I think. The important thing to remember is that Dale Earnhardt's death prompted one of the most comprehensive studies of stock car safety in history and hopefully its findings will help to prevent tragedies such as this from happening again.

One of the things that impressed me most about the report was the continued refusal by NASCAR officials to mandate the safety recommendations that are mentioned in the report. While driver individuality and freedom must be considered, so must their safety. When weighed on the scales of life, it is much more important to protect the drivers than to make them more comfortable or cater to their whims. This even goes for the late Dale Earnhardt. Had he been forced by NASCAR rules to wear a head and neck restraining device, full face helmet, and other items mentioned in the report, he might still be with us and the report would be a moot point.

Many people are contributing to the search for safety on the NASCAR circuit. Among one of the most active is Humpy Wheeler. His "Humpy Bumper", as it has been dubbed, is one of the most innovative devices I've heard of in a long time, and in my opinion should be implemented as a mandated safety item by NASCAR as soon as the testing results are in. This bumper is designed to disperse the impact in an accident, therefore reducing the danger to the driver.

In testing at Lowes Motor Speedway, everyone seemed to agree that the new bumper design was a success. According to Randy LaJoie, "That's the first time I've ever seen a car slam into a wall like that and suffer as little damage as it did. I don't know what a casket costs, but whatever those cost has got to be cheaper." To me this sounds like the new design was a hit among those present at the tests.

Now NASCAR has to approve the new bumper for installation. According to Wheeler, "It's up to NASCAR from here. They'll look at what we have and either say, 'We like it, go ahead and start manufacturing it' or, 'We'd like for you to look at it further with some more tests.' Ideally, they'll like it and we can get it on the cars as soon as possible."

It seems to me that this change would be one that could easily be mandated by NASCAR. Just as they set the size for restrictor plates, spoiler angles, and overall weight, this new bumper could be made a part of the requirements for all cars. This isn't a case of driver comfort, personal preference or any of the many reasons that drivers don't always follow the latest safety tips. This is a purely mechanical/structural change and would not affect the performance of any one car more than others, since all would be required to use it. Once it is on all Winston Cup and Busch cars, refinements could be made to customize the bumper as a part of the aero package that NASCAR has developed.

Whatever NASCAR ends up doing, one thing is certain. Humpy Wheeler has developed something that may eventually transcend the speedway and become a part of passenger car design, therefore helping to make the roads safer for everyone. Racing has always taken the lead in safety that transferred to the street. Here is another example where that transfer could take place, if NASCAR has the foresight to make this move now.