The high-profile deaths of drivers in stock car racing's top levels hasn't been lost on the folks who compete each week on short tracks throughout the nation. Many short-track drivers have started using head and neck restraint systems.
It may be a case of fear, or just common sense, but products such as the HANS (Head and Neck Support) and Hutchens devices are showing up at more short tracks.
"There are so many racers out there who've said, 'It's not going to happen to me,'" says Winston Cup driver Jimmy Spencer. "When it happened to Dale Earnhardt, it made a whole lot of Friday- and Saturday-night racers take a different look at the situation, because so many people looked up to him.
"If you put a head and neck restraint on, it's not going to save your life in every type of wreck, but it's one of the things that can save injuries and possibly save lives."
The American Speed Association, which competes on short tracks throughout the nation, is among the latest of the sanctioning bodies to require drivers to wear a head and neck restraint system. ASA drivers, beginning in 2002, will have to use either the HANS or Hutchens device.
Winston Cup Series driver Jeff Gordon-who wears the HANS device-says he hopes to see the trend continue among short-track racers.
"I feel like the local racers do pay a lot of attention and watch very closely, and they do look up to the Winston Cup drivers and teams to see how they go about doing things," Gordon says. "That's very important with safety because what they've seen lately in the areas of head and neck restraints has been very positive."
Jumping AboardSpencer, at first, was reluctant to wear such a device, but family and friends persuaded him to use something.
"I used to be against wearing something like that because I'd raced all my life without one," Spencer says. "It's hard to break somebody from habits they've had all their life, and I was one of them. I felt like I had been in enough accidents to where I didn't need it. Then, the first weekend I wore the Hutchens at Darlington, I got hit from behind and slapped the wall very hard. I was glad I had it on because I felt like it helped to hold my head in place.
"The Hutchens device is an inexpensive device every short-track racer should wear. I know when I was growing up racing on short tracks I used to really look up to and admire the Winston Cup drivers. Now that I'm in that position, I do feel like short-track drivers need to wear something-whether it's the Hutchens or the HANS."
Spencer's wishes haven't gone unnoticed.
"Local Friday- and Saturday-night racers don't have the time or finances of a Winston Cup team," says Danny Sammons, a competitor in the USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series who wears the Hutchens device. "So when it comes to new safety devices, we do look up to the Winston Cup driver, and we try and learn from what they're doing to make things safer for ourselves. Those guys are the best in the business, and if it's good enough for them, we need to be looking in the same areas of safety. All of the head and neck devices are good deals and really simple to use. It's easy, economical and comfortable. That's the reason why I'm wearing one now."
Jason Smith, a Late Model competitor in the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series at the half-mile San Antonio Speedway, prefers the HANS.
"I had the idea of wearing the HANS device in the back of my mind because I knew we needed to do something in the head and neck area," Smith says. "Even though I race at a half-mile track, some of the wrecks can be pretty hard. I actually didn't get my HANS until late-June, and I've been wearing it ever since. As far as how I like it, I really don't have any complaints. It does affect your downward mobility and side-to-side head movement a little bit, so you've definitely got to have more confidence in what the spotter is saying.