Added Protection

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 Aboard

Spencer, 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.

“For the last several months I’ve used the HANS, I haven’t had any complaints at all even though I’d heard it was uncomfortable to wear one. To me, the HANS device does feel more comfortable because it distributes the pressure around the neck and shoulders area.”

Product Descriptions

The main function of both the HANS and Hutchens devices is to limit the amount of “stretch” in the head and neck areas in the event of a crash.

The HANS utilizes a collar and yoke system constructed of carbon fiber and Kevlar. The device is worn on the upper body under the shoulder straps. It is connected to the helmet by two flexible tethers that allow normal movement of the head, but limits extreme head motions and neck loads. The HANS device requires drivers to send their helmets to Hubbard/Downing, manufacturer of the HANS, for the clip attachment to be installed.

“When you’re in a wreck, the shoulder straps hold the device to the body under high deceleration like when a car runs into a concrete wall,” says Jim Downing, president of Hubbard/Downing. “The HANS keeps your head close to the body and takes the strain off the neck because that’s what can kill a person.

“The HANS device takes the load around the head and neck areas way down below the injury threshold and gives you a chance to get back in a spare car and race again instead of laying up in the hospital or even worse.”

The Hutchens device is a system of straps worn outside of the driver’s suit tethered with a quick-release mechanism attached to D-rings on the helmet and a positive anchor point that attaches into the seatbelt. One movement releases the harness to ensure a quick escape in the event of a fire. The Hutchens device comes with hardware and instructions for self-assembly.

Bobby Hutchens, general manager at Richard Childress Racing, came up with the idea for the safety product that carries his name.

“For all practical purposes, both companies (Hutchens and HANS) have the same goal of reducing head and neck injuries among drivers,” Hutchens says. “To me personally, it’s a situation of where I don’t care whether they wear the Hutchens or the HANS, just as long as they wear one of them. All the parts and pieces of the harness are something all the racers have seen and are familiar with. With the Hutchens, we’re trying to get the tension in those tethers going to the helmet before the head actually starts to go forward in the event of a wreck.”

Price Of Safety

In the months following Earnhardt’s death at Daytona, both manufacturers have put a tremendous amount of overtime into making sure supply meets demand. Another important factor has been making the devices affordable for local Friday- and Saturday-night racers.

The most affordable of the restraints is the Hutchens with a price tag of $300. The HANS device costs $1,275.

“Next year we will begin to get the price down significantly lower than what it is right now,” Downing vows. “The reason for that is the guys that can’t afford a HANS are the ones who need it the most.”

Smith says the HANS is well worth the money.

“I’d do it all over again,” Smith says. “If I can spend that kind of money and increase my safety by almost 50 percent, it’s really not worth the risk to not use those kinds of devices. But the cost factor probably does come into play. If they had the HANS and the Hutchens on a shelf at all the short tracks across the country and they were free, I guarantee you 75 percent of the racers would wear them.”

Sammons says the price really shouldn’t matter. “When it comes to safety, that’s something you can’t put a price tag on,” he says. “Then again, racers always want to put that money elsewhere to make their cars run better. I wouldn’t get back in the car without something like the Hutchens because I feel so much more secure with it on. I actually forgot to put the Hutchens on not too long ago, and I actually got out of the car during the national anthem and put it on. So to me, it’s a priority.”

A Safer Future

You don’t have to look too hard to find one of the devices at short tracks, whether paved or dirt.

“We’d heard about those things before Earnhardt was killed and tossed around the idea of using something like the HANS,” says Mike Johnson Sr., who wears the HANS device while competing on Saturday nights at a short track in Winston, Missouri. “Once Earnhardt was killed we knew it was well worth the money if it helped with safety. It took us about three months to get one, and I’ve used it ever since. In fact, I hit the wall backward at about 115-120mph and walked away. If I hadn’t have had the HANS, I would have been hurt. It works.”

If there is a testament to the high-profile deaths that rocked stock car racing the last two seasons, it’s that the sport’s losses have not gone in vain. From a Winston Cup champion such as Gordon to the grass roots drivers who just race to have fun on the weekend, many drivers have focused on the need for better head and neck protection.

“A lot of people took a look and started brainstorming last year after what happened at New Hampshire,” Hutchens says in reference to the deaths of Adam Petty and Kenny Irwin at the Loudon track. “At the first of this year, I don’t know whether we were far enough along to really understand where we were at with it. Then when February rolled around and things happened like they did, people started paying attention to those types of things. If it wasn’t for Dale’s unfortunate accident, I don’t think the awareness of the head and neck restraints would be where we’re at today.”