Your faceshield shouldn't be your eyes' first line of defense. Over the last few years it has become commonplace, but not universal, to have at least three 31/48-inch round rods welded in vertically in front of the driver. This is to provide protection from track debris.
Many of the short tracks around the country require such protection. Unfortunately, a lot of them don't. Some require an open mesh screen in front of the driver. In most cases, the screen is attached around the windshield perimeter with no backup bracing.
Well, you might say you can't protect against everything, and it would take the macho out of our sport if we did. Something like this was said about the use of rollcages many years ago, but I'll get off my soapbox for a while.
Total direct frontal protection is impossible on a short-track dirt car. Whether or not the track requires and/or enforces front protection, you should be your own guardian. I believe that having three bars in front of the driver is not sufficient. The reason is not so much for strength, but to protect against smaller projectiles, such as shock absorbers. I have seen batteries (40 to 50 pounds) fall out and get kicked up off the track. Three bars may or may not hold. I have to believe a minimum of five vertical bars and at least one horizontal bar should be used in front of the driver if there is no screen.
Screens made of coarse, 11/42-inch square mesh (sometimes called hardware cloth) are not very strong because the wire is only soldered together. A shock absorber will rip through this screen like a tornado through a wheat field. This type of screen must be backed up with vertical steel bars.
I have found old shopping cart sections with mesh openings of about 2 by 3 inches work OK. Just remember that the local authorities frown upon any unauthorized use of a shopping cart. Some wire shelving has about the same screen pattern. When using these panels you must re-weld all the joints. I like brazing for this. They are only spot-welded well enough to hold groceries. Any screen should be backed up with 31/48-inch vertical bars for support.
Now, before we go too far, let's settle one thing-visibility. Too often I have heard that the bars/screen present a visibility problem and are disruptive to the job at hand. Hogwash (or something similar)! Visibility problems are an excuse for not wanting to install the bars. The focal point of your eyes when racing is somewhat forward of the screen or bars. What this means is, your eyes look around the bars when focused on the track the same way they focus around windshield wipers on a rainy day.
So, while we are talking about bars and screens in front of the driver, what about using them on the right side of the driver? Something like a wraparound screen or shield on the right side would be good. Parts, pieces or sections of the track (known as mud) could be coming at you at an angle from the right. If you don't think this is important, you might ask standout Modified driver Kevin Larkins. He spent some sheet time after a chunk of something came through the right side of the windshield area. Even with his helmet on, he sustained injuries requiring facial reconstructive surgery that included having his jaw wired shut. Do you think this was a fluke? A year later it happened again, and almost the same way. Larkins installed a shield on his right side, and IMCA ruled it illegal. Myopic people make dumb rules. Larkins no longer races at IMCA events.
What is the solution? In my opinion, the best protection I have found is a screen. As mentioned before, a shopping cart screen or something similar will work. I suggest building something to fit your car properly and give you the protection you need.
At the Stock Car Racing Laboratory (also known as my shop), I built a screen and bars and fitted them to Stock Car Racing's rollcage dummy. This is a 'cage made of exhaust tubing, which can be cut away and changed for various projects. We have changed its configuration for mounting a seat, head and window nets, and even gauge placement. Testing the screen could be the end of this 'cage. We'll see.
Construction of the screen started with a trip to the nearby Ace Hardware. For about $30 we had all the material we needed. Our haul consisted of a 31/416-inch round rod and a 31/48-inch round rod. All the pieces were 4 feet long.
The 31/416-inch rod was used for the perimeter frame and screen. The 31/48-inch rod formed the backup and mounting chores. All of the screen's construction was brazed together. Conventional welding processes were deemed either too weak or had a tendency to burn up the joint. This led to too much inconsistency. In case you feel brazing is not strong enough, consider that for many years the tube chassis of European racing sports cars (Lotus, Lola, and so on) were brazed together.
The first step is to lay out where the screen needs to be. Make a cardboard mock-up to be sure. This can be cut, trimmed, and added back on if need be. It's cheaper to make your mistakes in cardboard rather than steel.
Begin designing the screen by measuring from the roofline to the cowl. The screen should stretch to within an inch at the cowl and to 111/42 inches at the roofline. The left side should be at least 8 inches from the center of the driver's head or to the 'cage upright. The right side should extend just past the driver's right shoulder.
Then, it should bend at a 30- to 40-degree angle toward the rear, which gives the side protection we spoke of earlier. Past this bend, the screen should extend to a point where the driver can see the end just past his right eye when he or she looks at a 45-degree angle to the right. Beyond this, the photos should take you through building a screen.