Belt Broke in BGN Race UPDATE Simpson Reacts and : A torn left lap belt was discovered in a car that wrecked in Saturday’s BGN race in Nashville, prompting NASCAR officials to advise Winston Cup and Grand National teams of that fact heading into this weekend’s races at Talladega. Mike Harmon, a driver from Alabama, broke a shoulder blade in Saturday’s crash. He said the belt suffered a three-quarter inch tear but did not come apart. “It did its job,” Harmon said. “If it hadn’t, I wouldn’t be talking to you. It definitely saved my life.” Two months ago today, seven-time Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt was killed in a wreck on the final lap of the Daytona 500. NASCAR officials announced five days later that the left lap belt in his No. 3 Chevrolet was found “separated” after that crash. Harmon said the belts in his car were manufactured by Simpson Performance Products and dated March 2000 on the label. Earnhardt’s car also had belts manufactured by the company owned by Bill Simpson. Earnhardt’s belts were dated November 2000. Simpson could not be reached for comment Tuesday. He said last week that he felt exonerated when Dr. Barry Myers, a biomedical expert from Duke University, wrote in a report on his review of Earnhardt’s autopsy that the separated belt was not a factor in Earnhardt’s death(That’s Racin’) UPDATE: Bill Simpson reacted with anger and frustration Wednesday to reports of a problem with a seat belt manufactured by his company in the BGN race on Saturday at Nashville Speedway. “NASCAR has exaggerated what happened,” Simpson said of the left lap belt in a Pontiac driven by Mike Harmon. Simpson said members of Harmon’s crew told him the driver’s belt had a quarter-inch nick on the underside and some fraying of the fabric on the edges, not a three-quarter inch tear as Harmon told The Observer on Tuesday. “Now, whenever there is a crash, my people are going to have to be there to inspect the belts,” Simpson said. “I sent out a memo this morning instructing our representatives at the track to go immediately to a car after a crash and view the belts. We haven’t done that, but it looks like we’re going to have to.”(That’s Racin’)(4-18-2001) UPDATE 2: see a story at the Tennessean: Torn seat belt in Nashville is raising more questions than answers by David Climer(4-19-2001)
