Helton sets timetable UPDATE: NASCAR president Mike Helton, criticized this week for moving too slowly on safety issues, said it likely will be more than a year before there are major modifications to race cars. “I would have rather had something two years ago, but I don’t think we’ll have significant changes in the cars by 2002,” he said. Helton said NASCAR already was working on a better race car before Blaise Alexander Jr.’s fatal crash in an ARCA race Thursday. “If you have a series of critical angle impacts that cause basal skull fractures that kill drivers, then something needs to be done,” he said. “That’s what we’re doing, but it’s not an easy fix.” He said the Big Three automakers and the major race teams are working with NASCAR on safety issues. “Everybody agrees that we can massage the front ends of the cars and make them better,” Helton said. “But we need to start from scratch and manage the entire car differently than we do today and create crush areas.”(Atlanta Journal Constitution)(10-7-2001) UPDATE: NASCAR President Mike Helton said Saturday that head-and-neck restraints could become mandated if development of those systems continues to progress. “Once we’re sure that there’s not some hidden element, and we haven’t seen yet, it may need to be looked at one day to be mandated,” Helton said specifically of the HANS device. “The development has been elevated and a huge gap closed in that process through input of the drivers. Once we’re certain about it, it’s a different issue.” Helton said the HANS device has been made more comfortable and more adaptable for drivers of different sizes.(That’s Racin’)(10-8-2001)
