Doctor, Doctor: NASCAR is in the process of hiring “three or four doctors,” all specialists in trauma and emergency medicine, to care for drivers at Winston Cup races, NASCAR President Jim Hunter said Friday. In what Hunter called “a major philosophical change,” NASCAR also will hire at least four engineers to work at its new research-and-development center near Conover, N.C. “Safety is going to be the primary focus of the R&D center,” he said. NASCAR stopped short of creating a full-fledged, highly specialized, traveling medical and emergency team, such as those employed by all other major motor racing series in the world. Pressed on that issue, Hunter said, “You got your HANS,” meaning NASCAR’s mandate Wednesday of head-and-neck restraints for drivers.(Orlando Sentinel)(10-20-2001)
