Simpson to return? Bill Simpson retired from the racing products company that bears his name last summer, when the controversy over the separated lap belt found in the wreckage of Dale Earnhardt’s fatal accident was at its height. But according to driver Rusty Wallace, a friend of Simpson’s, the safety pioneer might be ready to get back in the game. “He’s ramping up a little bit right now to get back in business,” Wallace said. “I’m pleading with him to get back in business. He was really mad at the world for a long time. I know he’s one of the experts out there. I expect Bill in another four or five months to come out with a new line of safety equipment, uniforms, helmets, shoes and the whole thing. As soon as that happens, I’m putting it right on.” Simpson’s company manufactured the belt that separated in Earnhardt’s crash, setting off a debate over whether the belt was installed improperly or failed on its own. He earned a degree of vindication over the offseason, when NASCAR mandated that all belts must be installed according to manufacturer’s instructions. “The thing that really killed him is that one of his best friends was Dale Earnhardt,” Wallace said. “And he was taking all that wrath with people telling him his product was bad, and it wasn’t. He and Dale drank beer together and hung out together. They loved each other. He wore everything Simpson had.”(Charleston Post and Courier)(1-27-2002)
