NASCAR drivers could be riding in cars equipped with roof exits before the end of this season. Gary Nelson, NASCAR’s managing director of competition, said recent developments have put the roof hatch program on the fast track. “We made a big step in the last week or so,” Nelson said. “What we hope to have happen is to make it optional [for teams] very soon.” Nelson said the hatch will open from several directions, allowing drivers to escape no matter how the car lands after a crash. He also said the hatch, which is designed to be easily operated by rescue workers as well as drivers, could be used for routine entry and exit from the car. “One of our engineers said that if we get this thing right, it’ll be so slick that a lot of drivers will just put one foot on the door and jump through the top,” he said. Nelson also is working on energy-absorbing materials that can be placed between the door bars and the sheet metal on the driver’s side door. That would offer protection in crashes like Jerry Nadeau’s at Richmond and Kyle Petty’s at Bristol. In those wrecks, the driver’s door slammed squarely into the wall, creating the highest impact readings since NASCAR began equipping cars with “black box” impact data recorders. “They were just flush hits, and we haven’t seen many like that,” Nelson said. “That got us stirred up to where we’re putting a lot of resources into that area.”( Atlanta Journal-Constitution ), see past news about this on my Safety Page.(5-18-2003)
