Tony Stewart is about to start wearing a HANS device while racing. Stewart was the last Winston Cup holdout before NASCAR made it mandatory in October 2001 for drivers to wear head and neck restraints in the aftermath of Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s death from head injuries in 2001. Because he is claustrophobic, Stewart chose to wear the less-constrictive Hutchens Device, which uses belts and straps, rather than the Head And Neck Support, a collar that restricts mobility. But that is about to change. “We’re still wearing the Hutchens,” Stewart said. “But we recently have been working with the HANS device at test sessions, trying to get more comfortable with it. Test results that we’ve seen have shown a pretty big discrepancy as far as HANS vs. Hutchens.” The biggest problem in the switch remains comfort. “We’re trying to see what we can do to make it comfortable to wear,” Stewart said. “Kind of the same things we had to do with the Hutchens. It took time to get comfortable with it. We’re taking the opportunity during test sessions to try to fabricate cars with the HANS device and trying to make it more comfortable for me.”( Tampa Tribune )(7-5-2003)
