NASCAR on Monday tried to figure out why Kyle Busch’s HANS device cracked during a spectacular crash at Talladega Superspeedway. Busch wrecked in Saturday’s Busch Series event, when he was hit from behind and his car ended up on its roof before rolling several times through the grass. His HANS device, a NASCAR-mandated head-and-neck restraint system, cracked in the accident. “It performed the way it was supposed to, but it had a slight stress crack in it after the accident,” NASCAR spokesman Kerry Tharp said. NASCAR sent the device back to manufacturer Hubbard Downing in Georgia for examination.(Associated Press)(5-1-2007) UPDATE: Officials from HANS Performance Products downplayed the crack found in Kyle Busch’s HANS Device after a spectacular crash in the Busch race last weekend at Talladega. After the crash, a crack was found in the head-and-neck restraint that is worn on a driver’s shoulders and has a carbon fiber piece that sits behind the helmet. “We were pleased to see Kyle shrug off such a dramatic wreck,” HANS Performance Products CEO Mark Stiles said in a statement. “It takes a lot to even produce a slight stress crack in a HANS Device. It worked as designed, and was ready for more action – like its driver.” The device is made primarily of carbon fiber, a high-strength, lightweight material. It was not revealed how large the crack was. General Motors Director of Safety Tom Gideon said he did not know where the HANS Device cracked, but with Busch walking away, he wasn’t alarmed.(SceneDaily.com)(5-1-2007) UPDATE 2: Kyle Bush tried, but failed, to break his HANS Device in a “big-one” at this past weekend’s Busch Series race at Talladega. Kyle gets to walk away and race another day, thanks to the safety systems in his car, and the HANS Device he wears in every race. Three years of use and abuse, then one huge front-end wall hit, 8-barrel rolls, 2 spins on his roof, and a body slam have failed to break the HANS Device. The only injury was to his HANS Device – As James Bond might have said, “cracked, not broken.” HANS Performance Products CEO Mark Stiles commented, “We were pleased to see Kyle shrug off such a dramatic wreck. It takes a lot to even produce a slight stress crack in a HANS Device. It worked as designed, and was ready for more action – like its driver!” He continued, “HANS Devices are the only head and neck restraints built to the strength standards demanded in all major international race series. While other manufacturers are content with simply meeting the requirements of the SFI 38.1 performance specification, we go the extra mile. It just makes sense.” Inventor of the HANS Device, Professor Bob Hubbard added, “Since we introduced the first HANS Device more than 20 years ago, we have focused our research and development on providing racers with robust and reliable products. Wrecks like Kyle’s confirm the value of this investment. Having over 35,000 HANS Devices in use worldwide means we get a lot of feedback on how they work, time and time again, to help save lives and livelihoods.” Details and information about HANS Performance Products at hansdevice.com.(HANS Performance Products PR)(5-3-2007)
