NASCAR Safety 20 Years Later

February 18th, 2001 was considered a good race. Michael Waltrip wins his first ever race at Daytona, winning the 500. First race on Fox. Competitive, big wrecks. That was until medical staff had to take a driver to the local hospital. By evening, news had poured that Dale Earnhardt was dead. What turned into something great became one of the darkest NASCAR moments that overshadows the race. The legend was killed in the last lap crash via basilar skull fracture. For the sport, a push was made to ensure safety. It wouldn't be until the fall that mandates would be enforced due to a death on an ARCA track.

To understand the issue, you have to go back to the year prior. Before that, we also have to go back to 1994. Several deaths occurred at Daytona, including a friend of Earnhardt's, Neil Bonnett. Similar injuries was what killed him. A scare happened with Ernie Irvan at Michigan during a practice. Luckily, he survived, but it took over a year to recover. Ironic is him winning at that track in 1997. But you get to 2000, you see newcomers succumb to those injuries. First was Adam Petty, a 19 year old who had an issue with his car and crashed head on at New Hampshire. That led to kill switches, especially when Kenny Irwin Jr. died at the same track a couple of months later.

This was becoming a concern for drivers, Earnhardt included. What can be done to improve safety for them and the cars? One was the HANS device, Head and Neck Support. Jack Roush was in huge support of it, but not all drivers were convinced. Some didn't think it would help and that it would make it worse. Even after Tony Roper's death in the fall of 2000, it still wasn't convincing. But with Earnhardt's death, it got a lot of teams filled with worry. That's why NASCAR has worked on so much over the last 20 years of making sure there isn't another death on the track. It wouldn't be permanent for the device until October 2001 with Blaise Alexander's death on an ARCA track.

The proof is in the pudding. No deaths for the Cup series since 01. Some close encounters, though. Last year with Ryan Newman. Broken body parts such as Kyle Busch in 2015 and Aric Almirola in 2017. Formula 1 has suffered deaths, but that's more of the open cars and debris if there's crashes and several other oddities. Not saying that's the only reason, but there's more factors than crashing. Too little, too late for that time, but it has paved a better future. As long as NASCAR is focused on making races exciting yet protective, they will still exist for a long time.