CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A partially torn seat belt made by the same company as the one worn by Dale Earnhardt when he was killed was found in a NASCAR Busch Series car after a wreck in which the driver was injured.

NASCAR officials found the torn belt in Mike Harmon's car after Saturday's crash at Nashville that left him with a cracked shoulder blade, said Kevin Triplett, director of operations for NASCAR.

NASCAR confiscated the entire restraint system for further investigation after Saturday's accident, Triplett said.

"We found a partial tear of the belt that concerns us enough that we are looking into it thoroughly," Triplett said Wednesday.

The left lap belt sustained a half-inch tear and fraying in the area of the belt near the metal buckle used to adjust the size. It did not break apart in the wreck, Harmon said by telephone from his home in Alabama.

"If it came apart, I'd be in a lot worse shape," Harmon said. "The belt did its job, but the fact that it tore at all raises great concern."

Seat belts in race cars have been under scrutiny since Earnhardt's fatal accident in the Winston Cup season-opening Daytona 500 on Feb. 18. NASCAR officials said they found a broken lap belt in his car, although an independent medical examiner ruled that would not have played a part in his death.

The belts used in Harmon's car were made by Simpson Performance Products, the same company Earnhardt used.

Bill Simpson, founder and chairman of the company that has manufactured safety equipment for 48 years, did not immediately return calls to The Associated Press. His assistant later said he was traveling by car to Talladega, Ala., and was not reachable by phone.

But Simpson told The Charlotte Observer that the belt was nicked, not torn.

"It certainly wasn't torn," Simpson told The Observer in story posted Wednesday on its Web site. "It is very rare, but sometimes in a massive crash the metal adjuster can nick the fabric. That doesn't mean the belt failed. This belt did its job and probably saved his life.

Simpson also said NASCAR was trying to make him "a scapegoat for the Earnhardt thing" that could force him to stop providing equipment for its teams.

"They (NASCAR) have done untold damage to my company and my person," Simpson said. "I might just stop making seat belts for Winston Cup and Grand National cars. I am about ready to throw in the towel. My business will go on without them."

Harmon crashed his Pontiac coming out of Turn 1 on the 71st lap of Saturday's race. He hit the wall between Turns 1 and 2 and was taken to the infield care center after the accident.

When he returned to the garage area, Harmon said his crew chief told him NASCAR had impounded the seat belts.

"I said, `What in the world did they do that for?' and he told me they found a broken belt," Harmon said. "I tell you, I was stunned."

Car owner Greg Nixon said a NASCAR official discovered the tear during the post-accident inspection, showed it to him and confiscated the belt. Nixon said he also was ordered not to do anything to the car until it could be inspected further.

NASCAR officials inspected the car Tuesday in Nixon's Harrisburg, N.C., shop. Harmon was present when a NASCAR official showed him the belt.

"It gives you a bad feeling standing there holding a torn belt, knowing that if it had broken all the way I probably wouldn't be here," Harmon said. "The only insurance a racer's got is safety equipment and I'll be a little bit uneasy about it until we find out what happened."

Simpson has previously said his seat belts don't fail when installed properly.

The belts were made in March 2000 but were only installed in the car two weeks ago, and Triplett said NASCAR found no indication that the five-point harness was installed incorrectly.

"To my knowledge we didn't find any problems with the installation," Triplett said.

Simpson indicated last week that an emergency worker could have cut Earnhardt's belt while trying to remove him from the car. He also said that a fan sent him a video showing Earnhardt being cut from his seat belt that is being enhanced.

NASCAR said five days after the accident that emergency workers did not cut the belt. The sanctioning body has an ongoing investigation into Earnhardt's accident -- including tests on the restraint system -- but results aren't expected until August.