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Friday, August 3
Ford Company suggests more safety
Associated Press

A top engineer for Ford Motor Company says head and neck restraints are not the only safety issues facing NASCAR.

John Valentine, chief engineer for Ford, said the auto company has recommended to the stock car sanctioning body a change in the type of seat used by its competitors.

"NASCAR drivers have been using aluminum seats. We've been pushing NASCAR to consider using a more rigid seat," Valentine said. "Based on our work in CART and Formula One, we think it would be a help.

"But we've also recommended they used six-point harness systems and the HANS Device."

NASCAR, with four driver deaths in less than a year, has been under scrutiny for its safety efforts.

The most recent death, that of Dale Earnhardt, the sport's top star, in a crash in February during the Daytona 500, prompted NASCAR to begin an in-depth investigation. The results are expected to be released sometime this month.

All four of the most recent driver deaths have been attributed to head and neck injuries and most of the focus on safety changes has been on the Head and Neck System, a yoke-type restraint that keeps the driver's head stable during crashes.

Before Earnhardt's death, one driver was using the HANS on the full-time basis. In Daytona last month, at the Pepsi 400, all but 10 of the 43-starters were using either a HANS or some other form of head and neck restraint.

Valentine said that the HANS, which he prefers over the other available systems, is only the first step in furthering the safety process in stock cars.

"Computer modeling and impact studies have told us that the seats are an area that needs to be looked at," he said. "Right now, a carbon fiber seat costs about $6,000, which is nothing for the teams in Winston Cup, but prohibitive for teams in other NASCAR series.

"NASCAR has asked us to look at alternate materials that would retain the rigidity of carbon fiber and be cost effective, as well."

Watching Dodge
The new Dodge Intrepids get the benefit of an aerodynamic rule change beginning with Sunday's Brickyard 400.

After months of complaints by the Dodge teams about lack of downforce, particularly on the flatter tracks, NASCAR has given the Intrepids a 2-inch extension on the front air dam of the cars.

That has raised expectations that Dodge, which returned to Winston Cup racing this year after a 16-year absence, could get its much-anticipated first victory at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

"I expect that if they ran as good as they did at Pocono last weekend, they should run that much better at Indy," said Greg Zipadelli, crew chief on Tony Stewart's Pontiac.

Although Bobby Labonte, Stewart's teammate, is the defending champion at Indy, Zipadelli said the Pontiacs are in need of some aerodynamic relief, too.

"It's going to be that much tougher, probably, for us with our cars than anybody else," he said. "But if that's what they felt they needed to be competitive, so be it. I guess, we're in that predicament. Hopefully it will come back to us."

Tommy Baldwin, crew chief for Ward Burton's Dodge, said, "I believe it is definitely going to help our aerodynamic problem that we've been having all year long.

"I think it will put the group of Dodges up a level into the mix of running for the win instead of running for fourth to 10th," he added. "That's where we've been running when we've been running well."

Indy guy
Tony Stewart's dream since childhood has been to win the Indianapolis 500. The Brickyard 400 would be a nice substitute, though.

Asked which he'd rather win, the former Indy Racing League champion and current Winston Cup star said, "Both. But probably, the Indy 500, in all reality.

"It's not because I don't think the Winston Cup race is important. It's just that I grew up 45 miles south of Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

"There wasn't a Brickyard 400 at the time. I'd run home from every day, turn the TV on and watch the last couple hours of practice. The '500' still means an awful lot to me, but I can promise you one thing -- it would be the biggest win of my career if we could win the Brickyard 400 instead."

Stewart has finished seventh and fifth in his two stock car races at Indy. In open-wheel cars, he started from the pole and finished 24th in the 500 as a rookie in 1996 and has competed in four other IRL events there, finishing in the top-10 in three of them, including a sixth in May.

Stat of the week
Four of the seven Brickyard 400s have been won by drivers who didn't lead until past the halfway point in the 160-lap event. Dale Earnhardt led for the first time on lap 133 in 1995, Dale Jarrett on lap 135 in 1996, Ricky Rudd on lap 114 in 1997 and Bobby Labonte lap 83 last August.

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