Rookie Stripe: NASCAR Safety -- The HANS Device
![]() |
Photo Credit: Debbie Ross for Skirts and Scuffs |
By Logan Stewart
It’s been said that there’s a gritty mentality in racing that makes the velocity of the race addictive for a passionate driver. With a laser-like focus
"During a race, the mental background noise of ordinary life, the static that chatters along in the everyday consciousness, is muted, and the racer fuses with the car and the craft of driving, absorbed completely in the slow-motion passage of the seconds.” – Wendell Scott
NASCAR is a powerful combination of intrepid, competitive race car drivers blended with fast tracks and raw adrenaline, and it yields a recipe for dangerous conditions. The high-octane pace brings fans back weekend after weekend. If you’ve been to a race, even as a rookie, you surely feel the excitement that seems to reverberate from below the ground and settle into your bones. Fixated in part by exhilaration, in part by elation and in part by fear, we all sit on the edge of our seats because we know there’s peril that comes with racing.
Several Rookie Stripe posts will touch on some of the safety aspects of NASCAR, because in addition to being an integral component of racing, safety is an impassioned topic. Most safety improvements and technological advancements have come about as the result of some tragedy and helped outline different periods of racing. Yet there are still fans that yearn for the bygone eras of NASCAR when part of the thrill of the race was the unbridled danger in what lay ahead when the green flag dropped.
What to know about the HANS Device
One of the most critical pieces of safety equipment in a race car, the HANS (head and neck support) device makes sure that the driver’s head stays aligned in the helmet with the rest of the body, helping prevent basilar skull fractures. Despite the fact that the HANS device protects susceptible neck and skull bones, drivers were slow to adopt it. Only six drivers were wearing HANS devices when Dale Earnhardt crashed during the Daytona 500 on February 18, 2001, resulting in his death. NASCAR drivers Adam Petty, Kenny Irwin and Tony Roper also suffered fatal basilar skull fractures.
A driver’s torso and upper body are strapped into the seat in the cockpit, but he or she needs some degree of head movement that's still safe. If a head not supported by any kind of restraint is forced forward during a collision, the external forces, pressure and tension can be too much for the body to handle. If worn correctly the HANS device can reduce the total neck load by 78 percent
![]() |
Kevin Harvick Credit: Beth Reinke for Skirts and Scuffs |
·
· The device is constructed from carbon fiber and Kevlar composite. It sits on the driver's shoulders and has an upright back piece that extends partway up the next behind the helmet. Two arms extend from the back piece over the collarbone and hug the driver's chest.
· It weighs 1.5 pounds.
· Two flexible tethers across the shoulders attach it to the helmet. The seat belts coupled with the HANS device allow the head, neck and chest to move as a single unit during impact, without the head and neck snapping forward.2
· Any driver involved in an accident must take his HANS device and helmet with him to the infield care center because cracks in either can signify that the driver is at risk for concussions or internal injuries.
· The HANS device is believed to have saved many drivers' lives since it became mandatory, simply because it keeps the head from being in the line of such a high degree of force.
![]() |
Marcose Ambrose; Fall 2014 at Dover International Speedway Credit: Beth Reinke for Skirts and Scuffs |
HANS device acceptance
The history of the HANS device as told by Dr. Bob Hubbard
This 30-second video makes the case for HANS devices
1 “The Physics Of: How the HANS Device Saves Lives”; Caranddriver.com. Jan. 2012.
2 Leslie-Pelecky, Diandra. The Physics of NASCAR. New York, New York. 2009.
![]() |
May 2015 at Dover International Speedway Credit: Beth Reinke for Skirts and Scuffs |
Rookie Stripe: NASCAR Safety -- The HANS Device
Reviewed by Logan Stewart
on
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Rating:

louis vuitton bags
ReplyDeletecoach outlet clearance
sac longchamp pliage
wholesale nike shoes
cartier watches
new balance outlet
nhl jerseys wholesale
under armour shoes
coach purses
louis vuitton pas cher
asics gel nimbus
coach outlet
louboutin shoes
ed hardy uk
chaussure louboutin
converse shoes
toms outlet
converse
nike cortez
michael kors outlet stores
michael kors outlet
oakley sunglasses
nike air max
abercrombie and fitch
michael kors bags
instyler max
cheap oakley sunglasses
burberry outlet online
michael kors outlet online
michael kors outlet,michael kors outlet online,michael kors outlet store,michael kors handbags,michael kors bags,michael kors watches,michael kors purses
yeezy boost 350 black
coach outlet online
designer handbags
toms wedges
hermes uk
armani jeans
oakley sunglasses outlet
2016422yuanyuan
prada shoes
ReplyDeletepolo ralph lauren
ralph lauren
coach outlet online
michael kors outlet
michael kors outlet
golden state warriors jerseys
oakley sunglasses
true religion outlet
true religion outlet
Stun guns are non lethal and also electrically shock the attacker yet this shock is aimed at disrupting muscle functions rather than the central nervous system. devices
ReplyDeleteSteel Toe Work Boots Reviews. KEEN Utility Men's Milwaukee WP Wide-M. Timberland PRO Men's Pitboss 6″ Soft-Toe Boot. safety shoes review
ReplyDeleteyeezy sneakers
ReplyDeletenike shox
moncler jacket
off white hoodie
curry shoes
supreme clothing
yeezy shoes
supreme new york
supreme
jordan shoes