Helton speaks out on seatbelt speculations
By Marty Smith, Turner Sports Interactive
May 4, 2001
5:24 PM EDT (2124 GMT)
RICHMOND, Va. - NASCAR president Mike Helton issued a statement Friday at Richmond International Raceway in response to recent stories on the seatbelt Dale Earnhardt was wearing during the Daytona 500 when he was killed during a last-lap accident.
Helton, who would not take any questions regarding the issue, said, “On April 9th, we announced that we had brought together different professional disciplines to investigate, to understand, to experiment, to re-create, to evaluate and research all the things that we needed to do in order to determine the best possible answers for the incident that took Dale Earnhardt from us. We stick to that. That’s what we’re doing.
"We’re not going to have it distracted by responding to any speculations that are going on beyond this investigation. We’re not going to make any speculations on anything until we know cold, hard facts and are able to deliver those to the best conclusion possible. In the meantime, there’s a couple of points I’d like to point out:
"Number One, as we stated in Rockingham (in a Feb. 23 news conference), there’s no question in our minds that at the end of that accident, that that belt was separated. This investigation is to find out why, when and what, if any, role it played in the accident.
"One more thing I’d like to clear up. In Rockingham when we made that statement, I also said that we, NASCAR, discovered the belt Sunday evening. That’s not the case. NASCAR, Gary Nelson, discovered the belt first thing Monday morning sometime. That’s when it became apparent to us. There was a lot of activity going on Sunday evening, I misunderstood the timetable.
"I made a mistake when I said it and I’m sorry I did that. The fact of the matter is, is that the belt was separated at the end of that accident. We believe that, we’ll come back when we’re through to be able to prove that. Gary Nelson found it later that morning, Monday morning. That’s when all the wheels started to turn.
"In the meantime ... we’re not going to go beyond what we’ve already stated. We’re not going to take on any outside opinions or speculation as to what may or may not have happened. We have no vendetta, we have no mastermind cover-up. This is just simply an investigation to get the facts and figures, and get the best possible answers to find out what happened in that accident on Feb. 18th."
NASCAR has given the drivers a similar briefing this weekend. Between Thursday’s practice and Bud Pole Qualifying, the NASCAR Busch Series drivers were taken to a location outside the track to discuss the seatbelt situation, and according to driver Jimmie Johnson, they received a statement similar to that given to the media Friday.
Johnson said the meeting was quite informative, and that NASCAR reassured the drivers of their dedication to resolving the issue.
NASCAR addressed the Winston Cup drivers Friday morning prior to the first practice.
Bill Simpson, the manufacturer of the belt, has stood by his product throughout, saying he was certain it did not fail. Simpson was backed up last weekend by Tommy Propst, an Orange County, Fla., firefighter and emergency medical technician on the scene of Earnhardt’s accident, who said he believed the belt was fully intact when he got to the No. 3 car.
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