Chat Transcript: Bill Simpson

July 31, 2001
8:31 PM EDT (0031 GMT)

NASCAR.com: Welcome to NASCAR.com's chat with Bill Simpson!

Bill Simpson: Thanks for coming on to NASCAR.com tonight. I am looking forward to answering your questions.

NASCAR.com: Question from Noelle dalejrfan........... Do drivers ever come to you with an idea for a product? Have you ever built these products?

Bill Simpson: That is an affirmative. I have had a lot of drivers come to me with ideas and I have used their ideas and turned them into reality. I have made the "JB net" that is on the driver's side, and that came from Jeff Burton.

NASCAR.com: Question from caseyatwoodfan.........Bill, I would like to know if you have any new type of safety devices coming out in the near future?

Bill Simpson: Well, that is a pretty loaded question because the company has a lot of new things on the drawing board. We are constantly doing R&D. We are working with a head restraint that we aren't ready to bring forward.

Bill Simpson

A lot of people have talked about that and we feel we have one that is as good or better than anything that is on the market and it won't be very expensive. Look for that in the next few months.

NASCAR.com: Question from: nydalefan.........Mr. Simpson, as a daily car owner, I don't ever think about the use of my seat belt restraints, but eventually they will have "wear and tear." Do you have any kind of a policy with NASCAR and the drivers that they must change restraints after so many uses?

Bill Simpson: The life span of a seatbelt, as far as we are concerned, is two years. We like to see it changed every two years.

NASCAR.com: Question from #3fannowandforever.......How did you become involved with NASCAR racing and what are your plans for the future?

Bill Simpson: I have been involved with automobile safety since 1958. I believe my first encounter with NASCAR was the Allison brothers back in the 1970s. My involvement has been an ongoing process ever since that time. I moved to Charlotte in 1989 so I could be closer to the heart of NASCAR racing.

NASCAR.com: Question from SPRINTCAR88.......BILL, I HAVE SEEN A SIMPSON RACING JUMPSUIT AT MY LOCAL SPRINT CAR TRACK IN PENNSYLVANIA. ARE YOUR PRODUCTS SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE RACING WORLD OR IS THERE CERTAIN RACING SERIES THAT YOUR PRODUCTS ARE AVAILABLE TO?

Bill Simpson: Simpson products are available to anybody from quarter-midgets and go-karts to F1 or boat racers. We produce an awful lot of flame-retardant clothing and that part of our business just keeps growing and growing.

NASCAR.com: Question from gordo26.......How much has NASCAR made you a source in it's investigation? Have they talked to you in-depth about the belts? Were you involved in the early stages?

Bill Simpson: I am assuming you are talking about the Earnhardt situation. They are doing their own investigation and I have no idea where that is. I understand they are going to release some form of report in the next 2-3 weeks, but I am totally ignorant as to what is in that report.

NASCAR.com: Question from Sak456.......What do you think will happen if NASCAR's investigation implies that the belts were a factor in Earnhardt's death? What about if they find the belts were indeed intact as the EMT in Florida suggested?

Bill Simpson: I don't want to speculate about that. This thing has been beat to death so we need to see what the outcome of the report is. There have been a lot of well-known experts brought in and we need to see what they come back with. I don't know how to really answer that question.

NASCAR.com: Question from Lorine.......Do you the feel media coverage of your side of the story has been fair?

Bill Simpson: Well, I didn't have a side of the story. All I simply did was said some things that I personally believe and no one really knows what happened, but we will in a few weeks.

NASCAR.com: Question from lakemarydave.......Billy, do you still have the "Fickle Finger of Fate" Trophy that the fire crew from Pocono gave you in 1970? Did you ever patent the pie-tin/broomstick fire extinguisher for turbo backfires on the "OFFY" engines. These should make your memory work hard.

Bill Simpson: HAHAH! As a matter of fact, I still do have that. I had that when I was still a driver I believe that was the first race they gave me that. I have all that memorabilia racing stuff that was left over since the 1950s.

NASCAR.com: Question from Ward fan22.......I was wondering about the device worn by Ward Burton, the decelerator. Can you give some specifics about it and when will it be on the market?

Bill Simpson: At the moment there is a computer model being done at the University of Michigan. There is a complex problem trying to restrain the head. We are trying to slow that process down so that the inside of your head doesn't move around.

Ward wore something that had a controlled tear with straps that tear. It starts out easy and the further it moves forward, the harder the fabric is to tear.

I don't know how many times the computer changes its model from 60 to 80 mph or with the different angles, but we talked to Dr. Melvin yesterday and they are happy with it.

When those tests are done, we will come forward with it. I think that will be in the next month or two. We will not come forward with something until it is as good or better than something else already on the market, and we certainly don't want to introduce something that is going to hurt someone.

NASCAR.com: Question from newo24.......What's your gut instinct on what the final investigation will reveal?

Bill Simpson: I have no idea. My speculation is the same as anybody else's. Stand by and we will all know in a short time.

NASCAR.com: Question from Sak456.......Do you feel this whole incident has seriously strained your relationship with NASCAR, especially when you tried to speak to officials in Daytona and they did not give you the meeting you wanted?

Bill Simpson: I don't know if it SERIOUSLY strained it, but everyone has a problem with NASCAR at some time. You just go on. This whole situation has been bad on me personally, and I take it personally because I built this from nothing. I don't have any bad feelings for NASCAR. I do what they think is right and that is what happens.

NASCAR.com: Question from Bsouth.......Do you think NASCAR has dragged its feet on releasing the final results?

Bill Simpson: No. I think they are being pretty thorough. They aren't dragging their feet at all.

NASCAR.com: Question from Lorine.......Do you foresee any changes in the way your belts are manufactured to further enhance safety? Or are you convinced the belts are as safe as they possibly can be if installed properly?

Bill Simpson: I do, and I have no plans to change the manufacturing process or design.

NASCAR.com: Question from TonyFan20.......What have the drivers and teams had to say to you since all the controversy began?

Bill Simpson: At first there was a lot of conversation, but the last few months no one has talked about it. Everyone is just going about their business.

NASCAR.com: Question from gmd.......What's been the hardest part of this whole ordeal for you to cope with?

Bill Simpson: Just the media attention. I am not used to that. That is pretty much it. I had a real hard time getting back to work after three months. I wasn't functional. That affects race drivers and participants. I do stuff for all racing organizations and I was just dead-stopped for like three months. Now I am back to normal stuff.

NASCAR.com: Question from drafting.......Has your business dropped off at all?

Bill Simpson: No, it has not. It didn't affect the business. If anything, it brought the safety issue to the forefront and it made people realize they need to check their belts and see what they are doing. It has not affected our business monetarily.

NASCAR.com: Question from jont66.......Where can local racers buy the new head restraint systems used by some NASCAR drivers and how much are they?

Bill Simpson: The HANS device is made by Hubbard/Downing in Atlanta, and that sells for like $1,200-1,600. The Hutchens device is the other, and I don't know how to get to that. He works with Richard Childress Racing, so you might want to call there and see.

The Simpson restraint is not available at this time, but it will be in about 60 days. I think the Hutchens is like $300 or so. The decelerator will sell for around $199. It will be in that area.

NASCAR.com: Question from Sak456.......Are you - or were you - contemplating legal action if you feel the investigation does not give you a fair shake?

Bill Simpson: No, I don't think that is very productive for the sport and I don't think it would be very productive for us. It would be very counter-productive. I spent my life building this business and I don't want to tear it down. That would be very negative for a lot of people and it is not on our agenda.

NASCAR.com: Question from mlrtme......I am a female race car driver and I have a hard time finding driving suits that fit right. Have you thought about designing women's racing suits?

Bill Simpson: Well, the reason that you can't find one for a woman is you are going to a store for an off-the-shelf suit. There are not enough women drivers that it would be profitable for a company to make one off-the-shelf. The suits for the Shawna Robinson and Sarah Fisher are custom-fit and that is what you would have to do, because women are certainly built differently than men.

NASCAR.com: Question from 17tobyracing74.......How much race technology have you used in creating the new Simpson children's car seat?

Bill Simpson: The Mark 2 child seat, and I don't know if you have seen that yet, is basically a Randy LaJoie Winston Cup seat that has been miniaturized. A lot of restraint systems for it are just like the one in the Winston Cup car. All the technology in that seat comes from racing.

NASCAR.com: Question from brian.......How did you get started in safety?

Bill Simpson: You need to read my book! Haha "Living Dangerously and Racing Safely." Back in 1958, I worked on a parachute to stop a drag racer. That helped me finance a few products and various things came up as the sport grew. When I started, there may not have been 5,000 racers in the whole United States. The business has steadily grown to what it is today.

NASCAR.com: Question from PeptoJoe.......How does your sponsorship deal work with NASCAR, and do you do anything in other divisions?

Bill Simpson: I do a contingency program with Winston Cup, Busch, Busch North, Modified Series, NorthWest, etc. I think we do 7 different series. If a driver uses our product, for example a suit or helmet, they get paid a certain amount of money for finishing 1st-through-5th. It is our contribution to the people supporting our product.

NASCAR.com: Question from go.......Bill, what do you think about the points race right now?

Bill Simpson: After Pocono, I don't know. I feel bad that Dale Jarrett got caught up, but you have to understand that I know all those guys and I can't have any favorites. I like to think that I look after most of them and I think the Champion will be who runs best this year.

Gordon and Jarrett are running well, but on any given Sunday, the baddest in the land is going to get the points. I just know that the best guy this year is going to win and I don't care who it is.

NASCAR.com: Question from cathyd.......What do you consider the single most important safety feature for NASCAR drivers?

Bill Simpson: I don't think there is a single one. It is a whole bunch of safety features. If you didn't have a car with the integrity of a NASCAR, you wouldn't have a place to start. There is a combination of safety features, not a single one.

NASCAR.com: Question from Speedracer.......Are you considering getting in to any safety systems for the outside of the car, like the Humpy Bumper?

Bill Simpson: At this time we don't have any plans to do that. That is not in our field of expertise. We did a lot of work with softwalls and we felt like we were there, but that has lain dormant for like 6 months, and I don't see us doing that. There are a lot of smarter people out there with energy attenuation with cars than we are.

NASCAR.com: Question from browndog.......Are you working close with any drivers or owners right now?

Bill Simpson: I always work close with several drivers. I don't so much work with car owners. I do spend a lot of time and effort with Rusty Wallace, and I work with Jerry Nadeau and Todd Bodine. I also do some stuff with Ward Burton. I have the same thing going on with other associations outside of NASCAR.

NASCAR.com: Question from jont66.......How often are you at the Texas plant? We sometimes race in that area in the American Race Truck series.

Bill Simpson: Lately I haven't been there as much as I should be, but I did have a house down there. The past year I have been down there about every 2 weeks. Most of my time is spent in Charlotte, or out in Torrance, California.

NASCAR.com: Question from Crazy Mama.......Have you stepped up your R&D efforts following the crash?

Bill Simpson: Not really. We have an ongoing R&D program. That was a real unfortunate situation that happened. We were working on the head restraint before that happened, and we will continue now. That didn't accelerate anything or slow anything down. We have always been just set on moving the bar up and trying to go forward.

If there is something that happens that is really monumental like Earnhardt, you can't effect the R&D because it is already at a set pace. You don't want to make any mistakes.

NASCAR.com: That's all the time Bill has for us this evening. Thanks Bill! What are your final thoughts?

Bill Simpson: I appreciate your questions this evening. Thanks again for visiting and I look forward to speaking with you again soon.