Stewart still has issues with restraints

By Dave Rodman, Turner Sports Interactive
October 17, 2001
6:48 PM EDT (2248 GMT)

ATLANTA, Ga. -- NASCAR Winston Cup driver Tony Stewart, who in two of the last three races in the division was the only competitor not to wear a head and neck restraint device, won’t have a choice this weekend.

Tony Stewart

NASCAR on Wednesday mandated the use of either the HANS device or Hutchens device every time a competitor in the Winston Cup, Busch Series or Craftsman Truck Series goes on track beginning with Friday’s practice session for Sunday’s EA Sports 500 presented by Dodge at Talladega Superspeedway.

Stewart is claustrophobic. That, he says, is the overwhelming reason why he has not worn a device up until now, although he has repeatedly tried. And it is also why he doesn’t agree with NASCAR’s decision.

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"I think a head and neck restraint is a good idea," said the driver of the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Home Depot Pontiac during a break in a test session Wednesday at Atlanta Motor Speedway. “I think it's great that a lot of drivers are wearing them.

“But I also believe that a head and neck restraint has to be right for each individual driver. What is right for one person may not be right for another.

"I want to wear something, but I haven't found anything yet that I'm comfortable with. It's not that I don't want to wear it, and I'm not being bull-headed about this, but there is nothing right now that I'm comfortable wearing inside the race car.”

Driver comfort and acceptance of the devices was the main reason NASCAR cited for the timing of the decision to mandate them. Stewart said that comfort level, while widespread, does not extend to him.

"When I ran Indy cars, there was a time once when I had the foam headrest that goes around the rim of the driver's cockpit touch the top of my shoulders,” he said of his days in the Indy Racing Northern Light Series. “I ran one lap, pulled in and bailed out of the car because I felt like I was getting trapped inside the car -- just because the headrest was touching the top of my shoulders.

“It wasn't because of anything mechanical, it was because of my own anxiety that comes from being claustrophobic. That's how the HANS device makes me feel.

"If I have a helmet device that doesn't fit properly or isn't comfortable, then how comfortable am I going to be six inches from guys who are on all four corners of my race car?

"I tried out the Hutchens device during a Talladega test back in August, put it on three different times, and it was on me three different ways. It was never in the same spot on my body twice. That concerned me, because there didn't seem to be any consistency in how it formed to my body.

"I'm still committed to finding an appropriate head restraint system that suits my safety needs, while at the same time allowing me peace of mind inside the race car."

NASCAR Winston Cup director Gary Nelson and NASCAR senior vice president George Pyne said the refusal of any competitor to use a head and neck restraint this weekend would be addressed if it arose.

“At this point we’re going to assume the car owners and drivers will abide by the rules,” Pyne said. “We will address that situation as it comes up, but we are anticipating they will abide by the rules.”