Seat belt maker says NASCAR is playing blame game

By Mike Fish, CNNSI.com
February 25, 2001
11:38 AM EST (1638 GMT)

ROCKINGHAM, N.C. -- Just the thought of a simple seat-belt failure costing Dale Earnhardt his life has eyebrows raised in the racing community.

It doesn't make sense. It's never happened before.

Instead of putting the issue to rest, NASCAR's explanation only stirred the pot when it attributed the sport's latest fatality to a broken seat belt, a left-side lap belt snapping, fraying or some such thing. No one is sure exactly what happened. And it doesn't enhance NASCAR's credibility that it sat on the news for almost five days before going public.

The debate over Dale Earnhardt's seat belt continues.

Officials of Simpson Performance Products, Inc., the company that manufactured the five-strap belt, are livid that NASCAR would play the blame game -- and adamantly deny their belt failed.

"Bill Simpson has looked at the belt, and he said the material 'ran,'" said Simpson spokesperson John Malone. "Our belt didn't fail. Bill's statement is when the belts are properly installed they won't fail. That statement sums it up."

Earnhardt's team said the new belts were installed after last season.

Car owner Richard Childress has not been available to discuss installation of the belts. However, Malone said, even though there is a suggested standard, installation often varies by the size of the driver.

"You could look at five different cars right now and you'd see belts mounted five different ways," said Malone. "That is the wonderful thing about NASCAR. You have the freedom to do whatever you want."

But clearly, Simpson has mounted its own defense against NASCAR.

It's noted that a day after the tragic crash, Dr. Steve Bohannon, who is paid by NASCAR, said Earnhardt sustained a basal skull fracture -- and no external injuries. On Friday, Dr. Bohannon said Earnhardt suffered an abrasion to the chin, and that his chin coming in contact with the steering column began a fatal domino effect.

"Well, what happened did he break his jaw or have a basal skull fracture?" Malone said. "Make up your mind? The NTSB [National Transportation Safety Board] investigates a plane crash where 137 people died in Pittsburgh and it takes them a year-and-a-half to find out a piston was bad.

"You're going to tell me last Sunday night they knew in a couple hours exactly what happened? They sure got a crack research team."

Drivers and people in the garage area have come to the support of Simpson. All of them still have confidence in their belts and helmets. And while not disputing what NASCAR uncovered, they find it difficult to fathom.

"I've got to imagine it is something else going on there," said Jeff Gordon, a former three-time Winston Cup champion. "I sure would like to know."

Gordon said he'd like to see the belt.

"I think everybody would like to see it," said Stacy Compton. "I'd like to see what happened. I don't have any concerns with their products. We blew a right front [tire] at Indy last year, running about 200 miles-per-hour and hit the wall, and the belts didn't move." Two esteemed crew chiefs -- Jimmy Makar and Larry McReynolds, the latter now a FOX racing analyst -- also accept NASCAR's explanation, though they believe there's more to the story.

"I know what caliber of belts Simpson makes," McReynolds said. "There's got to be more of a reason behind it. It just doesn't really make sense."

Makar said the latest explanation raises more questions, only making it harder to get to the bottom. Yet he, like others around the garage, doesn't want the investigation closed.

"From everything I gather, the belts were new this winter," Makar said. "So he didn't have a race on them. Probably all he had was practice at Daytona over the winter and the race on them. It's hard to sit here and think of the possibility something could have nicked them.

"We'd all feel better knowing the answer, no matter what it is. Every one of us is sitting here waiting for something that is absolute."

And, the wait goes on.