Autoliv offers expertise to NASCAR community

By Mike Fish, CNNSI.com
August 10, 2001
10:26 AM EDT (1426 GMT)

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- What's the price of safety?

Dale Earnhardt's death has brought safety into the spotlight.

If the risk of serious injuries and even fatalities could be cut, would it be worth a one-time $1.7 million price tag? Is it a fair deal for a safety program? Or is there a better alternative?

Those are the questions being fielded right now by the Winston Cup crowd.

Autoliv, one of the leading manufactuers of safety equipment in the world, made a formal proposal in early May to car owners, drivers and NASCAR officials to focus on improvements to the driver compartment. The company offered to work up computer models of the 40-plus drivers, use science to determine where and how best to attach restraint systems and the placement of energy absorbing foams in the head rest and such.

The company has worked with Swedish automaker Volvo, recognized as one of the safest automobiles, among other companies. The proposal made to NASCAR -- Autoliv's first foray into auto racing -- is backed by crash-test research demonstating the potential to significantly reduce injuries to stock car drivers.

"One of the things we suggested is that you have 43 drivers out there on the track every Sunday and they're not all the same size," Autoliv marketing manager Chipp Jackson said. "We've discussed belts and seat positions being very critical to the safety, and where the belts are mounted. Anchor points are a key to keeping the pelvis locked in the back of the seat. As soon as the pelvis goes forward the body follows. "If we were to make a computer model from a Mark Martin, to Jimmy Spencer, to Michael Waltrip and go through the size differences, we could computer model a good sampling. Maybe a dozen different sizes that would give them those zones that they would know where the proper anchorage points would be for the belts or their seats.

The company invited 40 of the top people in the sport to hear its initial presentation in May in Charlotte, N.C., though only a dozen showed up. The concept has still managed to draw favorable notice, but a major hang-up is who'll foot the bill.

Considering what is at stake, it's surprising to learn that drivers and car owners have traditionally shied away from spending on safety or related testing. The racing mantra, it seems, is that you first worry about getting the car to run fast.

Jackson recalled a recent conversation in which the owner of a very prominent Winston Cup multi-car team acknowledged: "Quite honestly, I got $400,000 in my budget for wind tunnel testing. I don't even have a column for safety."

So, is only lip service being paid to safety in the sport? Maybe in the past, but the efforts of the last 18 months seem intense and real.

H. A. "Humpy" Wheeler, president of Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, estimates that collectively upwards of $5 million is currently tied up in research projects aimed at making the sport safer.

Jim Hunter, a NASCAR vice president, acknowledged the sanctioning body has asked at least six companies, including Autoliv, to bring forward safety-related proposals in recent months. At the same time, NASCAR is opening its own research-and-development facility in Hickory, N.C.

"The big issue is [safety] hasn't been a line item before on a budget or balance sheet," said Jackson, the Autoliv official. "And now as it's evolving and eyes are opening and safety meetings are being held, I don't think it would be a money issue at all. I think it's more of an education -- a more educated driver, crew chief, and owner."

In the past, car manufacturers in the sport handled the additional responsibility and cost for safety-related tests. That's where Autoliv is trying to step in. But with the recent heightened alert on safety throughout the racing industry, there's concern within the NASCAR community that the Autoliv proposal -- which isn't free -- might duplicate services and research available from the Big Three automakers.

The reluctance of the stock-car racing community to commit to the proposed safety program has Autoliv executives frustrated and on the verge of walking away.

"It is great if the auto manufacturers are working together and relaying the message [to the teams]," said Jackson, disappointed at not being invited by NASCAR to recent safety meetings with drivers in Indianapolis.

As for Autoliv's future in racing, he said: "Our proposal is about marketing, trying to get our name out there and to be recognized. I personally don't have a budget to support doing tests for the good of the sport, so to speak. We sell the same amount of air bags, steering wheels and seat belts whether we're involved [in NASCAR] or not.

"I was trying to cover my cost and help."

Jackson estimates the company has spent $250,000 to $300,000 this year conducting crash tests and the like at its world-class technical center here to familiarize itself with stock cars. Autoliv has run at least 30 sled tests (costing $5,000 each), including seven for Winston Cup driver Jeff Burton and two for car owner Richard Childress.

As a good faith entrance into the sport, the Stockholm-headquartered firm also signed on as an associate sponsor of Stacy Compton's No. 92 Dodge.

So understandably, few are eager to see a budding player like Autoliv abandon the sport -- even as their proposals hang in limbo.

"I think it's probably something I would continue to look at," said Wheeler, who attended Autoliv's initial presentation. "There's probably some overlap or duplication, but that doesn't mean long-term we shouldn't be looking at this, because they have written a good part of the book on safety as far as [passenger] cars are concerned." Hunter, the NASCAR official, said money wouldn't be a deciding factor in which proposals are accepted, and that ultimately the sport is best served having as many projects or safety experts as possible funneling information through the sanctioning body.

"In the past, there hasn't been any formalized process, even though there's been a tremendous emphasis on safety," Hunter said. "Everybody has been out sort of doing their own thing. NASCAR's role in this process is to formalize it and figure out who pays and how much.

"We've learned things since the [Dale] Earnhardt accident, and as we learn things we're informing the teams and keeping them up to date on what we know. In my opinion, we're doing it in a better way by having some formalized meetings and bringing in the experts and letting them make presentations based on fact or testing data."

Autoliv's suburban Detroit facility has one of the largest collections of crash dummies (priced at $100,000 each), and resembles the back lot of a movie studio with its wide selection of cars and accessories in various stages or condition.

"We can model a driver occupant compartment to a [driver's] shape and then put it through a crash scenario and show what the steps are to be taken to make it a little safer than the current setup," Jackson said. "The things we've worked on extremely hard over last few months have been the anchorage points, five-point versus six-point [seat restraint]. We found the six-point seems to perform better. ... Changing some of the environment and adding rib supports, a different head rest, a six-point versus a five-point belt, jell or some kind of energy absorbing foam in the head rest. All of these things contribute to lowering the injury value numbers.

"Are we going to stop stuff from happening? No. We're just going to lower the numbers. And lower numbers are good."