New bumper design entering final stage of testing

By Mike Fish, CNNSI.com
August 15, 2001
2:25 PM EDT (1825 GMT)

With NASCAR concerned about the front rigidity of its stock cars, a new safety bumper designed to help absorb the energy of a frontal impact is in the final stages of testing and could be available for drivers before the end of the current Winston Cup season.

Manufacturers of the so-called "Humpy Bumper," the brainchild of Lowe's Motor Speedway president H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler, are hopeful of receiving NASCAR approval soon after the completion of six crash tests scheduled later this month at the Charlotte racing facility. The final test, Aug. 28, will be open to the public.

"NASCAR has been a great partner in helping us develop this," said Paul Lew, a Las Vegas-based composite materials design engineer and manufacturer working with Wheeler. "I won't put words in NASCAR's mouth, but I would expect their cooperation and support would continue."

At this point, Lew said the project's development budget has exceeded $2.5 million and more than 4,200 pages have been accumulated of development testing. General Motors has also provided engineering support.

The safety bumper has tested extraordinarily well, Lew said, in computer simulation and barrier testing, adding that the final hurdle is the crash tests in Charlotte.

"The preliminary results from computer simulation have shown we're very likely to decrease the amount of [g-force] experienced by a driver by 50 percent," Lew said. "That is a 25-degree crash into wall, which is considered to be the most dangerous angle, even more so than a head-on collision. "Our barrier tests continue to support those numbers.

Humpy Wheeler (l) with the "Humpy Bumper."

"Our final test will be when we actually crash the Cup cars, but we're pretty excited about this. Even if we’re off by 100 percent of that 50 percent, we cut it back to 25 percent. That is awfully damn good."

The tests will be conducted on identical Chevrolet Monte Carlos, simulating race conditions and speeds in excess of 150 miles-an-hour.

"We need to be assured of repeatability, that the numbers we get are consistent and not some fluke," Lew said. "The cars are actually pushed up to speed on the track by a vehicle behind the car. A few hundred yards before the impact, the chase vehicle pulls off, much like a pace car might pull off on pit road.

"It is remotely controlled and the car then turns into the wall."

Crush resistance is the latest hot-button issue in the sport.

In the wake of Dale Earnhardt's fatal crash, NASCAR is looking into whether the race cars have sufficient crush resistance in the front ends to adequately protect drivers from the severity of crashes. The energy-absorbent bumpers is viewed as a possible answer, along with the aluminum-foam "crush box" that is also under development.

Lew said teams have expressed interest in ordering the carbon fiber bumper, which will cost $6,000 -- but money has not be taken pending NASCAR approval of the design.