Three teams to use escape hatches at Talladega

LOUDON, N.H. -- No less than three NASCAR Winston Cup teams will have roof escape hatches in place for their drivers by the time the series goes to Talladega Superspeedway at the end of this month.

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Development of the "alternate exit" has been ongoing at NASCAR's research and development center in Concord, N.C.

A NASCAR spokesman said managing director of research and development Gary Nelson had a bulletin prepared that would allow teams to begin installing the hatches and its release was imminent.

	The remains of Ryan Newman's car after a high-speed crash in April's race. Credit: Autostock

Michael Waltrip's NAPA Chevrolet team from Dale Earnhardt Incorporated performed the first on-track test of the device last week during a Goodyear tire test at Daytona International Speedway and was pleased with the results.

"This is a really good deal for Michael," said Waltrip's crew chief Slugger Labbe, who cited a couple instances of his driver having difficulty extricating himself from a crashed car. "It takes about two days to put in and it's a little bit of weight up top, which you really can't compensate for.

"But what you get out of it is that when you go to bed at night you know that your driver is safe. If he can get out real easy if he's pinned up against the wall and on fire, I'm all for it."

Waltrip, at 6-foot-5 and 200 pounds, is one of the largest drivers in Winston Cup. Labbe said he exited his car at Daytona "in less than five seconds" when he tested the hatch.

	Ricky Rudd's car was badly damaged in the April race. Credit: Autostock

Labbe said the attitude of the hatch was similar to the roof flaps that are currently in place on the cars, and that his team had tested the location with telemetry that proved there was no aerodynamic detriment to having it in place.

Elliott Sadler (6-2, 195) is another that said as soon as the device was approved, he and his Robert Yates Racing teammate Dale Jarrett (6-2, 215) would have it in their cars.

"As soon as they make it legal, that's exactly what we're going to do," Sadler said. "Todd (Parrott, crew chief) and I have already talked about it, D.J. and everyone over there (at Yates) is looking at a safer way of doing things."

Sadler said there is another side to the hatches, particularly for bigger drivers.

"It's going to let us add more protection to the left side of our body," Sadler said. "Right now we have to limit that so we can get out in case the car is crumpled up any or the left side window hole gets smaller.

"With the escape hatch we can put the same kind of protection in the left side of the car as we have on the right and it will be safer all the way around. You're definitely going to see it on my car."

	Hermie Sadler's mangled car gets towed back to the garage. Credit: Autostock

"We modified NASCAR's design a little bit and it's a real good design," Labbe said. "We're planning to bring it to Talladega and I told (Winston Cup director John) Darby that if anyone wants to look at it to come on because it's a step in the right direction for safety.

"We're not going to hide anything from anybody when it comes to safety."

Labbe said his team planned to install it in the cars Waltrip will use at Atlanta, Lowe's Motor Speedway and "other fast tracks."

"We really should use it everywhere," Labbe said, "because you can wreck just as bad at New Hampshire or Richmond as you can at Daytona or Talladega, so it will just be a matter of time and getting everything in."