After Richmond fire, over-the-wall crews get head socks
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Crew members going over the wall for Richard Childress Racing teams will be wearing flame resistant head socks when the SpongeBob SquarePants 400 gets underway at Kansas Speedway.
Some will also be wearing a new style helmet.
The changes come in the wake of a pit road fire at Richmond International Speedway last month that hospitalized two RCR crewmen and sent a third from another team off site for treatment as well during and XFINITY Series event.
Mike Dillon, Vice President of Competition for RCR said Friday at Kansas Speedway that all over-the-wall crew members, “whether they’re working on the front of the car or the back, we’re requiring them to wear a (flame-resistant) head sock.”
The new helmet features a “skirt” for additional protection but is not currently mandated by the organization for all over-the-wall crew.
RCR fields full-time Sprint Cup Series teams for drivers Austin Dillon, Paul Menard and Ryan Newman, as well as XFINITY Series teams for Brian Scott, Ty Dillon and Brendan Gaughan.
“We’re working on some full (face) helmets,” Mike Dillon said. “You’ll see a dozen of them on pit road this weekend. The whole No. 3 team (of Austin Dillon) I think decided to wear them.
Gas men and anyone handling fuel cans on the non-active side of the pit wall are required by NASCAR to wear full-face helmets with face shields as part of their safety equipment.
“The biggest thing is their field of view; these (over-the-wall) guys want to see the cars coming at them, the cars coming in and out (of the pits),” Dillon said. The full face helmets “block your peripheral vision. That’s their biggest complaint.”
It was Gaughan’s No. 62 Chevrolet that erupted in flames during a pit stop at Richmond International Speedway.
Anthony O’Brien, the team’s rear-tire changer, and gasman Josh Wittman, suffered burns when spilled fuel ignited during a pit stop on Lap 113. Wittman was kept overnight while O’Brien was released three days after the incident.
Clifford Turner (JGL Racing) covered O’Brien in an attempt to smother the flames when the tire changer jumped back across pit wall. He was treated and released after inhaling fire extinguisher chemicals.
Dillon said the fuel spill was due to a parts malfunction in the head of the gas can. “The … valve has a screw in it that holds it in and it pulled the threads out,” he said.
“When that happened, it allowed it to open up and it was just a solid stream of fuel flowing out of the can. … It just dumped 5-6 gallons of fuel on the ground pretty quick.”
To correct the situation, the valve pieces are now bolted in place.
“It’s probably just a case of you just (perform) maintenance on them so often, we’re shortening the life expectancy of them, too.” he said. “So we’ve changed from that generation now on the Cup side … to a newer version.
“I think taking it apart, and in and out of the opening so often (led to the failure). Every time you tighten it, you’re stretching those threads.”
The SpongeBob SquarePants 400 is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. ET start (FOX Sports 1, MRN, Sirius XM).