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Throughout the first decade of the twenty first century, large improvements in occupant safety have been made in NASCAR®'s (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc) race series. Enhancements to the occupant restraint system include the development and implementation of head and neck restraints, minimum performance requirements for belts and seats and the introduction of energy absorbing foam are a few highlights, among others. This paper discusses nineteen sled tests used to analyze hypothesized improvements to restraint system mounting geometry. The testing matrix included three sled acceleration profiles, three impact orientations, two Anthropomorphic Test Device (ATD) sizes as well as the restraint system design variables.

Over the last decade large safety improvements have been made in crash protection for motorsports drivers. It has been well established that in side and rear impacts the driver seat provides the primary source for occupant retention and restraint. Beginning in the 2015 season, NASCAR®'s (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc) Sprint Cup Series will require driver seats which have all seat belt restraint system anchorage locations integrated internally to the seat with a minimum of seven anchorage locations. This paper describes the development of the quasi-static test for the seat integrated seat belt restraint system portion of the NASCAR Seat Submission and Test Protocol Criteria. It reviews the methodology used to develop the testing including the developmental dynamic sled tests.

First required in 1970 in NASCAR® (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc) the driver's window safety net or driver's window net has continually evolved and improved. The driver's window net has played an important role in protecting race car drivers from injury. Driver's window nets were originally used to help keep the driver's upper torso, head and arms inside the interior of the race vehicle during crashes. As restraint systems were improved, the role of the driver's window net in stock car racing has transitioned to keeping flailing hands inside the interior of the car while also serving as a shield to protect the driver from intruding debris. This paper describes three separate window net and window net mounting tests and the use of these tests to design an improved window net mounting system.

Since its inception in 1948, NASCAR® (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc.) has continually strived to promote and improve driver, crew and spectator safety. As the vehicles used in NASCAR have changed over the years, their windshields have evolved also. The 1948 NASCAR Rulebook specified that all cars must have safety glass. In 2013, the NASCAR Sprint cup Series will use a laminated polycarbonate windshield. This paper describes the ballistic testing of the latest polycarbonate laminated design as well as previous monolithic polycarbonate designs.

Over the last twenty years, large improvements in occupant safety have been made in NASCAR®'s (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc.) racing series. While proper occupant protection requires both occupant restraint and preservation of sufficient occupant survival space, this study is focused mainly on the latter of these two necessities. The NASCAR tubular vehicle chassis has evolved through the years to provide improved protection for the driver in rollover incidents. The chassis has continued to progress over time to improve its strength as unique crashes sometimes highlighted opportunities for advancement. Recent enhancements tested using computer modeling, quasi-static testing, and full scale drop tests have improved the roof structure of the stock car chassis. These improvements have been incorporated into the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series cars.

Throughout the first decade of the twenty first century, large improvements in occupant safety have been made in NASCAR®'s (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc.) race series. Enhancements to the occupant restraint system include the implementation and advancement of head and neck restraints (HNR), minimum performance requirements for belts and seats and the introduction of energy-absorbing foam are a few highlights, among others. This paper summarizes three non-injury case studies of actual on-track incidents, including the acceleration pulses, principal direction of force, restraint systems used and driver anthropometry information. Also discussed are the NASCAR personal safety equipment requirements as well as frontal, oblique and side sled testing data of similar input acceleration magnitudes for the Hybrid III (H-III) fiftieth percentile male anthropomorphic test device (ATD).

This paper presents the rationale behind the development of a shoulder belt load cell suitable for application in racings cars. The design of the load cell and the operational parameters necessary for a research-quality measurement device for biomechanics research in racing car crashes and the performance of the device in sled tests are described.

Over the last decade large improvements in driver's safety have been made in all areas of stock car racing. A large contributor to the science of these improvements has been the data provided by onboard IDR's (Incident Data Recorders). Starting in 2002, NASCAR® (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc.) implemented its first IDR. Beginning with the 2011 racing season, a new IDR and mounting system resides in all of NASCAR's National Touring Series race vehicles. This paper details the testing, development and implementation of this system into the NASCAR National Touring Series.

Since their introduction into NASCAR® (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc.) in the early 1950s roll bars have played a vital role in protecting race car drivers from injury during crashes. Just as helmets, seats, seatbelts and a multitude of other safety enhancements have evolved and transformed racing safety, so too have roll bars. From serving as additional bracing in early stock cars, to being the primary chassis and frame system in modern NASCAR vehicles, tubular roll bars have changed dramatically. This paper summarizes extensive quasi-static testing of tubular joints. Test variables included joining method and gusset design. Also described are the material properties, engineering characteristics and joining methods currently used in modern NASCAR vehicle chassis fabrication.

The crash recorder is an important data gathering device in motorsports. Since the introduction of crash recording in Indy Cars in 1993, the data gathered has been critical in developing improvements in race car structures and driver protection systems. This report will examine which sanctioning bodies use recorders, what type of data is gathered, and how that data is used to improve driver's safety in racing.

Drivers Safety in racing is greatly influenced by the safety rules established and published by the sanctioning bodies that operate the racing series. This paper will list the 2006 rules in categories affecting driver's safety, from several sanctioning bodies. Those categories include required helmets, restraints, seats, padding and nets. The sanctioning bodies chosen offer a large cross-section of race cars in use from Formula SAE to NHRA Top Fuel. The rules often refer to meeting specifications from the SFI Foundation, the Snell Foundation, or Federation Interationale de l'Automobile (FIA). This paper will explain what those specifications mean and serve as a guide to sources.

Race car nets have been used for years to keep the drivers head and arms inside the structure of the race car during an accident. Recent testing by GM Racing has shown that a net placed near the driver's shoulder and head on the right side can significantly reduce head excursion and thereby reduce neck tension in a side impact. The reduced neck tension prevents neck injury and basilar skull fracture. The right side net also improves seat stiffness and reduces seat deflection in side impacts.

Race car structure has been the subject of much discussion but little information. A hydraulic press has been constructed at Howe Racing to provide enough force to crush an American Speed Association (ASA) race car center-section. This facility tests under quasi-static conditions that give a force deflection characteristic of an entire center-section. The data can be used to make improvements in the strength or penetration resistance of a center section to improve driver safety. The data can also provide design guidance for energy absorbing elements that are added to the center-section. This paper describes the results of that testing and preliminary design consideration for a replaceable energy absorber.

The structure of the racecar has been the subject of much discussion with regard to crash safety. The stiffness of the structure, the amount of crush and the resulting deceleration were being judged, in some instances, as too stiff or not stiff enough for the driver. Much of this discussion centered on crash incidents for which no deceleration data were available from crash recorders (black boxes). In this paper, crash test dummy (Anthropomorphic Test Device ATD) results are compared for various idealized deceleration-time histories (deceleration pulses) that represent various structural crush characteristics. A crash velocity of 64.4 KPH (40 MPH) against a wall was used to represent a life threatening energy level.