Believe it or not, race car safety is not black magic or a happenstance. It is a science. Extremely intelligent people spend their entire lives studying even the smallest detail of the reaction of the human body exposed to extreme loads. Extreme loads are inflicted upon drivers at every level of racing from Jr. Dragsters to Fuel Funny Cars and Dragsters. The most important concept to remember is that your safety in a race car depends on the ability of your safety system to control your body motion in a crash. Just like a chain, it is only as strong as its weakest link. The other important concept to remember is that speed can increase the forces of impact tremendously.

So what is the system?

It is everything that surrounds and protects the driver. It begins with a strong set of 7 point polyester seat belts and a strong, tight fitting seat with shoulder supports and a full head surround. The head and neck restraint finishes the system by controlling the amount of load that the neck sees during an impact.

Why strong 7 point polyester seat belts? The polyester webbing material will have a low amount of elongation with normally higher strength. Simply put, you will move less. Next, you must mount them properly if you want them to work correctly. Safety Solutions offers diagrams to make seat belt installation easier.

The seat system used should wrap around the driver as snug as possible to keep the occupant from moving around and reduce the potential for bodily injury during an impact. A foam insert is a great idea for getting your driver as tight as possible in the race car. The foam is also used for energy absorption during a crash. What the driver will notice in the first run is how little they move around as they move down the track and how much more consistent they are in the seat. This consistency also pays off in better reaction times on the tree.

The seat system should also include strong shoulders and a well made headrest along with roll bar padding on every bar not padded by the headrest. The headrests that have shown up in Funny cars and Fuel Dragsters need to be put into every car. The head is the most vital part of your body; it should be protected like it. In "door" style cars, Safety Solutions makes custom Driver Head Nets. When attached to the end of the head cage, the net contains the driver and feeds them back into the seat system during an impact. These nets need to be as stiff as possible. Kevlar and Polyester materials are chosen for Safety Solutions nets because of there stiffness and strength.

The neck is the most fragile part of a driver. In a hard impact, the seat belts and seat combine to stop the occupant's motion. Without a head and neck restraint, the head is allowed to continue moving when the body has been stopped. This easily overloads the neck. With an SFI 38.1 head and neck restraint like the Hybrid X that John Force uses or the R3 used by many Pro Stock Pro Mod racers, head motion is controlled by the restraint. Head and neck restraint technology has grown by leaps and bounds in the past few years. Current Safety Solutions head and neck restraints can reduce Neck Tension forces to near 0 pounds of force in a 70 G, 30 degree frontal impact. This is absolutely incredible realizing that Dale Earnhardt died in a crash that measured only 42 Gs. The benefits of the head and neck restraint can also be seen in every pass in a drag car when the parachutes are pulled or under hard breaking, the restraint keeps the occupant’s head up. Funny Car drivers report "clearer vision" when using the Hybrid restraint, despite tire shake.

The Safety Solutions R3 and Hybrid series of restraints range from $695 and $735 for the new Rage series to $995 and $1095 for the carbon fiber models. The ultimate head and neck restraint, the Hybrid X, is offered at $1195. All models are offered with quick releases (standard) or an optional sliding tether system to allow more side to side movement. Sportsman drivers and bracket racers can see more from side to side.

For more information about Occupant Safety Systems, contact us at (800) 731-4404, or on the web at www.safetysolutionsracing.com.

John Force: “Without a head and neck restraint, the head is allowed to continue moving when the body has been stopped”.