NASCAR’s new car has major safety design flaw?
Quote selected text Published April 8th, 2007 in NASCAR News
After just two races, the heat is on NASCAR and its Car of Tomorrow.
During the Nextel Cup race last Sunday at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, Harvick’s car caught fire when the safety foam used in the door panels ignited, filling his car with smoke.
Series director John Darby said NASCAR is determined to make the mechanical corrections.
“If it’s as much of a problem as I think it is, we’ve got to find out why and stop it,” Darby said, noting that the problem has occurred in just a handful of cars. “It’s not an incurable problem by any means, but it’s something we need to work on,” Darby said.
Burned and melted pieces of the shock-absorbing safety foam were removed from the right-door panel of Harvick’s No. 29 Richard Childress Racing machine. Pieces of foam were also scattered over the floorboards.
“If they don’t fix it, they need to fire 10 people in charge and start right from the top,” Harvick said.
Harvick suffered his first DNF of the season and dropped from fifth to 10th in the series standings. Of the three RCR cars competing on Sunday, Harvick’s was the only one that had trouble. Harvick crew chief Todd Berrier disputed the theory that a crack in the tailpipe caused the problem.
“The pipes aren’t busted,” Berrier said. “I’m not real smart, but I do know that whenever you put foam over a fire, it’s not going to be great.”
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why not put water coolers like the drivers in the rolex races have in there, and have it around the foam and or on the inside of it, and then put the foam in a thick steal or a more heat resistant metal box, make it mandatory on all cars, so know one car use thinner metal to make the cars lighter, its a simple fix, or have air ducts into them, i should just invent what they need this week and send it to nascar and make them pay me to use it, and even if you cant use thick steal because itll down grade its safety for impact, you just need a heat resistant material that can be layered around the foam so that before the heat gets to the foam is has to go through a material, that isnt just a gel around the foam, but an actuall layer, its not hard at all
hey david, the foam is supposed to be already fire proof. NASCAR needs to stop freakin lying about their products. they want this COT to work so bad that they are doing and saying anything to get it rolling. Just my thoughts
Oh so NASCAr is just now noticing safty flaws? Well I guess when Brian Vickers burned his feet and butt, and then Kevin Harvick’s car caught on fire from the foam piece in the door getting hot, yeah… that’s definatly a safty flaw! So NASCAR don’t you think it’s time to go back to the old drawing board?
I too think Nascar needs to bull there heads out too and see this flaw…and listen to the drivers about other problems …This new car obviously sucks….
Matthew wrote:
hay