James sat down on his old couch on Sunday afternoon, on a chilly February day. He had the small, cramped living room to himself as his wife and children were somewhere else in the house. With no one to distract him and nothing to do, he decided to watch the Daytona 500, something he regularly did with his free time. At first, he was just flipping channels, seeing what was on. When he flipped to Fox and saw the NASCAR race, he settled into the couch and planned to be there for a while.
He was rooting for Dale Earnhardt, as most people were at the time. This was not Earnhardt’s first race at 49; he had a lot of experience under his belt. He even got his son, Dale Earnhardt Jr., in on the action and was racing with him in 2001. Earnhardt Sr. …show more content…
The HANS device is “a U-shaped collar worn underneath harness belts that tethers to a driver’s helmet, restricting the movement of a driver’s head in the event of a hard impact” (Schrader, Stef). “ They made a neck brace, I think it’s called HANS, but when you have one one, you literally cannot move your neck and head separately. You can barely move it at all.” (Wombacher, James D). Before the crash, NASCAR didn’t tell the racers what they could do and what they had to wear. For instance, “Head and neck restraints had been encouraged by NASCAR before Earnhardt’s death, but weren’t widely used.” (Schrader, Stef). “The HANS device was made for instances like Dale’s crash. They did not want something like this to happen again.” Some would say the HANS device should be named after Earnhardt because he is the reason it was made. In a press conference, Dr. James H. Raddin Jr. said, “the cause of Earnhardt’s death were blunt force injuries to the base of the skull—precisely the kind of injury the Hans device was designed to prevent” (Schrader, Stef). “If Dale had worn the HANS device, he probably would have survived that crash and raced for a few more years.” (Wombacher, James D). Dale Earnhardt’s death had sparked new inventions for future NASCAR
He was rooting for Dale Earnhardt, as most people were at the time. This was not Earnhardt’s first race at 49; he had a lot of experience under his belt. He even got his son, Dale Earnhardt Jr., in on the action and was racing with him in 2001. Earnhardt Sr. …show more content…
The HANS device is “a U-shaped collar worn underneath harness belts that tethers to a driver’s helmet, restricting the movement of a driver’s head in the event of a hard impact” (Schrader, Stef). “ They made a neck brace, I think it’s called HANS, but when you have one one, you literally cannot move your neck and head separately. You can barely move it at all.” (Wombacher, James D). Before the crash, NASCAR didn’t tell the racers what they could do and what they had to wear. For instance, “Head and neck restraints had been encouraged by NASCAR before Earnhardt’s death, but weren’t widely used.” (Schrader, Stef). “The HANS device was made for instances like Dale’s crash. They did not want something like this to happen again.” Some would say the HANS device should be named after Earnhardt because he is the reason it was made. In a press conference, Dr. James H. Raddin Jr. said, “the cause of Earnhardt’s death were blunt force injuries to the base of the skull—precisely the kind of injury the Hans device was designed to prevent” (Schrader, Stef). “If Dale had worn the HANS device, he probably would have survived that crash and raced for a few more years.” (Wombacher, James D). Dale Earnhardt’s death had sparked new inventions for future NASCAR