Nascar Driver Jason Leffler Passes Away

[pHILSANITY07]

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/NASCAR-Driver-in-Critical-After-Crash-at-Local-Speedway-211313661.html

[MattB]

Wow. Sad to hear

[YALE]

Those things spend too much time on the roof. RIP.

[Sleeper]

Those things spend too much time on the roof. RIP.

Yup ive seen my share of drivers being knocked out, car still flipping and they look like a rag doll.

Never seen anyone die, but damn close.

[pHILSANITY07]

At least he died doing something he loved to do in life.

[Mach1]

I wonder what did him in, and what kind of safety equip he had. RIP

[jw33]

I wonder what did him in, and what kind of safety equip he had. RIP

Exactly what I was wondering.

[Kart21]

I wonder what did him in, and what kind of safety equip he had. RIP

I have looked into someone's car and seem 10 year old belts before.

Got told they are 'spensive and the still look kinda good.

Glad I was not driveing it.

You just don't skimp on safety gear.

That sucks.

[Grape]

Story i recieved was the rear end got to flopping around in the cage and broke the seat belt mounts, which caused an ejection. Car had full containment seat for those thinking he skimped on safety.

[pHILSANITY07]

Story i recieved was the rear end got to flopping around in the cage and broke the seat belt mounts, which caused an ejection. Car had full containment seat for those thinking he skimped on safety.

I figured a guy like him knowing the risk wouldn't skip on safety.

[jw33]

http://www.sportingnews.com/nascar/story/2013-06-21/jason-leffler-death-crash-investigation-safety-features-head-restraint

Jason Leffler might have survived his fatal sprint car crash if he had used the same headrest in his car that most NASCAR drivers use, safety experts told ESPN.com.

Leffler, who was killed while racing a 410 sprint car at Bridgeport Speedway in New Jersey, was wearing a head-and-neck restraint system but was not wearing a full containment headrest similar to what most NASCAR drivers use. Leffler’s car veered sharply into the wall and then flipped several times before hitting the wall again. Witnesses believe a part broke on his car.


An autopsy on Leffler, 37, concluded that he died of a blunt-force neck injury. The New Jersey State Police are investigating the crash but have not yet released the results of its investigation.

Racing safety expert Bill Simpson, who has designed racing safety equipment throughout his career, and former driver Randy LaJoie, who designs racecar seats, studied the crash and told ESPN.com that a 180-degree surround headrest might have saved Leffler at the 0.625-mile dirt track.

Most NASCAR drivers wear a head and neck restraint and use a seat that wraps around their body, preventing them from moving and restricting movement of the head and neck during a crash. Leffler, a former NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series driver, was wearing a NASCAR-approved head and neck restraint.

"My findings showed everything with the head and neck restraint is fine when you have a forward impact as long as it doesn't go past 30 degrees, from one side to the other," Simpson told ESPN.com. "There is no lateral protection with the head and neck restraint. Nothing.

"Your head can flop from side to side. There is nothing to stop it from doing that. That car that Leffler was driving, it did not have a 180-degree head surround like a [Sprint] Cup car has. When he crashed and landed on his side and stopped, his head kept going."

LaJoie, who has worked with police investigating the crash, concurred.

"He wasn't contained," he told ESPN.com. "That's why we haven't killed anyone in NASCAR, because we learned not to let the body and head move. Your head, chest and pelvis need to stay in line as close as possible."

Since Dale Earnhardt’s fatal crash in the 2001 Daytona 500, NASCAR has required drivers to wear a HANS (Head and Neck Support) device or another approved head-and-neck restraint system.

NASCAR has not had a fatal crash in its top three series since implementing enhanced safety features following Earnhardt’s crash.

[pHILSANITY07]

Grape or anyone with dirt racing experience, is the full headrest common?

[krazy kris]

Are they talking about the HANS device

[jw33]

Are they talking about the HANS device

He was was wearing a head-and-neck restraint system, but is doesn't say what kind it was. HANS is most likely what is was, but there are other brands out there.

[pHILSANITY07]

I wonder if he is talking about the headrest that surrounds the drivers helmet that's apart of the seat.