18 replies to this topic

[biercemountain]

From an article on Speedvison.com...

Tired of being harangued for a perceived role in the fatal accident that claimed the life of Dale Earnhardt in February, Bill Simpson resigned as the head of his own Simpson Performance Products late Tuesday night.

Well the good ol' boys running Neckscar have gone and done it now. In their quest to create a fall guy for the Earnhardt death they have made an enemy out of one of racing drivers greatest allies. I'm amazed that they would treat someone who has dedicated his life to protecting the safety of racers with such shallow, and obviously political disrespect.

The way Nascar has handled the whole Earnhardt affair is positively sickening. Rather than trying to get to the bottom of what happened they are instead trying to deflect responsibility from themselves and frame someone else. Granted the story of the broken seat belt is worrysome, but without objective analysis from an impartial third party any conclusion they reach about how it broke are suspect in my book. I think their whole "official" investigation will prove that "Earnhardt died while doing what he loved doing". In other words, nada, zilch, zero, nothing new. And the media will report it without so much as one critical word.

How many more racers will have to die before the public demands more accountability from Nascar and its leadership?

[Locai]

I would imagine that Bill Simpson will turn up somewhere soon with a new company. I don't blame him for wanting to get away from dealing with NASCAR for now. NASCAR is looking for a scapegoat and they have him in their sights.

Does anybody know if Simpson Products has any dealings with F1? I know their stuff is used in NASCAR and IRL pretty heavily and I think that I've seen their logo in CART. I don't believe that any F1 drivers wear Simpson race suits, but I don't know if anybody uses their helmets or other safety equipment.

[mhferrari]

NASCAR just needed to find a scapegoat. Many inside sources say that the seatbelt was intact at the time of the incident and that the Simpson equipment was not to blame.

[Duck]

The paramedic who actually climbed INSIDE Earhardt's car to revive him stated emphatically that the belt WAS I-N-T-A-C-T when he arrived at the scene. I've never seen, or witnessed Damage Control the likes of which NASCAR has implemented. I wonder if the Official NASCAR Accident Report due out late this month will mention D.E.'s penchant for reputed alterations in the use of his restraining system, his modified 1960's style seat, or open-face helmet.
I'm not indicting The Intimidator for how he preferred to wear his belts, or how he chose to sit, but to infer that a Simpson product perhaps caused the fatal injury definitely leads one to think of conspiratorial spins on behalf of NASCAR.

[RiverRunner]

Simpson Racing Products have saved hundreds,if not thousands of race drivers lives.
That NASCAR in a callow self serving manner has cast this man and his companies products as the primary cause of DE's death is criminal.
If anything,Bill Simpson deserves a place in a Racers Hall of Fame somewhere.

NASCAR is becoming more evil and greedy with every passing day.

[Chris G.]

This makes me sick.

Almost as sick as I felt watching the fat, drunk redneck in an Indianapolis bar with his hand on his chest singing the national anthem after Dale-Jr. "won" the race a few weeks ago.

So as not to invoke anymore bad karma, suffice it to say that I do not like bILL fRANCE.

What a farce.

[TheDestroyer]

Why is this behaviour so surprising?

After Senna died, the Italian government put EVERYONE who had some small connection to Senna's drive that day on trial for manslaughter.

[TopGear]

Which is the exact OPPOSITE of what is happening here.

[MPea3]

remember.... NASCAR doesn't even require safetry gear such as driver suits or helmets. they're suggested, but it's up to the driver.

in the past i've seen amazing stuff in race cars, and not in a good way. altered belts, belts looped around sections of roll cages, then drilled and bolted with fender washers, belt improperly wrapped, thin wall roll cages to save weight, etc. while i've always been amazed at these sorts of things, i've always been equally impressed in the quality of products i've seen from simpson. bill simpson has devoted his own professional life to improving the safety of racing. for him to be treated as a scapegoat while NASCAR and it's drivers take such a casual attitude to safety, is very disturbing and lacks credibility.

[NYR2119935]

I hate you Nascar !!!!!

Simspon products have been used in CART for many many years!

[Nasty McBastard]

on the topic of nascar (coz i have a thing where i refuse to start a thread on the subject myself), after the little E wins daytona conspiricy theorys etc.

does anyone find it odd, that little E, at Pocono in June can barely run 30 laps on a tank, they go off and do some "milage work" come back 40 days later and can suddenly go 9 laps (basically 25%) futher on fuel?

a lap or two maybe, but a whole 25% extra? thatd seem slightly odd in comparision between races of a different year, never mind different month.

[TheDestroyer]

top, not really... NASCAR is looking for someone to blame in an effort to shift the onus away from NASCAR an onto anyone else but the entity called NASCAR - be it a engineer, team owner, failed belt, lack of a HANS device etc.

It's the same damn thing that the Italian government did... The Italian government just couldn't handle the fact that one of the more popular drivers had died - NASCAR is in the same state of denial.

[rdrcr]

It is not surprising actually.

Bill Simpson has devoted his life to protection of drivers and crew alike for over 30 years. I have met the man on several occasions and he is as honest and forthright as he is a colorful character. He is well respected and revered in all forms of motorsports.

His resignation is a public showing of contempt for the way he has been treated by the France family, Mike Helton and the hierarchy at CRASHCAR. He no more wanted to leave his beloved company than a parent would want to abandon a child. I feel that it was his way of ending a relationship that went from a mutual evolution of success to suspicion and deceit perpetuated by those that would turn on a friend and business partner by the obfuscation of the truth. He will most likely create another company and continue his efforts in helping to save driver's lives.

NASCAR has a "report" coming up this month on the crash, why it took this long no one knows... In this "report", I speculate that the Simpson Co. will be implicated. BTW - the "independent investigators" names were never released.

Its' a total white wash and a ruse for the "hang 'em high" NASCAR puppet fans looking to crucify some poor bastard over the death of their hero. It's beyond the reality of most Earnhardt fans that he could have made a mistake, and on that day, his luck ran out.

The real cause of Dale Earnhardt's death lies in the construction of the car and the safety measures that were not mandated by NASCAR to insure as much as possible, the safety of the drivers.

There have been five deaths associated with this chassis rule change and the lack of a mandate for HANS. Petty, Erwin Jr., Roper, Earnhardt, and a driver from the Midwest who died in a NASCAR stockcar the same way, racing in a ASA event just a few months ago.

NASCAR had previous knowledge that the front chassis frame members were too stiff as per the 2000 rules, and rather than change them (thus admitting they knew) after the Adam Petty and Kenny Erwin Jr. crashes, they continued to create web of deceit and a mass of finger pointing to perpetuate this ruse... They are liable for those deaths. It's called criminal negligence.

To many fans of other types of motorsports this event disgusts them, but little is said to bring to light, the implications of the corporate monster running amuck. If this could happen in "America's" biggest sport then it could happen anywhere.

The abuse of power has been so obvious and prevalent in NASCAR, I really hope that the whole mess is exposed, and the guilty parties are publicly crucified and held accountable. Nothing would please me more than to see Helton in prison and the France family ostracized for life in racing. The entire organization needs to be overhauled and the recognition of mandating the changes for inadequate safety requirements must be enforced.

I look forward to seeing this "report" from NASCAR. I shall read it and read between the lines as any astute racing fan would... However, there are more fans that will take the report at face value and like the good puppets they are, continue to buy into the lies and cover-up that NASCAR has created. Bill Simpson is just a casualty. He isn't the first and he won't be the last.


rdrcr

[TheDestroyer]

rdrcr,

here, here!!

good post!

[RiverRunner]

kudos,rdcr

[TheDestroyer]

rdrcr,

this is the kind of stuff that happens when efforts are made to take a dangerous sport and turn it into "entertainment" a.k.a WWF, etc.

[Duck]

rdrcr - I totally concur... Well Done !!

[NYR2119935]

I like the WWF and ECW, but not in racing terms....

[mohrgan]

KUDOS rdrcr:up: