View source for NASCAR

==Driver safety==
[[File:Kurt Busch 2008 Miller Lite Dodge Charger.jpg|thumb|2008 [[Dodge Charger]] "[[Car of Tomorrow]]", driven by [[Kurt Busch]] ]]
{{Main|Safety in NASCAR|Death of Dale Earnhardt|Car of Tomorrow}}

NASCAR has often implemented safety measures reactively in response to injuries or fatalities.<ref name=Engemann>{{cite book|chapter=9. Toward the exploitative potential of practices in American stock car racing for safety and reliability|title=Volume I: Safety Risk Management|last1=Engemann|first1=Krista N.|last2=Scott|first2=Cliff W.|publisher=[[De Gruyter]]|date=August 24, 2020|pages=143–144|doi=10.1515/9783110638189-009|isbn=978-3-11-063818-9|s2cid=242374113 }}</ref> [[Fire-retardant fabric|Fire-retardant driver suits]] were required after the death of [[Fireball Roberts]], who died from complications of burns suffered in a crash when flames engulfed his car during a Charlotte race.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fireballroberts.com/ |title=Fireball Roberts |publisher=Fireball Roberts |access-date=May 2, 2012 |archive-date=April 29, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120429063828/http://www.fireballroberts.com/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hemmings.com/stories/article/glenn-fireball-roberts|title=Glenn "Fireball" Roberts|last=Ernst|first=Kurt|work=[[Hemmings Muscle Machines]]|date=September 2014|access-date=October 25, 2021|archive-date=October 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211025160526/https://www.hemmings.com/stories/article/glenn-fireball-roberts|url-status=live}}</ref> After the deaths of [[Adam Petty]], [[Kenny Irwin]] and [[Tony Roper (racing driver)|Tony Roper]] in 2000 and [[Dale Earnhardt]] in 2001, NASCAR revisited the idea of decreasing the [[G-forces]] a driver sustained during a crash.<ref name=Autoweek-Feb2021>{{cite web|url=https://www.autoweek.com/racing/nascar/a35667978/safer-barriers-nascar-drivers-survive-the-big-one/|title=How SAFER Barriers Came To Help NASCAR Drivers Survive 'The Big One'|work=[[Autoweek]]|date=February 28, 2021|access-date=October 25, 2021|archive-date=October 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211025160736/https://www.autoweek.com/racing/nascar/a35667978/safer-barriers-nascar-drivers-survive-the-big-one/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The "kill switch" throttle, was mandated after the death of Adam Petty, along with the requirements of an anti-spill bladder in fuel cells. The impact-absorbing "[[SAFER Barrier]]" had been in use as early as 1998, but NASCAR hesitated to install those walls out of concerns that they may bring about unintended consequences of aggravating the crashes, and possibly because of the effort needed to clean up the debris from the damaged walls.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/onehelluvarideho00clar|url-access=registration|title=One Helluva Ride: How NASCAR Swept the Nation|last=Clarke|first=Liz|publisher=[[Random House Publishing]]|date=2008|access-date=October 25, 2021|pages=39, 175–177, 179–180|isbn=978-0-345-49988-2}}</ref> Dale Earnhardt [[Death of Dale Earnhardt|fatally]] suffered a fracture to the base of his skull after his car slammed into the concrete wall in the [[2001 Daytona 500]]. Earnhardt's death prompted NASCAR to implement the SAFER barrier and consider drastic improvements to the safety of the drivers. One of these would require all drivers to use the "[[HANS device]]" (Head And Neck Support Device), a device that keeps the driver's neck from going forward in a wreck. The mandate came about in October after [[Blaise Alexander]], racing for the [[ARCA series]], died in a crash that resulted in the same injuries sustained as Earnhardt.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/racing/nascar/cup/columns/story?columnist=hinton_ed&id=6116145|title=Earnhardt's death a watershed moment|last=Hinton|first=Ed|work=[[ESPN]]|date=February 7, 2011|access-date=October 25, 2021|archive-date=October 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211025160443/https://www.espn.com/racing/nascar/cup/columns/story?columnist=hinton_ed&id=6116145|url-status=live}}</ref> NASCAR redesigned the racing vehicle with safety improvements, calling it the [[Car of Tomorrow]], which debuted in 2007. The car had a higher roof, wider cockpit, and the driver seat was located more toward the center of the vehicle.<ref name=Engemann/>

The [[death of Dale Earnhardt]] has been seen as a "wake-up" call for NASCAR.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/19/magazine/how-many-lives-did-dale-earnhardt-save.html|title=How Many Lives Did Dale Earnhardt Save?|last1=Dubner|first1=Stephen J.|last2=Levitt|first2=Steven D.|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=February 19, 2006|access-date=October 25, 2021|archive-date=October 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211025160552/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/19/magazine/how-many-lives-did-dale-earnhardt-save.html|url-status=live}}</ref> NASCAR has been far more aggressive with safety changes since Earnhardt's death,<ref name=Engemann/> and {{As of|2021|02|28|alt=as of 2024}}, no NASCAR driver has been involved in a fatal accident since.<ref name=Autoweek-Feb2021/>