CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The NASCAR world received good news late Tuesday afternoon when it was announced driver Ryan Newman was awake and talking to family members and doctors.
And now racing engineers and others say that safety implementations made after Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s death in 2001 likely played a role in saving Newman's life.
"It's a testament to Dale Earnhardt Sr., and the legacy that he left," said UNCC adjunct professor of Motorsports Engineering Dr. Charles Jenckes, "and the fact that the cars are so much safer."
After Earnhardt's death at the Daytona 500 on Feb. 18, 2001, NASCAR mandated use of the Head and Neck Support (or HANS) device.
In addition, Steel and Foam Energy Reduction (or SAFER) Barriers were installed at more tracks after Earnhardt's death as well, to soften the blow when a driver hits the wall.
Those are just two of many changes NASCAR has made in the past two decades. No driver has been killed on NASCAR's Cup Series since Earnhardt.
"If not the safest," said Jenckes, who worked for Dale Earnhardt Incorporated, "one of the safest motor sports vehicles in the world."
On the "Dale Jr Download Podcast," Dale Earnhardt Jr., said: "I'm thinking about his family, his little girls, that they get their daddy back and get him back at 100 percent."