Pilot Collection and Evaluation of Head Kinematics in Stock Car Racing.

The goal of this work was to collect on-track driver head kinematics using instrumented mouthpieces and characterize environmental exposure to accelerations and vibrations. Six NASCAR drivers were instrumented with custom-fit mouthpieces to collect head kinematic data. Devices were deployed at four tracks during practice and testing environments and configured to collect approximately 11 min of linear acceleration and rotational velocity data at 200 Hz.

Estimated crash injury risk and crash characteristics for motorsport drivers.

Objective: Motorsport crash events are complex and driver restraint systems are unique to the motorsport environment. The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Incorporated (NASCAR®) crash and medical datasets provide an opportunity to assess crash statistics and the relationship between crash characteristics and driver injury. Injury risk curves can estimate driver injury risk and can be developed using vehicle incident data recorder information as inputs.

Implications of head and neck restraint test repeatability for specification improvement.

Since 2005, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Incorporated (NASCAR) drivers have been required to use a head and neck restraint system (HNR) that complies with SFI Foundation, Inc. (SFI) 38.1.