NASCAR not immune to concussion issues

NASCAR drivers like Michael Waltrip watch the NFL story unfold as policies and rules evolve, science unveils more questions than answers, and retired players head to the courtroom for relief.

The focus has been on contact sports like football and ice hockey. But preliminary reports are raising questions about heading in soccer and the importance of sub-concussive hits, in other words, the accumulation of impacts to the brain that are below the threshold of those that cause concussion symptoms.

No sport is immune and answers are incomplete.

Days of reckoning

NASCAR's wake up call came in 2001 following the death of legend Dale Earnhardt at the Daytona 500. Earnhardt's head injury, and those of drivers Kenny Irwin, Adam Petty and Tony Roper, forced safety changes that continue to be evaluated.

Drivers are now required to wear head and neck restraints and foam supports on either side of the seat keep their helmets almost motionless during a crash.

SAFER barriers have been installed on racetrack walls to absorb impacts of cars traveling in excess of 198 mph. It takes a lot of science to make it safe.

Successful modifications

If reporting is thorough, the modifications are working. NASCAR officials say only 11 concussions have been sustained in the last five years.

Those that had concussions in the past are reflective. "I would be the perfect case study to see what's going to happen," Waltrip told CBS News. "Because I can go back and look at the races and count up times I was knocked unconscious that I can't count on both hands."

“It’s an inherently dangerous sport,” Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR’s senior vice president of racing operations told the Associated Press. “We’ve got to be the best, on the front end and, we think, on the back end.”

Current policy requires any driver involved in a significant crash to visit the infield medical center. If a concussion is suspected they are sent to the local hospital. Clearance after an injury must be provided by a neurosurgeon with at least five years' experience in sports-related head injuries.

Baseline testing is not mandatory for drivers yet, but remains an option.

Sources: NASCAR officials confident in concussion policy -- Yahoo! Sports

NFL concussion fallout raises red flags in NASCAR -- CBS News

Questions/comments? contact Jean Rickerson at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.