Seat Belt Issue Flares Up Again

Dale Earnhardt’s longtime car owner reacted angrily Thursday to seat-belt maker Bill Simpson’s claim that he repeatedly warned the late driver that belts in his car were not properly installed.

“In the 16 years that Dale and I were together, Dale never said anything to me about any conversation with Bill Simpson or any of Bill’s representatives regarding the installation of the seat belts,” car owner Richard Childress said at Bristol, Tenn., site of this weekend’s Winston Cup racing.

“Bill did speak to Dale and me on several occasions concerning safety issues, including gloves, shoes and full-face helmets.

“But I have checked with every crew chief that ever worked with Dale at RCR to see if any of them had been approached by Bill about incorrect seat-belt installation. Not one of them said he ever had.”

Simpson said that Robin Miller, a motor sports writer formerly with the Indianapolis Star, had heard such a conversation between him and Childress on at least one occasion.

Miller confirmed that.

“I was talking to Earnhardt [at Indianapolis Motor Speedway] about the HANS device and Simpson came up and started talking to him about the way his seat belts were installed,” Miller said. “I can’t remember exactly what was said, but safety was discussed in depth.”

Driver Jimmy Spencer said it was common knowledge that Earnhardt wore his belts different because he liked to have the adjuster pulled up high on his waist.

“He liked to pull up on his belts because he felt more secure that way,” Spencer said. “Simpson warned him about it the same way he warned me about the way I was wearing my belts. It was common for Simpson to look around this garage at these cars and make suggestions as to how it could be safer.”

Other drivers have said Earnhardt liked to sit back away from the steering wheel and low in his seat, a style that could explain why the belts could have been installed in a way that varied from the instructions.

Simpson, weary of the subject, declined to discuss the specifics of Earnhardt’s belts or his conversations with him and referred all other questions to his attorney.