Backstory: Window Nets

BY BEN WHITE

Above: Marv Acton of Porterville, California, came east to drive for fellow Porterville native Dick Brooks during the 1971 NASCAR Cup Series season. Driving a Plymouth, Acton finished 19th in the 1971 Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.

Right: Buddy Baker drove 18 NASCAR Cup Series events for Petty Enterprises during the 1971 season and finished in the top 10 in 16 of those races. At Daytona International Speedway, Baker was second in the 1971 Daytona 500 and third in the Firecracker 400. T hroughout NASCAR’s 73-year history, the safety of fans and competitors has been the sanctioning body’s top priority.

One safety innovation that is mandatory in today’s race cars was introduced following a memorable crash suffered by seventime Cup Series champion Richard Petty on May 9, 1970.

As Petty came off of Turn 4 at the tricky, one-groove Darlington Raceway, his No. 43 Petty Enterprises Plymouth broke loose, sending him hard into the concrete wall that separates the track from pit road. Upon impact, Petty’s car tumbled violently, sending him partially through the driver’s side window opening.

As pit crew members up and down pit road rushed to his aid, there was great uncertainty about his condition. After being carefully removed from the car, Petty was transported to the track’s infield care center and on to McLeod Medical Center in nearby Florence, South Carolina.

Petty suffered a dislocated shoulder, a concussion and cuts and bruises as a result of the crash.

“I don’t remember anything about the wreck. I missed the whole deal when I was knocked out,” Petty said later, according to Greg Fielden’s “40 Years of Stock Car Racing” book series. “I’ve always said that when I stop racing, it probably will be when I get hurt too badly where I just can’t race anymore. This wreck didn’t hurt me that badly.”

NASCAR officials immediately went to work designing a way to keep drivers inside their cars during rollover crashes. An idea surfaced to create netting that would cover the driver’s side window opening.

The safety device was originally a square netting, with a rod at the top that buckled at the bottom with a seat-belt latch. Throughout the 1970s, the netting became wider but remained square at the center of the window opening.

The nets were first used at Dover International Speedway on Sept. 20, 1970.

“After Petty’s accident at Darlington, NASCAR felt they had to do something to keep drivers from coming out of the cars in a rollover situation,” said NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison. “The wreck Petty had that day caused his arms and upper body to come out and almost got him under the car. So we needed something to keep us inside the car in case that happened. Screen nets have worked incredibly well and have improved quite a bit over the years. They are far better today that what we had in those days.”