JIM HEAD IS "SHIELDED" LITERALLY
Jim Head learned a valuable lesson in Topeka last season.
“When engines blow up, they throw parts in all different directions,” the veteran Nitro Funny Car driver explained. Head recalled a moment during an IHRA race in 2001 when part of a manifold pierced the titanium head in the Top Fuel dragster he was driving, knocking him unconscious. Having understood the nature of the beast, just having a piece of .060 aluminum between himself and the engine didn’t leave a warm and cozy feeling. In fact, as Head puts it, “Scared the hell out of me.”
“I call it my deflection shield,” Head explained of the titanium device shielding his hands and upper chest. “It did its job in Topeka and left a dent in it. Better to put a dent in that, than a dent in me.”
Head believes he might be the only racer in the field running one because it weighs what he calls a “raging four pounds”.
For Head, performance fell a distant second to safety innovation in 1995.
“You know some of these guys, for four pounds we ought to kill a driver,” said Head. “I completely switched gears in 1996 when it became clear all we could do to the cars was run them up and down the track. When I lost two friends in one day [September 1996, Indy], I decided it was time to shift my focus to track and race car safety. I’m pretty driven to do a better job at it with each trip to the races.”
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|