![]() ![]() ![]() He didn't want his buddies getting hurt."įrom mass-producing Nomex fire suits to fashioning the first parachutes to slow dragsters to a safe speed after tripping the timing lights, Simpson found his calling in saving lives. "I mean, Simpson was always present, and the thing is, he always cared about his buddies. "It didn't matter what area of racing you were involved in," said Stewart, a veteran of Midwest dirt oval racing who went on to win an Indy Racing League title before NASCAR beckoned. ![]() But the fabric’s properties bought drivers crucial seconds of protection, often enough to climb from a car and roll on the ground to put out the fire, or to be reached by safety workers with fire extinguishers to stop the burning before it reached skin.Īlthough others had made prototype racing suits with Nomex before Conrad’s NASA tech transfer, Simpson was the first to grasp its wide-ranging need in motor racing and take action. Nomex, as Simpson learned, wouldn’t offer a truly fireproof solution. Death by fire was an all-too-familiar outcome in heavy crashes, and despite rudimentary efforts-like soaking T-shirts and pants in bathtubs filled with water and chemical agents designed to combat flames-the board-stiff garments were no match for burning gasoline and oil. The racing-mad NASA astronaut introduced Simpson to the space-age material Nomex, developed by DuPont and used in space suit construction, among other applications. It was an encounter with Apollo 12 Commander Pete Conrad in the late Sixties that would trigger a massive change in the sport. "If you ever did anything in racing where you had to put a helmet on, seatbelts on, a fire suit, shoes, gloves, fireproof underwear, at some point he touched your life," Simpson’s friend and three-time NASCAR Cup champion Tony Stewart told Road & Track. If the company’s founder was willing to willing to risk his life inside the very layers of Nomex he sold, what excuse did drivers have to go elsewhere for their safety gear? Simpson, the human torch, sat as waves of heat furled skyward, proving the value and quality of his products in the most Simpson way imaginable. Set ablaze in 1986 wearing a flameproof driver’s suit, shoes, socks, gloves, and helmet bearing the name of his motor racing equipment company, the safety pioneer, who died at the age of 79 on Monday, burned bright shades of red until the fire was extinguished. The ad that brought fame to Bill Simpson was a perfect visual depiction of the man. ![]()
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