Jeff Horton never dreamed his development work of the last 2 years would result in receiving the 2009 Louis Schwitzer Award. But that is exactly what happened.Horton, who is the Indy Director of Engineering, takes his job seriously. His job includes safety inspection of the cars which includes, on tech day, the seats, head rests, helmets, and the head and neck restraints among other things. His “group”, as he calls them, is also responsible for accident inspections and deals with the crash box data. During the winter he is also responsible for the sled test program utilizing the Delphi or C.A.P.E. facility.This wide variety of duties and what he saw as the need for certain improvements was the trigger that lead him to develop an “extension”, or attachment, which improves the performance of the HANS for Indy drivers during rear impacts .
“We have a group that includes doctors and we know from the research we do with the accidents, “began Horton, “that the driver needs to move as a system in the car. You don’t want his head or neck or body to go in a different direction or at a different speed. We have witnessed some incidents with bruising when the driver hits rearward and starts to ramp out of the car, which happens naturally, and the HANS would get caught in the padding which is used on the headrests to cut down on the vibration on the driver’s helmet. Depending on what they’re doing ( the driver’s movements within the car) these things (head and neck restraints) move violently in a crash, so, trying to police the head pad for all these years, the last couple of years, and trying to get as straight and as smooth a system as we could is just hard to do because they’ve got padding there.”
“So we could see that during inspections, and then of course post accidents, we would investigate there, look at the headrest. We’d see where the HANS had dug in (to the headrests). That’s what lead to the development of this extension”
The device has been approved for use by all drivers in the Indy series. That was an easy approval to get since that is one of Horton’s other duties and the fact that Jim Downing and the HANS people assisted with the development of the “Extension” only adds to their confidence in this device.
The Extension, “doesn’t just work with the HANS,” continued Jeff, “Actually any head and neck restraint it will work with. It’s bolted to it. There’s a fastening mechanism in the back for the tethers which go to the helmet and, so, it becomes part of that.”
“They (HANS) built me my first test pieces, actually. Then Jim Downing, one of the inventors of the HANS, attended our test last fall when we ran it on the sled.”
This attachment does not affect the single point release issue of the SFI 38.1 certification and since this is an attachment, stated Horton, and does not affect the actual performance of the HANS, there is no re- certification needed. Should HANS, at a later date, want to make the “Extension” as a stock piece then re-certification would be needed at that point.
At the time of this interview 21 drivers had the “extension” installed for use during the INDY 500. From what I saw, it certainly got a work out. Horton did say that he does see the potential for applications of the “Extension” in other forms of racing. “Whether it’s a sprint car, or NASCAR or a lot of the other ones, they’ve got protection up around the driver’s head, which means padding. Most other series don’t hit rearward as often as we do, but, in the chance that you do, it would help there just as well as in the INDY car.
For those interested in the “Extension”, check with the IndyCar series as to where to obtain one.
Jeff Horton never dreamed his development work of the last 2 years would result in receiving the 2009 Louis Schwitzer Award. But that is exactly what happened.Horton, who is the Indy Director of Engineering, takes his job seriously. His job includes safety inspection of the cars which includes, on tech day, the seats, head rests, helmets, and the head and neck restraints among other things. His “group”, as he calls them, is also responsible for accident inspections and deals with the crash box data. During the winter he is also responsible for the sled test program utilizing the Delphi or C.A.P.E. facility.This wide variety of duties and what he saw as the need for certain improvements was the trigger that lead him to develop an “extension”, or attachment, which improves the performance of the HANS for Indy drivers during rear impacts .
“We have a group that includes doctors and we know from the research we do with the accidents, “began Horton, “that the driver needs to move as a system in the car. You don’t want his head or neck or body to go in a different direction or at a different speed. We have witnessed some incidents with bruising when the driver hits rearward and starts to ramp out of the car, which happens naturally, and the HANS would get caught in the padding which is used on the headrests to cut down on the vibration on the driver’s helmet. Depending on what they’re doing ( the driver’s movements within the car) these things (head and neck restraints) move violently in a crash, so, trying to police the head pad for all these years, the last couple of years, and trying to get as straight and as smooth a system as we could is just hard to do because they’ve got padding there.”
“So we could see that during inspections, and then of course post accidents, we would investigate there, look at the headrest. We’d see where the HANS had dug in (to the headrests). That’s what lead to the development of this extension”
The device has been approved for use by all drivers in the Indy series. That was an easy approval to get since that is one of Horton’s other duties and the fact that Jim Downing and the HANS people assisted with the development of the “Extension” only adds to their confidence in this device.
The Extension, “doesn’t just work with the HANS,” continued Jeff, “Actually any head and neck restraint it will work with. It’s bolted to it. There’s a fastening mechanism in the back for the tethers which go to the helmet and, so, it becomes part of that.”
“They (HANS) built me my first test pieces, actually. Then Jim Downing, one of the inventors of the HANS, attended our test last fall when we ran it on the sled.”
This attachment does not affect the single point release issue of the SFI 38.1 certification and since this is an attachment, stated Horton, and does not affect the actual performance of the HANS, there is no re- certification needed. Should HANS, at a later date, want to make the “Extension” as a stock piece then re-certification would be needed at that point.
At the time of this interview 21 drivers had the “extension” installed for use during the INDY 500. From what I saw, it certainly got a work out. Horton did say that he does see the potential for applications of the “Extension” in other forms of racing. “Whether it’s a sprint car, or NASCAR or a lot of the other ones, they’ve got protection up around the driver’s head, which means padding. Most other series don’t hit rearward as often as we do, but, in the chance that you do, it would help there just as well as in the INDY car.
For those interested in the “Extension”, check with the IndyCar series as to where to obtain one.
Jeff Horton never dreamed his development work of the last 2 years would result in receiving the 2009 Louis Schwitzer Award. But that is exactly what happened.Horton, who is the Indy Director of Engineering, takes his job seriously. His job includes safety inspection of the cars which includes, on tech day, the seats, head rests, helmets, and the head and neck restraints among other things. His “group”, as he calls them, is also responsible for accident inspections and deals with the crash box data. During the winter he is also responsible for the sled test program utilizing the Delphi or C.A.P.E. facility.This wide variety of duties and what he saw as the need for certain improvements was the trigger that lead him to develop an “extension”, or attachment, which improves the performance of the HANS for Indy drivers during rear impacts .
“We have a group that includes doctors and we know from the research we do with the accidents, “began Horton, “that the driver needs to move as a system in the car. You don’t want his head or neck or body to go in a different direction or at a different speed. We have witnessed some incidents with bruising when the driver hits rearward and starts to ramp out of the car, which happens naturally, and the HANS would get caught in the padding which is used on the headrests to cut down on the vibration on the driver’s helmet. Depending on what they’re doing ( the driver’s movements within the car) these things (head and neck restraints) move violently in a crash, so, trying to police the head pad for all these years, the last couple of years, and trying to get as straight and as smooth a system as we could is just hard to do because they’ve got padding there.”
“So we could see that during inspections, and then of course post accidents, we would investigate there, look at the headrest. We’d see where the HANS had dug in (to the headrests). That’s what lead to the development of this extension”
The device has been approved for use by all drivers in the Indy series. That was an easy approval to get since that is one of Horton’s other duties and the fact that Jim Downing and the HANS people assisted with the development of the “Extension” only adds to their confidence in this device.
The Extension, “doesn’t just work with the HANS,” continued Jeff, “Actually any head and neck restraint it will work with. It’s bolted to it. There’s a fastening mechanism in the back for the tethers which go to the helmet and, so, it becomes part of that.”
“They (HANS) built me my first test pieces, actually. Then Jim Downing, one of the inventors of the HANS, attended our test last fall when we ran it on the sled.”
This attachment does not affect the single point release issue of the SFI 38.1 certification and since this is an attachment, stated Horton, and does not affect the actual performance of the HANS, there is no re- certification needed. Should HANS, at a later date, want to make the “Extension” as a stock piece then re-certification would be needed at that point.
At the time of this interview 21 drivers had the “extension” installed for use during the INDY 500. From what I saw, it certainly got a work out. Horton did say that he does see the potential for applications of the “Extension” in other forms of racing. “Whether it’s a sprint car, or NASCAR or a lot of the other ones, they’ve got protection up around the driver’s head, which means padding. Most other series don’t hit rearward as often as we do, but, in the chance that you do, it would help there just as well as in the INDY car.
For those interested in the “Extension”, check with the IndyCar series as to where to obtain one.
Jeff Horton never dreamed his development work of the last 2 years would result in receiving the 2009 Louis Schwitzer Award. But that is exactly what happened.Horton, who is the Indy Director of Engineering, takes his job seriously. His job includes safety inspection of the cars which includes, on tech day, the seats, head rests, helmets, and the head and neck restraints among other things. His “group”, as he calls them, is also responsible for accident inspections and deals with the crash box data. During the winter he is also responsible for the sled test program utilizing the Delphi or C.A.P.E. facility.This wide variety of duties and what he saw as the need for certain improvements was the trigger that lead him to develop an “extension”, or attachment, which improves the performance of the HANS for Indy drivers during rear impacts .
“We have a group that includes doctors and we know from the research we do with the accidents, “began Horton, “that the driver needs to move as a system in the car. You don’t want his head or neck or body to go in a different direction or at a different speed. We have witnessed some incidents with bruising when the driver hits rearward and starts to ramp out of the car, which happens naturally, and the HANS would get caught in the padding which is used on the headrests to cut down on the vibration on the driver’s helmet. Depending on what they’re doing ( the driver’s movements within the car) these things (head and neck restraints) move violently in a crash, so, trying to police the head pad for all these years, the last couple of years, and trying to get as straight and as smooth a system as we could is just hard to do because they’ve got padding there.”
“So we could see that during inspections, and then of course post accidents, we would investigate there, look at the headrest. We’d see where the HANS had dug in (to the headrests). That’s what lead to the development of this extension”
The device has been approved for use by all drivers in the Indy series. That was an easy approval to get since that is one of Horton’s other duties and the fact that Jim Downing and the HANS people assisted with the development of the “Extension” only adds to their confidence in this device.
The Extension, “doesn’t just work with the HANS,” continued Jeff, “Actually any head and neck restraint it will work with. It’s bolted to it. There’s a fastening mechanism in the back for the tethers which go to the helmet and, so, it becomes part of that.”
“They (HANS) built me my first test pieces, actually. Then Jim Downing, one of the inventors of the HANS, attended our test last fall when we ran it on the sled.”
This attachment does not affect the single point release issue of the SFI 38.1 certification and since this is an attachment, stated Horton, and does not affect the actual performance of the HANS, there is no re- certification needed. Should HANS, at a later date, want to make the “Extension” as a stock piece then re-certification would be needed at that point.
At the time of this interview 21 drivers had the “extension” installed for use during the INDY 500. From what I saw, it certainly got a work out. Horton did say that he does see the potential for applications of the “Extension” in other forms of racing. “Whether it’s a sprint car, or NASCAR or a lot of the other ones, they’ve got protection up around the driver’s head, which means padding. Most other series don’t hit rearward as often as we do, but, in the chance that you do, it would help there just as well as in the INDY car.
For those interested in the “Extension”, check with the IndyCar series as to where to obtain one.
