Gearing Up for Safety in the Drag Racer Suit
Gearing Up for Safety in the Drag Racer Suit
Safety is, and has always been, a number one priority for the NHRA. This means safety technologies to protect everyone and everything – fans, raceways, cars and drivers. One of the most important features in keeping a driver safe is the ensemble covering him or her from head to toe – the racing suit.
Now, the racing suit isn’t your regular everyday pair of overalls that zip up the front and make you look like you race hot rods. No, a drag racing suit is a scientifically designed article of clothing that protects a driver from fire or from extreme cold from compressed gasses, as well as other harmful entities that could cause serious injury or even death.
This suit, made from a high strength grade of NOMEX material along with other high-grade materials, is custom made to the driver’s exact size and comfort level. The inside of the suit is 100% cotton with a protective layer of flame retardant material knitted into the actual fabric fibers for added protection. Poly/fiber insulation is added to the suit, which is rated to withstand up to 1,000 degrees of heat or direct application of a flame for three minutes without igniting. That means you could put the suit on and someone could aim a blow torch at you for three minutes without burning you! However, this is illegal so please do not to go out and point a blow torch at your friends just to test a suit!
Anyhow, the insulation is made from a special material that has the NOMEX base material in it as well. The outer shell is made from Teflon and NOMEX with a fiberglass and cotton blend interweaved so the driver can move around while wearing it.
Getting suited is just the beginning of the dragster ensemble – now comes the ever important accessories. The driver gears up with a flame retardant ski mask, made from 90% NOMEX and 10% cotton, and a whiplash harness that fits around the outside of the suit on the back of the neck and buckles to the suit as well as the helmet. A set of flame retardant gloves, which are custom designed to the size and fit of the driver, come with straps that close around the outside of the suit and run the length of the forearm. The driver slips on a pair of boots that are made of the same material as the suit, and that are also custom fit for that particular driver. Lastly, the driver straps on their helmet, which is a full face design with a clear Kevlar/acrylic eye shield designed to not only remain clear and fog-free, but to also deflect incoming material (such as rocks, metal shavings, or stray fiberglass fragments) during a race.
As you can see, drag racing driver suits are actually advanced technologies. And believe me, the driver is thankful to all the people and scientists that helped develop this suit. After all, it is the driver that has to bear all of the extreme conditions that go along with driving an 8000hp nitro burning machine like a Top Fuel dragster.
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