Simpson set to sue NASCAR
Just days before NASCAR runs its jewel in the crown, the Daytona 500, stock car racing's governing body is expected to be rocked by a major lawsuit that will reopen the debate over exactly how seven-time Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt died in last year's event
Later today, safety-equipment maker Bill Simpson's lawyers will file the suit in an Indianapolis superior court, alleging defamation of character, defamation by implication and reckless disregard for the truth, according to an ESPN report.
NASCAR, in its investigation of Earnhardt's fatal accident, reported that Earnhardt's left-side lap belt, manufactured by a company partly owned by Simpson, was torn at some time during the crash. NASCAR and its experts said that failure led directly to Earnhardt's death - they concluded that Earnhardt's death was unlikely had the belt not 'separated'.
That contradicted analysis by an independent expert, Dr. Barry Myers of Duke University, who concluded that Earnhardt would have died whether the belt broke or not. Myers' analysis, dismissed by NASCAR and its experts, ascribed the death to head-whip on impact, and indicated that the belt tear was secondary to the violent impact that caused death.
Simpson has not denied that the belt broke, although he steadfastly maintained that his company's products, when correctly installed, do not fail in that way. He presented laboratory analysis last spring showing that the belt material, correctly handled, could withstand four times the forces indicated in Earnhardt's fatal crash.
According to NASCAR's report, issued last August at Atlanta, Earnhardt had attached his belts to the car's roll cage about 5 inches behind the rear of his seat. Simpson's recommendations state that the belts should be anchored 2 inches forward of the seat's rear line.
Simpson's market share in NASCAR has dwindled by two-thirds since then, but he says the main issue is clearing the tarnish to his name rather than the millions he could receive if the court finds in favour of him.
"Everyone who has ever dealt with NASCAR has acquiesced to them, and nobody will stand up to them," Simpson told ESPN. "But they picked on the wrong guy this time. I'm not going away quietly, and they deserve to pay for what they did to me and my company's reputation."
NASCAR officials had no comment on the report.
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