Surplus Military Parachutes
Bill Simpson
Racing career
Simpson started in drag racing and SCCA Formula racing, eventually moving up to the USAC Championship Car series. He raced in the 1968-1974 and 1976-1977 seasons, with 52 career starts. He qualified twentieth for the 1974 Indianapolis 500, and finished thirteenth. He finished in the top ten 11 times, with his best finish in 6th position in 1970 at Milwaukee. He decided to end his racing career in 1977, because he started to think about a telephone call that he needed to make while he was practicing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Race safety advocate
In 1958, the 18 year old Simpson broke both arms in a drag racing crash. Simpson later said, “Until then, I was like most drivers. The only time I thought about safety was after I’d been hurt. This time, I was hurt bad enough to do a lot of thinking.”
Simpson’s uncle owned a military surplus store, and suggested that he use a cross-form parachute to slow down the drag car. Simpson rented a sewing machine to create a prototype. Simpson got together with his friend dragster driver Mike Sorokin to test the prototype. They tested it by attaching it to a tow hitch, and dumping it from the back of the Chevy wagon while Sorokin drove down a street at 100 mph. The chute was too big for the car, and the car went airborne and crashed into a tree nursery. Both racers were jailed for the incident, but Simpson Drag Chutes was founded.
The first person to inquire about and use his parachute was “Big Daddy” Don Garlits. He evolved his business into a number of other safety items, such as gloves, helmets, restraints and shoes. Simpson designed NASA’s first umbilical cords, where he met Pete Conrad. Conrad introduced Simpson to DuPont product Nomex in 1967. Simpson used the product to create the first fire suit to be used in racing. He took the suit to the 1967 Indianapolis 500 where it was worn by 30 of 33 drivers. Simpson had developed over 200 racing safety products, including three generations of fire suits. Simpson demonstrated the suit’s effectiveness in 1987, when he was set on fire while wearing a suit.
Earnhardt controversy
Main article: Death of Dale Earnhardt
Simpson Performance Products was involved in a great deal of controversy in the February 2001 death of Dale Earnhardt. There was a great deal of controversy regarding whether or not a seat belt manufactured by the company had malfunctioned. NASCAR’s investigation into the crash in part blamed seat belt failure. Simpson received death threats and bullets into his house, which led to his resignation in July 2001. Simpson sued NASCAR for $8.5 million defamation of character suit. Simpson withdrew his lawsuit with an undisclosed settlement.
Simpson now heads Impact! Racing, which began competing with his old firm after a one year no-competition clause. He has designed a new helmet, and a head and neck restraint system.
Career award
In 2003, he was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in the “at large” category.
Author
He is the author of the book “Racing Safely, Living Dangerously”.
References
^ a b c d Biography at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, Retrieved January 8, 2007
^ Jim Donnelly, Muscle Machines 1203 Hot Rod Hero: Bill Simpson
^ a b c d Lori Lovely, “Nuvo Safety Spelled S-i-m-p-s-o-n”
^ a b c d e Joanne Korth; “Bill Simpson is glad to be back”; August 21, 2002 St. Petersburg Times
External links
Official website for Impact Race Products
Categories: 1940 births | American racecar drivers | Living people | Indy 500 drivers | Tasman Series drivers
About the Author
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