Don O’Neal Safety Issue - By: Gary Boggan

Posted Jody Shannon on November 28th, 2007 | Filed under Articles, Gary Boggan, The DRC

It has been brought to my attention that people are criticizing Don O’Neal for not using a full containment seat in the super late model he was driving for Justin Ratliff at the World of Outlaws World Finals at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte, NC. Let me first say that I, along with my car owner, which is my father, put safety first, no matter what. I can point out some “safety precautions” that are actually more dangerous than the would be if left alone.

The main one that sticks out in my mind is your driving suit. Many drivers have a three layer Simpson, Impact, Design 500, Sparco, Alpine Stars, Awesome, Ultra-Shield, etc. Personally, I have an Ultra-Shield, but I’m looking at an Awesome Race wear Suit. These name brand suits come with straps on the shoulders. Ever thought that is a safety issue? Do you know what they are really used for? I don’t know for sure, only logical thing I can come up with is they are pull straps in case you catch on fire, or your knocked out. Now tell me, what good are the pull straps if your belts hang on them? They aren’t worth anything then.

I do agree with the saying that Bell Helmets has, “If you got a $10 head, wear a $10 helmet.” Let’s get real people, $900 for a helmet? Come on, I won’t even go there. I will say though, my head will be in nothing but a Simpson. A HANS device is a great thing, but what about your average Joe that cant afford $1000 every time they crash, on top of the cost to repair the car. I know I sure don’t have it. If you do, that’s great! Mind sponsoring me?

As far as the full containment seat situation. My car owner recently purchased an Open Wheel Modified. I’m a rather big guy, I stand 6’0” 310 with the build of a 240 pound person. It’s impossible for me to get in and out with a full containment seat, it will be hard enough with just a normal seat. My head restrain will probably just be a sprint car window net on the right side with a shoulder restraint. On the left side I will have nothing. Reason being is, with me being as big as I am, I feel if I happen to turn over and the car catches fire I will be trapped inside with the full containment seat. I would much rather break my neck, or be knocked out, than be upside down burning alive.

For those of you wanna be know it all’s out there in this racing community, and we know there’s a slew of them, how bout you take that into consideration. Unless you have tried to sit in one, you really don’t know how much room is in these things, not very much. Take a look around, I bet you wont find many guys Don’s size or bigger with a full containment seat. You may find a few here and there, but not many.

All in all it is my belief that being too safe can bring up safety issues within itself. I believe you can never be too safe, but be smart about it. Now all these false accusations could stop, due to the reasons I posted above. Unless you know him personally, stop acting like you know everything, and bad mouthing the guy. This coming from a fan that doesn’t even like him.

The opinions in this article are that of the author and do not directly reflect the DRC. If you have any questions or comments please email me at theatokaoutlaw90@yahoo.com

Thanks,

Gary Boggan.