What is it that makes Nascar cars so safe during crashes? I’ve seen cars wreck out at nearly 200mph and it looks like a bumper car crash.

Question

I’ve seen Nascar crashes where a car going 180 goes sideways into a wall, and then gets t-boned by other cars that were also going 180 mph and yet no rollover and the cars barely look damaged and everyone walks away unscathed. Meanwhile normal passenger cars go sideways doing 50mph and they roll over 6 times, gets demolished, and kills the driver. What is it about Nascar cars that make them so crash resistant/resilient?

In: Engineering

Answer 1

There are a lot of safety features built into the cars:

* 5 point harnesses with energy absorbing dampers built in
* Seat molded to the driver’s body
* Side supports on the headrest which keep the driver’s head stable
* Roll cage and front/rear crumple zones
* Fire suppression built into the car (I forget if it’s automatic or not)
* This one is built into the track: energy-absorbing double walls in the corners