thumb|right|NASCAR driver [[Morgan Shepherd wearing a Hutchens device in 2004|200px]]

A Hutchens device is used for protecting race car drivers in the event of an accident by controlling head movement, reducing head and neck injuries due to whiplash. It consists of a series of straps, attached to the helmet and connected across the chest and at the waist, depending on the lap belt for anchoring. The device was developed beginning in 2000.

From 2001 until 2004 NASCAR mandated that drivers use either a Hutchens device or the HANS device. NASCAR banned the use of the Hutchens device in January 2005, due to it failing SFI Foundation safety tests, and required all drivers to use the HANS device instead.

Description

The Hutchens device was developed by engineer Trevor Ashline. The Hutchens device was also more affordable than the HANS device, as the Hutchens was priced at less than $500 while the price for the HANS could run as high as $2,000. Because of its price point, the device was considered more practical for amateur racers. That year, Trevor Ashline began developing the device. The name "Hutchens device" was coined by a reporter from NASCAR.com at that time. In September 2001, Mattec Inc. was licensed to produce the Hutchens device.

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In April 2002, Safety Solutions Inc. purchased the license to the device from Mattec. In April of that year, Earnhardt Jr. crashed in a race at California Speedway while wearing the device, suffering a concussion and blurred vision. In September of that year, Sterling Marlin suffered chest injuries in a crash at Richmond, then a fractured vertebra at Kansas, both while wearing the Hutchens device. The injuries led to Marlin missing the final seven Cup Series races of the year, and required him to wear a neck brace while recovering. In October of that year, NASCAR safety consultant John Melvin stated that the HANS was a safer restraint than the Hutchens device, the former better preventing forward head movement during a crash. In January 2005 prior to the 2005 season, NASCAR banned use of the Hutchens device and mandated use of the HANS. The Hutchens device was said to have failed two of the three tests performed by NASCAR and the SFI Foundation, under new standards for head-and-neck restraints implemented for the 2005 season. By this time, only Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman, and Rusty Wallace were known to use the Hutchens device. Ashline would go on to develop the R3 and Hutchens II head-and-neck devices, and in 2007 created the Hutchens Hybrid device which was approved by NASCAR. In May 2011, Safety Solutions was purchased by Simpson Performance Products. Simpson would also purchase HANS Performance Products in 2012.

References

  • Hutchens device website