CONCORD, N.C. - The passing of superstar Dale Earnhardt in a last-lap incident during the 2001 DAYTONA 500 left a titan-sized hole the sport could never fill. It was a day in history that race fans still remember where they were.
It was also a shock to the system and overnight, NASCAR’s driver landscape dramatically shifted. Then-three-time Cup Series champ and Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon immediately became the sport’s biggest star. His presence was very influential, and every statement and action was significant to a racing series that was looking for answers.
And that's why Gordon's win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway that year was so important.
Safety was at the forefront of many discussions in the days and weeks immediately following Feb. 18, 2001. From car design, track design and guard rail construction to the operational procedures of the at-track rescue crew, everything came under the scrutiny of NASCAR.
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At the same time, championship-winning sports car racer, Jim Downing, and brother in-law, Dr. Robert Hubbard, were also trying to place their names at the forefront of auto racing safety and innovation. In the early 1980s, the duo invented the Head and Neck Supportive Device, or HANS Device as it’s popularly known.
By tethering helmet to collar, they had created a device that stabilized and supported a driver’s head from whipping around during a crash. The system helps prevent fractures and injury to vulnerable areas around the head and neck that can lead to severe injury or death. It remains a true breakthrough in technology.
“In that Las Vegas wreck, I know for a fact that the HANS Device saved my life that day.”
Jeff Gordon
However, early iterations were thought to be too restrictive and uncomfortable, affecting how drivers competed during longer events. It also carried a negative stigma within the garage area. And prior to 2001, Gordon was among those who were hesitant to adopt the new system.
“Some drivers like Brett Bodine were early,” said Gordon, talking to Fox Sports in a 2021 interview. “I remember at a test, he came over to me, this is before Dale. He said, ‘You need to wear this (HANS device), you need to try this.’ And I was like, ‘What is that?’ I put it around my neck and I’m like, ‘No way I’m wearing that, that is so uncomfortable.'
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“I may have even tried it in the car for a couple of laps, and it was hitting my collarbone, and I don’t think I could race like that.”
Everything changed with the passing of Earnhardt. While still uncomfortable, Gordon was one of the drivers who adopted Downing and Hubbard’s restraint system, wearing the device heading into the March race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, only a few weeks beyond Daytona. But more positive buzz was needed, as no one wearing the device had enjoyed much on-track success.
That was also the case for Gordon, who had continued his struggles from the season before early on at Vegas.
The No. 24 Chevrolet had a challenging practice, as crew chief Robbie Loomis and the team were chasing the car’s handling. Qualifying 24th wasn’t ideal either.
Things weren’t much better at the start of the race. Handling issues continued and lasted well into the latter third of the event as Gordon battled an extremely tight race car and was mired just inside the top 20 for most of the day. Then, with a little more than a third of the race to go, Gordon came to life, quietly edging his way towards the top of the scoring pylon. They had finally found something, and the Hall of Famer was on a mission immediately after entering the top 10. Suddenly, he was the fastest car at the facility.
With 26 laps to go, Gordon moved by Dale Jarrett for the lead. It was a moment of relief, as tension had built in the No. 24 pits with stakes increasing with every pass that was made.
Adding to the drama was NASCAR fan Rodney Mims from Alabama. He was in attendance as part of the No Bull Five program in which a team and fan would collect $1 million by winning at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on that day. It was obvious how big the moment was.
As the laps wound down, Mims watched nervously. With 10 to go, Gordon extended his lead to more than 1.5 seconds, holding off a late-race charge from Jarrett and crossing the start-finish line for his first win of 2001 and the 53rd of his career. It was the first big step in what would be a very meaningful season, and a once in a lifetime payday for a jubilant NASCAR fan.
"I love races like that – where you get better as the day goes on and you just pick away at it,” Gordon said in victory lane. “All of the sudden you look around and go, ‘I’m leading this thing – I can’t believe it.’
"Early on there it was pretty frustrating," Gordon added. "The car was real, real tight. And we were in a lot of traffic, and it was very hard to pass out there. I think the key seemed to be when they made the two-tire change and got us a little bit of track position. We were driving by guys who took four tires on. The car was just on a rail."
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Globally, it was a bigger win for the sport of NASCAR. It was the first time a driver had won a race sporting the HANS device. Changing perceptions that you couldn’t win or be competitive while wearing one. Momentum had started to build for its usage.
That May, Gordon was involved in an accident at Charlotte Motor Speedway, stopping action at the start of the All-Star Race. A sudden shower had caused slick driving conditions, taking out nearly half the field on the race’s opening lap.
“I hit at about the worst possible angle,” Gordon said in the post-race press conference. “If you look at the right front of that car, it took a big impact. My neck snapped really bad – it really stretched out there.”
However, Gordon wearing his HANS Device, was immediately able to jump into a backup car without hesitation. With the race being an exhibition and the incident coming as a result of mother nature, NASCAR encouraged involved teams to grab their backups and restart the race.
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Despite the scary nature of the crash, Gordon was good to go. He and the No. 24 Chevrolet went on to win that night’s spectacle, affording another showcase for the effectiveness of the head and neck restraint system.
“You just don’t realize how far you stretch until something like that happens,” Gordon added. “I knew I hit the wall pretty good, but he HANS Device did its job. It worked well.”
By October of that year, HANS safety devices were mandated by NASCAR. The regulations also included another safety system known as the Hutchens device, which was phased out in 2005 after a series of SFI Foundation tests questioned its actual effectiveness. The HANS device had become synonymous with NASCAR driver safety.
Fast forward to 2008 and Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Gordon was once again in the headlines for safety. But this time it was a little more dramatic. While running third in that year’s spring race, Gordon drifted up the track and into the second-place car of Matt Kenseth, the eventual race winner. Both spun, but according to the Las Vegas Review Journal, the Hendrick Motorsports driver slammed into an opening on inside of the backstretch retaining wall. It was vicious hit, destroying the front of the car. Enough to detach the radiator from the body. Gordon was shaken by the sudden impact.
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The angle of the incident was eerily similar to Earnhardt’s at Daytona. Fortunately, a much better outcome resulted.
“In that Las Vegas wreck, I know for a fact that the HANS Device saved my life that day,” Gordon said in a 2021 interview featured by FOX Sports' Bob Pockrass. “Everything else in my body moved and stretched and was so incredibly sore in the days following that. I don’t think my head with just my helmet on it could have survived that without being held back with the HANS.”
The device that saved Gordon is so significant, it currently sits in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.
Thankfully, everyone learned from the experience, and he went on to win his fourth NASCAR Cup Series title in 2001.