It Wasn't On Fire When I Started the Race?!?

Originally Posted on foxsports.com on April 3, 2007.

The first two "Car of Tomorrow" races have something in common. 

Yes, both were won by Hendrick Motorsport drivers.   And, Yes, both were Chevys.

The answer is that two cars had fires within the car while the drivers were running the race.  At Bristol, Matt Kenseth had "smoldering foam" problems, and more spectacularly, at Martinsville, Kevin Harvick had a fire.

Nascar has maintained that the foam installed in the doors was not the cause of the fire at Bristol, and alleged that the Roush team had improperly installed the foam in the door.  Roush Racing denied the foam was improperly installed.  Nascar maintained the foam was NOT flammable.  Nascar suggested Roush Racing add a heat shield to the foam to prevent future "smoldering foam" issues.

Then at Martinsville, Harvick had his problems - with a heat shield on the foam in place.  The Foam that wasn't Flammable shot out flames large enough to toast marshmellows for the entire crowd in the stands. 

Today, Nascar announced that it was allowing teams to modify the foam in the doors.  Teams can eliminate part of the foam in the right door, hopefully moving the foam off the exhaust pipe area will limit the flammability of the foam.

Other teams had problems at Bristol that Nascar traced to the exhaust pipes.  However, it appeared at Martinsville that the teams had corrected that problem.

Drivers are voicing concern that the foam released toxins that has or could affected their health, at least temporarily. 

Interestingly, Nascar appears to be relying on the foam manufacturer for the testing on the toxicity, and the manufacturer hasn't tested it under race conditions.

Perhaps before the next COT race, these questions about the foam should be answered.

Information from:  Lee Spencer, "Drivers seek answers for fires in COT" on foxsports.com; "Biffle:  Nascar needs to figure out foam problems" on scenedaily.com; related articles on espn.com and jayski.com.