Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s death after a last-lap crash during the 2001 Daytona 500 was one of the most devastating incidents in the history of global motorsports. Mark Martin’s recent social media post shed light on one of the less talked about stories from the tragedy.
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The story revolves around Bill Simpson, the person on whom the initial blame for Dale Sr.’s death fell. A faulty seatbelt manufactured by him was mentioned as the root cause of the basilar skull fracture that killed the icon.
Martin remembered the safety products innovator by responding to a post on X that stated that it has been five years since he passed away.
“Remembering a BadAss today,” wrote Martin.
Fans crowded below his post to express their sympathies and point out the injustice dished out at him in the aftermath of Earnhardt’s death.
One fan wrote, “I mean any man who would set himself on fire on purpose at least twice to prove the effectiveness of his product is hero material… you throw in all the other Bill Simpson-isms…and that’s legend.”
The fan was talking about how Simpson had set himself on fire multiple times to prove the effectiveness of the fire suits he developed.
A shame that things got handled, during the Dale Sr investigation, the way they did. People were so quick to turn thier back on him and it definitely wasn’t justified. He was owed a huge apology that he wasn’t ever truly provided. 🏁
— Chris Wolfe (@ChrisWolfie14) December 16, 2024
Another fan commented: “Bill’s contribution to the safety of the drivers cannot be calculated.” One more fan added, “They did him wrong is all im gonna say bout that.”
When you are willing to light yourself on fire to prove your product you've definitely achieved legend status.
Most everyone was wearing Hinchman before he did that. pic.twitter.com/LBlxE205nE
— Joe Tompkins (@Aardvark_Seven) December 16, 2024
Starting his career as a driver in open-wheel and drag racing, Simpson stepped out from behind the wheel in 1977 to focus on building his safety equipment company. Notably, he was the first to develop racing suits made out of the fire-resistant material, Nomex.
Earnhardt’s death: what really happened?
The initial reports that came out of the investigation on the grave incident said that a broken seat belt had caused Earnhardt’s chin to strike the steering wheel. That caused the fatal skull fracture.
The belt carried the name Simpson Performance Products on it. The first reaction from the fraternity was to blame Simpson. However, the paramedics who’d been the first to reach Earnhardt maintained that his belt had not been cut or broken.
Further medical investigations concluded that the belt did not play a significant role in the driver’s death. However, the damage to Simpson was already done by then, and a lifetime of credibility was lost. Simpson went to the courts and got a settlement (undisclosed figure) from NASCAR.
Blaming Simpson was indeed a major error. But he bounced back from the negativity to establish Impact Racing, another successful company.
