Wells' commitment to safety should be lauded

Ryan Smithson

By Ryan Smithson, Turner Sports Interactive
January 17, 2002
3:55 PM EST (2055 GMT)

COMMENTARY

When Cal Wells threw his open-wheeled hat in NASCAR before the 2000 season, he was immediately branded some pretty tough names.

Outsider. Carpetbagger. Sponsor-stealer.

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I got a new one: NASCAR safety pioneer.

Cal Wells is a man way ahead of his time, and his continued effort for safety is something that needs to be applauded throughout the garage. He spends a lot of his own money to make sure his teams are leading the race for a safe sport.

And he is definitely winning in that regard.

Wells' safety vision is multi-faceted. First, he worked to protect his crew by requiring them to wear helmets - a full year before it was mandated. Now, he is working on protecting drivers by designing a new seat that will retain its shape during a crash, preventing seatbelts from loosening.

Cal Wells III shows off a new composite race car seat at his PPI Motorsports shop.

Wells didn't have to go through all this - he's not the one behind the wheel or hopping over the wall. He could have been a hobby owner -- not worried about anything but the bottom line -- but he's not when it comes to safety.

Along the way, his team has faced a lot of difficulties. His team ran terribly the first year, and his second team met a worse fate in 2001, leaving McDonald's to drop out of the sport as a primary sponsor.

But Wells has persevered. He's a racer, and he obviously wants to see things done the right way.

NASCAR needs more people like him.

NOTE: Ryan Smithson is Senior Producer of NASCAR.com and the opinions expressed here are solely those of the writer. To reach Ryan, write him at ryan.smithson@turner.com.