One of the loose ends from the death of Dale Earnhardt two years ago has been tied up. Bill Simpson dropped his defamation lawsuit against NASCAR. Simpson was the founder of Simpson Performance Products, the company that made the seatbelt Earnhardt was wearing in his fatal crash.
A couple of statements from NASCAR in the aftermath put at least part of the blame for fatal injuries on the seatbelt harness. Simpson claimed that his product would not fail if properly installed.
He sued NASCAR last year in Indianapolis, asking for $8.5 million, but maintained that he would settle for an apology. The case was scheduled to go to trial in September.
Monday, both sides issued a joint statement saying that they had resolved their differences and were happy.
There will be another death in the world of motorsports this fall, but probably not so many tears will be shed. This story comes from Canada and involves a Canadian tobacco company.
Player’s cigarettes announced in Toronto last week that it would cease its involvement in auto racing as of October 1st.
The Canadian government ruled in 1997 against tobacco company involvement in sports sponsorships. The ruling evolved into a series of regulations on the industry that resulted in the ending of such sponsorships by October 1st 2003.
Player’s has been involved in Canadian racing since it sponsored a Formula I race in Mosport in 1961. It grew to include a sedan series, the creation of the feeder series, Formula Atlantic, creation of a Formula Atlantic team, an Indy Lights team and a CART team.
The focus of its involvement has been care and feeding of Canadian drivers … and it worked. Legendary open wheeled drivers like Patrick Carpentier, Jacques Villeneuve, Alex Tagliani, Greg Moore and Paul Tracy were helped in their careers.
Player’s currently sponsors the Player’s/Forsythe team for which Tracy and Carpentier drive. Both are under contract through the next season and Tracy is the current Champ Car points leader.
This, as many of you are aware, comes on the heels of this summer’s announcement that RJ Reynolds tobacco is withdrawing its sponsorship of NASCAR’s premier series, known as Winston Cup.
There are differences and similarities in the two situations. Similarity, both tobacco companies succumbed to pressure, legal and social. Similarity, both companies used their financial resources to help promote the sport in which they were involved … helped put the sport and its participants in front of the general public.
Difference, Player’s promoted developmental series designed to provide a way for younger Canadian drivers to show their talent. The young Tracy’s, Carpentiers, Villeneuves and Moores had a chance to perform in front of the big league team owners and managers who always are looking for the Next Big Thing in a driver.
So, is it an injustice that tobacco companies are being forced to take their money out of racing? Probably not. It would be unfortunate if it meant the end of the sport, but it doesn’t.
It is unfortunate that there are such things as addictions … unfortunate that something as enjoyable as tobacco is addictive and presents other health risks, both to its users and to bystanders.
I can’t help thinking though, that the loss of Player’s is bigger
than the loss of Winston, if only because of the company’s willingness
and foresight to promote racing and its homegrown drivers from the bottom
up.