Kyle O’Dell just might help save another racer’s life, all because he almost lost his own.
During a a sportsman feature race at Indiana’s South Bend Motor Speedway on Saturday, O’Dell was involved in a violent wreck when his No. 0 slammed hard into the wall. Thanks in large part to his HANS (Head and Neck Support) device, O’Dell walked away from the crash relatively unscathed.
And although he’ll be without a ride for a little while, O’Dell wants to make sure his HANS device doesn’t just collect dust.
That’s a pretty good deal.
Here’s the video of the wreck, which offers further proof of just how valuable the HANS is:
This type of head-on collision is eerily similar to the one that killed Dale Earnhardt Sr. in the 2001 Daytona 500, a moment that proved once and for all how essential the HANS is.