DIANDRA LESLIE-PELECKY: NASCAR drivers are modern day knights, competing for fame, honor, and even the
occasional hand of a fair maiden.
They may not look like they're wearing armor, but they are. Because even though you won't find dragons at the
race track, that doesn't mean there isn't fire.
MALE NARRATOR: The roar of the engines, the squeal of the tires, then the race to victory lane.
It all says, NASCAR. A race car is much more than steel, gas, rubber and speed. A race car is a science experiment on wheels.
DIANDRA LESLIE-PELECKY: Fire is a chemical reaction called oxidation. Oxygen combines with hydrogen and
carbon, in the presence of heat, to make water and carbon dioxide. Fire is one chemical reaction you want to watch from a distance.
JEFF GORDON: Well they are frightening. I've been through a couple minor ones. And it was enough to
scare me enough to where I knew I didn't wanna be a part of it any further than that.
DIANDRA LESLIE-PELECKY: A fire needs three things to burn. Fuel, oxygen, and heat.
Protecting a driver from fire means reducing or eliminating one or more of these things.
MOREY HERENDEEN: The modern firesuits help with perspiration and the heat, and the overall heat
in the car. But basically its primary job is to protect you from flame.
DIANDRA LESLIE-PELECKY: A gasoline fire can burn anywhere from 1,200 to 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit.
Fibers like cotton, rayon or polyester start to burn between 700 and 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit. Even fibers that
don't burn can melt at those temperatures.
MOREY HERENDEEN: They invented Nomex underwear to put underneath your overalls. And in some series you raced
in a shirt and a pair of pants. And they started with the underwear first when they figured out that Nomex
is a fireproof fabric, and that evolved into the modern-day suit that was made of Nomex.
JEFF GORDON: I've been very fortunate to not have to take advantage of the Dupont Nomex that I'm wearing
But I'm very thankful that is there because I know what it can do.
DIANDRA LESLIE-PELECKY: Nomex doesn't melt or burn. When it gets above about 800 degrees Fahrenheit,
it starts forming a char, a carbon shell around the fiber. The char protects the rest of the fiber so it can't be used
as fuel for the fire. The char also makes the fiber thicker. And because firesuit fabric is woven,
the thicker fiber makes it harder for oxygen to get through. Harder, but not impossible.
BRIAN VICKERS: You know, one misconception about our suits is, they're not fireproof. They're fire resistant.
Just like you see things that are labeled, you know, water resistant or waterproof, there's a difference. Waterproof
will last underwater, you know, for an extremely extended period of time, maybe indefinitely.
Whereas water resistant has a time window. And our firesuits do have a time window.
DIANDRA LESLIE-PELECKY: NASCAR requires that a firesuit protect a driver from an 1,800 degree
Fahrenheit flame for five seconds.
BRIAN VICKERS: You know, I can get out of a car fully buckled in within five seconds.
You know, and if you're not out by then, then you're gonna be in trouble.
CARL EDWARDS: I can get out of a car pretty fast. It's not how fast you can get out, though,
with your eyes open, sitting upright. It's when it's, you know, dark and smoky and you're upside down
and disoriented. Those are the times that I worry about.
DIANDRA LESLIE-PELECKY: The inside of a race car can reach 140 degrees Fahrenheit during a race.
So you might be surprised that firesuits have multiple layers.
JEFF GORDON: My firesuit's two layers, plus the layer of Nomex on the inside.
DIANDRA LESLIE-PELECKY: Even a driver's underwear is fire resistant.
BRIAN VICKERS: It's a three-layer suit with a one layer of underwear. Which is very thick for our industry.
DIANDRA LESLIE-PELECKY: A gasoline fire is hot enough to burn a driver from a distance, so firesuits have to protect the
driver from heat as well as from flame. Which would you use to grab a hot pan? A dish towel or a pot holder?
It's not a coincidence that firesuits and pot holders are both quilted. But the quilting isn't the important part.
It's what's between the layers that's important.
JEFF GORDON: Any time you have a layer or a barrier with air, it's also an extra preventative to slow down
the heat process from transferring through.
DIANDRA LESLIE-PELECKY: Gases, like air, conduct heat much worse than liquids or solids. So air pockets
between layers of fabric decrease heat transfer. It's the same reason you put double or triple-pane windows on your house.
The air, or other gas between the panes, reduces how much heat gets conducted from
inside the house to outside the house in winter.
Like dragons, fire is a rare occurrence at the race track. But the best knights are always prepared for the worst case.
Each driver gets in his car knowing he's fully protected. Lucky for NASCAR drivers, modern firesuits let them
look hot, without getting hot. And that is pretty cool.