Firesuits in NASCAR serve two purposes. The special garment is a walking billboard for sponsors who are the lifeline of any racing team or driver. Secondly, but most importantly, the fire retardant clothing ensures safety from any untoward incident on the racetrack. Although the second factor takes priority, NASCAR stressed the sponsorship factor to put forward a new mandate – and that is baffling one Craftsman Truck Series driver.

The sport has always relied on the concept of independent contractors investing money in race cars. So while media revenue constitutes a portion of the drivers’ purses, the majority of it comes from sponsors. So a driver is criticizing officials for using the same reason to cut down sponsors’ presence.

NASCAR’s new cost measure raises eyebrows

We are all familiar with the sport’s numerous cost-cutting mandates. When the Next-Gen car debuted in 2022, it received widespread backlash because NASCAR prioritized costs over quality. Teams had to procure parts like the chassis from a single-source manufacturer, which eliminated costs. It raised parity on the racetracks and removed the uniqueness that each race team had. Now officials are on a similar mission. They are seeking to print one-off designs for firesuits and keep a generic look off-camera for every participating team in the Craftsman Truck Series.

While behind-the-wall pit crew members can sport different colors according to their teams, sponsorship branding is not allowed. Over-the-wall pit crew members are given concessions in this regard, with the designs and sponsor branding allowed. The main reason for this measure being put forward by the sanctioning body is to cut costs.

However, this explanation looks too flimsy for a Truck driver, Ryan Ellis. “IMO crew suits & shirts are ways for us to create more value for our partners, who we depend on mightily to race. Having the ability to brand everything beyond the car – pit box, crew shirts/suits, pit wall banner, etc, can be low cost (relatively) investments to over-deliver.”

Indeed, giving room to sponsors to exercise their advertising creativity is crucial in terms of exposure. However, NASCAR journalist Matt Weaver highlighted another reason for NASCAR’s measure, which trumps the cost-cutting formality. Many teams were found with outdated and, hence, unreliable clothing.

“Another element to this story is that NASCAR is trying to crack down on safety. There were numerous penalties issued for not wearing gloves or equipment that was out of date from an SFI standpoint this past season. So this also ensures that everyone meets safety compliance.” Matt Weaver posted on X.

Notably, in February 2024, Joey Logano served a pass-through penalty on pit road after taking the green flag, as a pre-race inspection showed that his gloves did not meet SFI specifications. This came after he initially qualified in 2nd for the race at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the Cup Series. The SFI Foundation is a California-based organization that sets motorsports industry standards for racing equipment.

This practice of safety has been the sport’s norm for decades, given many past instances of accidents.

NASCAR takes its fire policies seriously

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Before the mid-1960s, drivers threw on whatever they found closest at hand. For instance, some drivers wore Hawaiian shirts or shorts – somebody even went shirtless on the road to a race victory. Later, however, fire-retardant clothing became the norm. The change came after the ironically named Glenn “Fireball” Roberts suffered due to crash burns in the 1964 World 600 at Charlotte. He survived the crash but succumbed to complications six weeks after the accident. Then, in 1981, a fire erupted in Richard Petty‘s pits during a pit stop in Atlanta. ABC Sports reporter Dr. Jerry Punch helped douse the flames. But in the process, the fire melted one of his blazer sleeves and his microphone and singed his eyebrows and mustache.

After that, even pit reporters need to don firesuits. Despite NASCAR’s safety regulations becoming more stringent in the 2000s, there has been no dearth of dangerous accidents. A major pit road fire broke out at a Richmond Xfinity race in April 2015. It injured two crew members of Richard Childress Racing and a third crewman from the JGL Racing team.

Following that incident, NASCAR formalized expanded standards for pit road safety apparel, making specially certified gloves, head socks, and underwear mandatory for over-the-wall pit crew personnel in all three national series. Robin Penberton, then NASCAR Senior VP of competition, said: “We were going down this path anyway. I use the (phrase) ‘you get a tap on the shoulder every now and then’ … (the Richmond incident) helped to put it on the fast track.”

So maybe NASCAR’s new mandate may make more sense than just cost-cutting. With 2025 rolling into view soon, these measures are crucial for a better standard of racing.