Press Releases From Race Safety
Safety Innovator John Fitch Wins Bob Akin Award
September 9, 2005
Longtime racing driver John Fitch was presented with the Bob Akin award at the Lime Rock Vintage Races on Labor Day - the Rolex Vintage Festival, presented by BMW.
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Fitch Again Recognized His Contributions to Road Safety
October 21, 2004
John Fitch was named among the “Top 100 Private Sector Transportation Construction Professionals of the 20 th Century” in an award ceremony held by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association.
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Fitch
Barrier Saves IRL Driver
March 12, 2004
Indy Racing League 2003 champion driver
Scott Dixon was saved by an energy-absorbing Fitch inertial barrier
in a crash at the Homestead race track in Miami on Feb 29, 2004.
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Fitch
Special Guest at Mercedes SLR McLaren Unveiling
September 16, 2003
Fitch and team mate Sir Stirling Moss
were on hand for historic introduction at the Frankfurt Auto Show.
Learn about the event and history behind it in this appearance report.
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Fitch Bonneville Record Attempt
Report
August 25, 2003
Fitch and team battle mechanical, regulation
and time pressures.
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Briggs Cunningham Dies at Age 96
July 9, 2003
John Fitch remembers his old friend.
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John Fitch Support Madison, WI "Corvettes
on the Isthmus"
May 8, 2003
Legendary racing driver John Fitch is
helping support Madison’s own Corvettes on the Isthmus by
offering a 20% discount on both his recently published limited edition
signed posters.
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SAFER Barrier Acceptance Based Upon
Wishful Thinking
May 24, 2002
Safety pioneer John Fitch points out
that "wishful thing" cannot suspend the rules of physics
where the SAFER Barrier is concerned.
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Bill Milliken Responds to Fitch SAFER
Letter
May 15, 2002
Noted author and SAE fellow Bill Milliken
calls on SAFER barrier developers to study the full history of "soft
wall" research and apply the lessons learned. [Full
Text]
Fitch Calls for Indy Officials to
Revise SAFER Barrier
May 15, 2002
In an open letter to Indianapolis Motor
Speedway, Indy Racing League and NASCAR officials, recognized road
safety pioneer John Fitch calls for a re-evaluation of the design
and implementation of the SAFER Barrier deployed for the 2002 Indianapolis
500. [Full Text]
Fitch to Drive 2002 Mille Miglia
May 6, 2002
John Fitch will again drive the Mille
Miglia, in 2002, May 2 - 6, with car owner and co-driver Bob Sirna,
in a Mercedes-Benz 300SL. It will be 47 years since the drive reputed
to be his greatest. In 1955 Fitch took a production Mercedes-Benz
300SL to a 5th place overall, ahead of numerous sports racing cars
in the prototype class. [Full Text]
Gravel Trapped No More
April 25, 2002
At the Brazilian Grand Prix last month,
several drivers inevitably left the track in the course of practice,
qualifying and the race, some headed for heavy crashes if not worse.
Among them was Michael Schumacher, but no broken leg or out of contention
for the championship this time. Because the gravel traps had been
paved over and traction restored, all recovered uneventfully or
were able to brake and steer away from a certain crash. [Full
Text]
Fitch to Appear at 2002 Bloomington
Gold Corvettes USA Show
April 16, 2002
Bloomington Gold Corvettes USA today
announced that one of the leading figures in the development and
success of the Corvette in racing will appear at the 2002 Bloomington
Gold to be held on June 13-16, 2002 at the Pheasant Run Resort in
St. Charles, Illinois. John Fitch, 2000 Corvette Hall of Fame Inductee,
was the first driver to test the Corvette on the racetrack against
the world's best - and to win - at Sebring in 1956.
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Text]
Racing For Safety
January 28, 2002
The attached article published June
2, 1957 predicted that safety devices for public roads would result
from racing experience. Exactly that happened, when in 1968 the
yellow barrel barrier began its installation - now in all 50 states.
It is credited for saving thousands of lives over the past 34 years.
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Requiem for a Champion
December 31, 2001
The anniversary of Dale Earnhardt's death approaches. It is not an occasion for celebration or commiseration, but to contemplate what might have been and what can be. [Full Text]
Wilkinson to Assist RaceSafety.com as Special Track Consultant
June 25, 2001
Carson Wilkinson, Road America's Safety Director, has joined RaceSafety.com as a Special Track Consultant. [Full Text]
John Fitch to be Honored at Corvette Hall of Fame
August 24, 2000
Veteran racing driver John Cooper Fitch will be honored September 1st with induction into the Corvette Hall of Fame at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, KY. [Full Text]
"Pave the Gravel Traps... Re-think the Tire Barriers, Cushion the Oval Walls," Says Ex-Racer Fitch.
August 11, 2000
"Gravel traps on road racing courses should be paved over so drivers can steer, brake and recover" says veteran racing driver and barrier designer John Fitch. A new videotape produced by Fitch shows the ineffectiveness of gravel traps, the misuse of tire barriers and the deadly exposure to rigid walls in contemporary racing. [Full Text]
Racer John Fitch Honored for Contributions to Highway Safety
January 14, 1998
Longtime racing driver John Fitch today received the 1998 Kenneth Stonex Award from the Transportation Research Board, a part of the National Academy of Sciences, for his lifelong contributions in the field of roadside safety. [Full Text]
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