"I haven't found anything yet that I'm comfortable with" - When Tony Stewart's claustrophobia clashed with NASCAR’s safety rules

In the wake of Dale Earnhardt's tragic death at the 2001 Daytona 500, NASCAR made an effort to focus on driver safety. Towards the end of the 2001 season, NASCAR made it mandatory for drivers to wear a head-and-neck restraint, whether it be the HANS or Hutchens device.

One driver who took issue with NASCAR's mandate at the time was Tony Stewart, who formally drove the #20 Joe Gibbs Racing car. While the Indiana native said he wasn't against wearing a device to protect his head and neck, he hadn't found one that's to his liking. In October 2001, the eventual three-time Cup Series champion was quoted in an ESPN article saying:

"I want to wear something, but I haven't found anything yet that I'm comfortable with. It's not that I don't want to wear it, and I'm not being bullheaded about this, but there is nothing right now that I'm comfortable wearing inside the race car."

Stewart cited claustrophobia as the reason why he didn't want to wear a head-and-neck device that he wasn't fond of, adding that he tried the Hutchens device at a Talladega testing session. He recalled a similar time where he used a foam headrest in an open-wheel car and had the same problem, adding:

"I ran one lap, pulled in and bailed out of the car because I felt like I was getting trapped inside the car. It was because of my own anxiety that comes from being claustrophobic. That's how the HANS device makes me feel."

It's safe to say Stewart eventually found a HANS device suited for him as NASCAR has required drivers to wear the device since 2001. Stewart went on to become a three-time Cup champion and win 49 career races, retiring at the end of the 2016 season.

NASCAR continues to make an effort to ensure driver safety to this day with improvements in safety devices, safer walls, and cars. Since Earnhardt's tragic death in 2001, no driver has perished in a crash in any top level of NASCAR race.

Carl Edwards said preserving his health was a factor in his NASCAR retirement

There were multiple reasons why Carl Edwards decided to call it a day after the 2016 Cup Series season. One of them, as he recently revealed in his Hall of Fame induction speech, was his safety.

Edwards noted drivers like Dale Earnhardt Jr. have been vocal about the dangers of concussions in racing. When deciding if he wanted to keep racing, Edwards kept those thoughts in mind. He said:

"Because of brave men like Dale Earnhardt Jr. and other athletes, I was keenly aware that there's real risks to hitting your head over and over." (17:17 onwards)

Edwards won 28 Cup Series races and competed for car owners Jack Roush and Joe Gibbs. He finished as the runner-up in the Cup Series twice, in 2008 and 2011.