[Edison]

Perhaps if he'd had a HANS device on...sounds like just the type of injury it was created to prevent.

[Wolfstar]

Actually, NASCAR mandated that all drivers in all of its series ware some form of head and neck restraint. There are two different types currently in use: the HANS, which is a device that sits on the driver's shoulders and straps to the helmet, and another which is more of a harness that straps around the chest and shoulders and attaches to the helmet. Sterling was wearing the latter type in the crash that cause this injury. It was a vicious right-front crash very reminicent of the crash that killed Dale Earnhardt. Without the head and neck restraint, it is very likely that Sterling's injuries would have been far worse, maybe even fatal.