Here at Walero, alongside providing the most technologically advanced racewear available, driver safety is our top priority! We go to great lengths with each and every piece of our base layer range to keep you fully protected from head to toe with fully fire retardant products that give you the best protection available when you need it most.
With safety being such an important pillar of motorsport, we pride ourselves on keeping everyone who wears Walero as safe as possible whilst behind the wheel. One of these brilliant Walero wearers is our resident short-oval master, Nick Roots, who has been a stern supporter of driver safety since he first entered the world of racing.
Nick has made it his mission to further promote and educate those around him in short-oval racing about the various elements of driver safety with the help of Walero base layers and we took some time to sit down with Nick to find out more on his push for better driver safety.
In the world of short oval racing, not many hold the same prestige as Walero athlete, Nick Roots. A highly accomplished stock car driver, heralding from a family with a rich racing pedigree passed down through several generations in the SuperStox formula, Nick has amassed some mighty achievements during his time in short oval racing. Before Nick joined the Walero ranks in 2022, he had just stormed to multiple titles in the intensely competitive SuperStox series, winning the British, European, National Points and World Championships, further cementing his name in the short oval scene.
Now in 2024, Nick finds himself in a brand new formula of racing, competing in his sophomore year behind the wheel of a National Hot Rod, the premier form of non-contact short oval racing in Europe. An ever constant throughout this monumental journey has been Nick and his team’s dedication to driver safety, a passion he states has been with them from the very beginning.
“Ever since I first stepped into the world of motorsport and racing, my first thought was always protecting myself no matter what I face out on track. I had the mindset that I would much rather have all the correct safety equipment first, with the correct setup of the car coming second with regards to spending our budget.”
“I also think my passion and stern approach to driver safety has stemmed from my day job as a solicitor, which has been highly influential as it has made me extremely conscious about my safety and the implications a poor approach can have!”
“Short-oval racing is typically viewed as a more ‘lower-budget’ form of racing compared to that which takes place on the circuit, so many of my fellow competitors would much rather spend money on making their car as quick as possible than protecting themselves whilst out on track, but for me the mindset was the complete opposite and it therefore my safety out on the track takes huge precedence.”
In Nick’s world of racing, the competition is often as intense as can be, with cars battling lap after lap over a ¼ mile oval for position, milimetres away from not only each other but the barriers that encircle them. Nick had begun his stock car career in the series in which his family name held plenty of calibre, a formula where contact was a commodity, so for him, ensuring correct safety procedure was his main goal.
“I first started out when I was 16 in the adult stock car formula and this meant I was going up against some pretty stiff competition. Before I even stepped foot in the car, my first thought was my own safety so I immediately sorted myself out with the correct fire resistant base layers to go under my race suit. It may have eaten up a much larger portion of my budget than I would have liked, but I then had that extra layer of confidence to go out and make a name for myself out on track, knowing I had added protection under my race suit in the event any incident occurred.”
“For me having the peace of mind whilst racing has allowed me to maximise my performance across my career. I no longer go out on track worrying about what could happen, I only end up worrying about whether I can stick an overtake or missing a vital gear change now.”
Since Nick began his motorsport career at the fledgling age of 16, short oval regulations have not promoted base layers as mandatory, but they are advised amongst competitors, something which Nick has battled valiantly to change since his opening race in the sport. Walero base layers, which are certified to the FIA 8856-2000 and latest SFI 3.3. homologations, have been key to keeping Nick protected out on the track and have formed the foundations for his ongoing safety crusade.
“Since my first race, fire protective race suits were compulsory, but the added protection of a base layer underneath was not,” he explains. “It was a tricky one at the time as I would often do my racing in the UK where base layers were not mandatory, but as soon as I crossed over into mainland Europe for the blue ribbon World Championship events, they were a necessity! From that moment, I had no doubts that wearing base layers for every race weekend would be the right choice, even if It meant we couldn’t progress with further upgrades to the car.”
As with any motorsport, the risk for drivers is there with every twist and turn, but for Nick in particular and other competitors racing in both the SuperStox and National Hot Rod series, compact car design forces the driver to sit with fuel tanks in close proximity, often sitting on top or in front in most cases.
“I think it has a higher level of risk than other forms of motorsport, but of course all forms of motorsport carry that element of danger which drivers have to accept every time they get in the car. For me in National Hot Rods, I’m racing a car with 260BHP that weighs only 700KG, making it an absolute rocket in a straight line. Add to that the fact that I’ve got a fuel tank right behind me, it means that when something goes wrong, it goes wrong at quite some speed, so making sure I’m prepared for any eventuality, such as fire, is key.”
Across his time in short-oval racing, Nick has continued to push other drivers to become more aware of their own safety whilst in the car. From holding regular discussions with his fellow drivers to discussing how to mandate safety with event organisers, Nick has looked to pave the way for better safety with the help of the Walero base layers.
“I was overjoyed to become a part of the Walero athlete roster in 2022, to be the best out on track you have to arm yourself with the best kit possible and Walero is exactly that. From that first race meeting and beyond, I had drivers in the paddock from multiple short oval formulas come up to me and ask about the brand new Walero base layers I was sporting.”
“From that moment on, I began to engage in more conversation with drivers about what they wear to increase their safety behind the wheel. I always looked to point them in the direction of fire retardant base layers as the key product they should be purchasing to maximise their own safety.”
“It has been great to see some shifts in the adoption of fire retardant base layer since I first stepped into the paddock with Walero, it has been the missing piece of the puzzle for many years, with drivers spending a large amount of money on all the core safety components such as helmets, race suits and hans devices, but often opting to spend the remaining budget on car performance rather than base layers due to the lack of a mandate on base layers.”
“I also think drivers have not been educated effectively on the real benefit of wearing base layers and not many realise the extra protection it provides whilst in the cockpit. For me, I have always gone to great lengths to understand the ins and outs of each piece of safety equipment that I own and I always understood that base layers provide the last line of defence against flames from your skin. The thought of having nothing under your race suit, which can only withstand a certain amount of flame, seemed reckless to me. If I could wear two of the Walero base layers under my race suit I would, they are just that comfortable and the fact that they provide that extra benefit with the temperature regulation makes it a no brainer for me!”
With the threat of fire being an ever-constant in the world of motorsport, Nick has had first hand experience in how quickly it can become a threat and how fire retardant base layers hold the key to further protection behind the wheel.
“There is one on-track accident that has always kept me on my toes regarding safety and it was one that happened from a seemingly innocuous incident. Contact between cars in the SuperStox formula was part of the parcel, as the cars were designed to endure contact on a regular basis as drivers jostled for position. Whilst I was watching from the sidelines, a competitor was tapped into the wall and upon impact the fuel tank ruptured, setting the car alight. The force of the impact actually knocked the driver briefly unconscious, so he was sitting in the cockpit for a period of time as the flames continued to spread around him. Fortunately, the quick thinking of several other drivers ensured that he was pulled from the wreckage just as the flames began to reach their peak.”
“It was a harrowing experience as you never really expect it to happen in front of your eyes, but thankfully due to the brilliant response from the drivers and the safety team, he only suffered some minor burns and bruising, but it was a key reminder that your safety as a driver should never be taken for granted. One sentence that always sticks out to me since I first championed Walero was the fact that it exceeded the minimum flame resistance time by double the amount, a statistic which has provided even greater peace of mind whilst out on track!”
Since Nick began his short-oval career, strides have been made in the adoption of base layer equipment across the various Formulas that race week in week out. Thanks to Nick’s hard work and continued perseverance in educating his fellow racers in the benefits of further safety equipment, in particular fire retardant base layers, dozens of drivers have now taken the step of improving their own safety whilst out on track.
Today, Nick still continues to hold regular conversations and meetings at each race weekend as he looks to push forward his drive for mandatory base layer equipment with the help of the Walero base layers as further proof for his cause and we could not be prouder of his efforts to promote safety in the world of motorsport.
To find out more on the safety features provided by the Walero base layers, click on the link below.
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