SFI PRESS RELEASE
April 21, 2010 - SFI issues the following press release. Please review this carefully:
1. Impact Racing has withdrawn its appeal of the decertifications of its products bearing SFI 3.2A, 3.3, 16.1, and 16.5 specifications manufactured in the years 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008. The decertifications of these products are now permanent.
2. The decertifications are based upon a number of the affected products being non-compliant with SFI specifications concerning labeling and construction. In addition to the presence of non-compliant SFI tags and the absence of DOMs on products, 3.2A/5 suits made prior to 2009 have been constructed with non-compliant materials that, in SFI’s judgment, pose a safety risk to users of these suits.
3. Impact Racing is permitted to maintain the certification for products bearing SFI 3.2A, 3.3, 16.1, and 16.5 specifications manufactured in 2009 and 2010. SFI’s investigation of the labeling and construction of these products is ongoing. Impact’s participation in the SFI specification programs ends June 22, 2010.
4. Any Impact product with SFI specifications 3.2A, 3.3, 16.1, and 16.5 without a date of manufacture (DOM) is deemed to be a decertified product unless the manufacturer has provided the product user with proof that it was manufactured in 2009 or 2010. This proof must be presented to track officials upon request. Impact believes that its products made in 2009 and 2010 have the DOMs affixed to products to the extent mandated by SFI specifications.
For a downloadable .pdf of this press release, please click on the following link:
http://www.sfifoundation.com/PressRelease04-21-10.pdf.
IMPACT PRESS RELEASE - APRIL 22nd 2010
Impact strongly disagrees with SFI’s decertification of its products manufactured in the years 2005-2008. Impact is working diligently to resolve this issue with SFI. Impact decided to stop the internal SFI appeal process because it became obvious that Impact could not get a fair hearing.
Impact’s track record of providing safety to racers is unmatched. There have been no burns or other injuries reported to Impact by any racer wearing Impact Race Products since its inception. Impact has seen drivers wearing its gear walk away unharmed from very serious explosions and wrecks. We stand behind the safety of our products 100% and have always placed the safety of racers at the forefront of our mission and company. Bill Simpson has worked at the goal of saving racers’ lives for over 52 years and his name is synonymous with motorsports safety.
Impact’s vocal position has been that SFI’s certification programs are seriously flawed and antiquated and do not address the issue of safety. Accordingly, SFI is applying standards to us that it has not applied to any other product manufacturer.
Impact regrets that SFI has chosen the path of decertification and lawsuits against Impact as a way to handle any concerns it has. Bill Simpson and Impact Racing have always worked closely with SFI and all sanctioning bodies to help improve driver safety in motorsports and come up with many innovations in safety. Impact would like to have resolved this issue in a different way. Unfortunately, SFI’s actions have caused racers unnecessarily to question their safety.
Impact will do everything in its power to resolve this dispute and help our loyal customers through it. We are committed to clearing Impact’s name and moving onward with our real job of providing the best safety equipment money can buy to racers across the country and world.