death of Dale Earnhardt in the Daytona 500 in February 2001, many NASCAR drivers began voluntarily wearing head-and-neck restraint devices such as the HANS device and the Hutchens device. One week after Earnhardt's death at the Dura Lube 400, drivers Mike Skinner, Kevin Harvick, Bobby Labonte, and Elliott Sadler utilized the Hutchens device during the race. Skinner and Harvick were drivers for Richard Childress Racing. Sadler and Labonte, meanwhile, requested the device from Hutchens and Ashline. The name "Hutchens device" was coined by a reporter from NASCAR.com at that time. At the Pepsi 400 in July, 41 of the 43 competitors used a restraint device, Tony Stewart and Jimmy Spencer being the only drivers not to use a device. During the race, Earnhardt's son Dale Earnhardt Jr. used the Hutchens device; it was the first time he had used a head-and-neck restraint during a race. In September 2001, Mattec Inc. was licensed to produce the Hutchens device. Prior to the EA Sports 500 at Talladega Superspeedway in October of that year, shortly after the death of Blaise Alexander in an ARCA race, NASCAR mandated the use of either the HANS or Hutchens device in its top three touring series (Winston Cup Series, Busch Series, Craftsman Truck Series). ARCA also mandated its drivers to use a restraint device beginning at Talladega. Tony Stewart was the only notable driver on the Winston Cup circuit who had yet to use either device on a regular basis. Stewart cited claustrophobia issues with the HANS device, and reliability issues with the Huthchens device. In April 2002, Safety Solutions Inc. purchased the license to the device from Mattec. During the 2002 NASCAR season, doubts were raised about the effectiveness of the Hutchens device. In April of that year, Earnhardt Jr. crashed in a race at California Speedway while wearing the device, suffering a concussion and blurred vision. In September of that year, Sterling Marlin suffered chest injuries in a crash at Richmond, then a fractured vertebra at Kansas, both while wearing the Hutchens device. The injuries led to Marlin missing the final seven races of the year. In October of that year, NASCAR safety consultant John Melvin stated that the HANS was a safer restraint than the Hutchens device, the former better preventing forward head movement during a crash. By June 2004, the majority of NASCAR Cup Series drivers were wearing HANS devices instead of Hutchens