UPDATE - Impact Racing SFI Certification

[wayfast01]

The good news is that all the helmets are still SFI certified regardless of when they were made, and everything made in 2009 and 2010 is to remain certified!!! The press release below is the latest from www.sfifoundation.com


JOINT PRESS RELEASE

April 1, 2010 - Impact Racing, LLC and SFI Foundation, Inc., in the litigation pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, have agreed that:

1. Impact Racing, LLC has provided sworn testimony that, upon review and investigation, no counterfeit SFI Conformance Labels have been used on Impact Racing products during the production years of 2009 and 2010.

2. Impact Racing, LLC has provided sworn testimony that, upon review and investigation, all Impact Racing products manufactured and sold during the production years 2009 and 2010 meet SFI specifications.

3. Based upon this sworn testimony, the decertification against Impact Racing products for the production years 2009 and 2010 is lifted. The decertification of the production years prior to 2009 and 2010 remains in effect. The parties will continue to work cooperatively in an effort to resolve the issues relating to decertification in these years.

4. Impact Racing stands behind the safety of all products it has manufactured and to which SFI Conformance Labels have been affixed. SFI will continue to monitor compliance with product specifications.

5. Impact Racing, LLC and SFI Foundation, Inc. will cooperate in determining whether any Impact Racing product bears a counterfeit SFI Conformance Label and if any safety issue exists in regard to products manufactured prior to 2009 and 2010.

6. If any Impact Racing product does not bear the date of manufacture the purchaser or user is instructed to immediately contact Impact Racing who will provide verification of the date of manufacture. Impact Racing, LLC will immediately notify SFI Foundation, Inc. of this occurrence. Impact Racing, LLC and SFI Foundation, Inc. will work with the sanctioning bodies to determine the best method for product users to present verification of the date of manufacture.

____________________________________________________

March, 2010

March 29, 2010 - UPDATE ON IMPACT RACING PRODUCT DECERTIFICATION

On Friday, March 26, 2010, SFI filed suit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana against Impact Racing, LLC, based upon evidence SFI has received regarding Impact’s manufacture and use of counterfeit SFI conformance labels and patches. Such actions by a manufacturer directly violate its obligations to the SFI program. SFI took similar action when it joined in Hans Performance Products’ lawsuit against Impact due to Impact’s manufacture and use of counterfeit Hans helmet clips. In that case, Impact counterfeited the clips and inscribed an SFI rating on the clips without SFI knowledge or approval. As in the Hans clip case, SFI is asking for another Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction against Impact. SFI is also seeking monetary damages. Please see SFI’s web posting of March 26, 2010 for more details on the basis for SFI’s position. At this time we do not know the exact extent of these counterfeiting activities, but through the litigation process we hope to learn all the details. During the years that Impact was using the counterfeit labeling, it was also obtaining authentic patches and labels from SFI. At this time SFI does not know how many products have counterfeit labels and patches and which ones have authentic labels and patches. Therefore, it was unfortunately necessary to decertify all the products manufactured by Impact pursuant to SFI specifications 3.2A, 3.3, 16.1 and 16.5. Please note that Impact helmets are not affected by this decertification.

It is important to keep in mind that any such use of counterfeit labeling is in violation of the SFI specification programs. Whether it involves counterfeit helmet clips or counterfeit labeling, such activities can undermine the integrity of the product ratings system that exists in motorsports. This system depends upon trust. If this system is damaged, all of motorsports can suffer the consequences. Manufacturers that agree to the SFI specification programs must meet rigorous and strict requirements. Those stringent standards are in place first and foremost to promote safety and product reliability. Racers and sanctioning bodies must have confidence in a manufacturer’s representation that its products are in compliance with SFI requirements. The conformance label is a manufacturer’s solemn statement to the racing community that it followed the rules in bringing its product to the sport. When this trust is violated, the racing community suffers. The level playing field for other manufacturers becomes uneven. Sometimes the consequences of a breach of trust are severe and can hurt innocent victims. This is why it is so critical that manufacturers follow the ratings system at all times.

SFI will continue to update the racing community as more information becomes available.

[dave]

The helmets were never SFI certified. The helmets are certified through Snell and were never part of the issue. The issue is that the person that complained, Darren Swisher, worked at Impact until about a year ago when he left to join the ownership group of a startup safety gear company Speed Racewear. Swisher alleges that on his own computer, on his own time that he bought labels from an Asian contractor that he then directed some employees to affix to some Impact products. He claims Simpson himself told him to do so but Simpson has denied it in court. As a result at least two persons had their employment terminated at Impact. At issue was only the source of the labels, not the equipment itself.

What is fishy is that a few days after SFI announced the decertification, Speed Racewear was permitted by the SFI to sell SFI spec products. Additionally when the decertification was announced none of the major sanctioning bodies took any action. The SCCA did release a statement that they would wait and see what, if anything they would do. this is far from over but it appears to me to be more than a case of copied labels and perhaps something more nefarious with respect to trying to gain a foothold in an already competitive industry.

[wayfast01]

Isn't that the way it usually works! Some one leaves a company and then reports them for something that they were either employed to fix and didn't or they were directly responsible for the violation.

the fact that SFI certified the company that blew the whistle right after the news was released is a bit fishy though! Appears as if they were buying their certification by helping SFI in a long standing personal battle and/or vendetta with/against Simpson.