A wireless helmet component is being tested by a few NASCAR drivers for Taylor Solutions. The helmet, outfitted with a Bluetooth wireless card, indicator light and power on/off switch, eliminates a quarter-inch-thick, coiled communication cord -- often duct-taped at its connection and bolted to the floorboard of the race car -- that can slow down a driver's escape. "When that fight-or-flight syndrome hits, when you're in a fire, you just forget about unhooking wires," said Robert Taylor, president of Seattle-area Taylor Solutions. He owns five motorcycles and used to be an amateur racer. The helmet could be approved by mid-season next year, said Taylor. He has spoken with officials but has not yet made a formal application for approval. Only four drivers -- Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson -- have tested the helmet. The device faces at least one hurdle in obtaining NASCAR's official stamp. Drivers speculate that it would be seen as a way to sneak traction control into the cars, against the sport's rulebook. Traction control automatically senses when a wheel is losing its grip on the road and supplies more power or applies the brake to help a driver maintain command. Just this season, NASCAR officials requested that all ignition and electrical components be mounted on dashboards to ease inspection of traction control. Without formal approval, use of the helmet is confined to practices and test runs. But even with limited exposure, driver Biffle said it's his preferred helmet. When Biffle first tested the helmet at Kansas Speedway last September, only he and Crew Chief Doug Richert knew about the change. The crew never noticed: Biffle's voice came through as clear as ever. Traditional helmets connect drivers to their crews through wires and two-way radios. The driver pushes a steering-wheel button to talk. His voice is sent through a microphone in the helmet and down the communications cord to the car's radio system, where it is transmitted to his crew on a radio signal. Taylor's helmet communicates with the car's existing radio system through a 2.4 GHz Bluetooth signal -- the strength of an average cordless telephone -- that allows a driver to communicate with his crew up to 90 feet away from the car, Taylor said. Each card comes with a unique frequency, eliminating the chances of drivers' signals becoming mixed during close racing, he added. The cost of installing the wireless component into a user's helmet is about $1,000!

(Indianapolis Star and more info at the Taylor Solutions website)

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