stock steering wheel VS none airbag steering wheel

[dogzilla]

I have seen many cars on the track have ditched the factory airbag, and went for aftermarket non-airbag steering wheels, what are the reasons of doing that? is it mainly for show? or it actually serves a functional purpose? i remeber someone once told me that air bags are dangerous when people are in racing driving position, because they are too close to the airbag, so instead of reducing the damage, airbags might actually seriously injure the driver, does that make any sense?Please enlighten me, thanks.

[Blinky]

Racing - airbags are removed for safety because of the abundance of other safety equipment (proper harnesses, helmets etc etc etc).

If they're just modded street driven cars, then it's for rice purposes or the better "feel" of aftermarket wheels - smaller diameter, thicker rim, etc. Removing airbags on a street-driven car is illegal.

[jing]

Aftermarket wheels are usually much lighter as well.