Ky. Speedway adding SAFER barriers to walls

Kentucky Speedway general manager Mark Simendinger says track officials have long considered adding more Steel and Foam Energy Reduction barriers to the Sparta, Ky., track's walls.

"And then with what happened to Kyle Busch, it ratcheted up the urgency," Simendinger said Monday.

Nearing the end of Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity (formerly Nationwide) Series race at Daytona, Busch's car smashed into an inside wall devoid of SAFER barriers. The star driver broke his right leg and left foot, forcing him to miss the next day's Daytona 500 and a number of future races to be determined.

Daytona officials responded by immediately promising to cover the rest of their track's walls with SAFER barriers. Simendinger said Monday that by this July's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race weekend, his track plans to add the so-called soft to its back stretch.

"Sometimes you have to see what can possibly happen before you realize that you've got a problem that needs to be corrected," Simendinger said. "Obviously it's an expensive thing to do. It takes time. But it's something we're committed to.

"I've always said safety is our No. 1 thing, so that's what we're going to do assuming we can get the work done between now and our races," set for July 9-11.

SAFER technology was developed at the University of Nebraska and first installed at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2002. While most tracks are retrofitted with the soft walls, the Iowa Speedway opened in 2006 was the first built with them included around the entire oval.

Already, SAFER barriers cover Kentucky's entry to corners through exits -- spots consultants deemed most likely to result in contact with race cars. Along the backstretch, the new walls could catch spinning cars off Turn 2.

Ultimately, Simendinger says that "as an industry" NASCAR-sanctioned tracks will eventually cover every inch of exposed concrete wall. But it comes at a hefty cost -- approximately $500 per square foot.

"It's something we work hand-in-hand with NACAR and their consultants on," he said. "...But there's not that many people that make SAFER barriers, so we've got to make sure we can get it, get it installed and do it properly."