The SAFER Barrier

Every once in a while, an incident occurs that makes us look at the SAFER barrier that exists around nearly every paved oval in America and thank Tony George and the University of Nebraska for inventing the thing.

In a practice session for the Indy Lights race at Kansas, Richard Phillipe got loose and pulled a dirt track-style slide through the turn. As he was straightening the car out, he just barely tagged the car of Ali Jackson, whose car gave a wiggle, then speared nose-first into the outside wall.

Look here, click "Firestone Indy Lights" on the left, and pick "Kansas Crash" on the menu at the right.

Were there a solid concrete wall in front of Jackson, he could have been heavily injured, if not killed outright, and his car would probably be a total write-off. Instead, Jackson is currently recovering in the paddock, the team is rebuilding the car, and they hope to have Jackson on the track for qualifying.

Racing still isn't completely safe by any means, but in about 20 or 30 years, we've gone from injuries being expected to serious injuries being a rare occurrence. Good work by all who have brought this change about.