Speedway officials announced today that installation of SAFER barriers is currently underway at Talladega Superspeedway.

Steel and foam energy reduction barriers are scheduled to be in place around the 2.66-mile tri-oval in time for the April 22-25 Aaron’s Dream Weekend.

“The installation of the SAFER barriers at Talladega Superspeedway is an example of International Speedway Corporation’s ongoing commitment to driver safety,” Talladega Superspeedway Vice-President and General Manager Rick Humphrey said. “Soft wall technology is vital to the safety of the drivers, and NASCAR has done a tremendous job of ensuring that, with these recommendations of SAFER barrier installations.”

Scientists at the University of Nebraska’s Midwest Roadside Safety Facility developed the SAFER barrier, which absorbs some of the energy in a crash and lessens the impact on a driver. The SAFER wall technology consists of rectangular steel cement walls.

The SAFER barrier at Talladega Superspeedway will be installed in Turns 1 and 2, Turns three and four as well as the tri-oval and inside retaining wall on the backstretch. The SAFER wall at Talladega Superspeedway will be 40 inches high, and extend through the turns and tri-oval about 30 inches from the wall.

In 2002, SAFER barriers were erected in the inside retaining wall at the exit of Turn four and the entrance of Turn one at Talladega Superspeedway.

The process consists of ordering the specific materials, bending of the steel tubing to fit the radius of the racetrack’s corners, shipment and installation.

The SAFER wall project began in the fall of 200 and remains an ongoing safety initiative among NASCAR, the Indy Racing League, Dr. Dean Sicking and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.