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“I used to think that insurance companies would drive
change—that they wouldn’t insure a track if the level of risk
wasn’t addressed,” Olvey says. “But that hasn’t happened.”
Similarly, most top tracks have SAFER barriers that pro-
tect drivers from concrete or steel walls in a crash. The bar-
riers, pioneered in 2002 by the Indianapolis Motor Speed-
way, are made of steel and foam (SAFER stands for “steel
and foam energy reduction”), and they’re designed to give
way substantially when hit by an out-of-control car.
But SAFER barriers cost between $400 and $500 per foot
to install, and for even most profitable small tracks, that’s
out of the question.
One racer who is trying to address this is RJ Valentine,
a longtime sports car driver who was on the winning team
for the 2009 Rolex 24 at Daytona. Several of his businesses
involve karting, and he developed impact safety systems,
including KISS (kart impact safety system), for kart tracks.
He has adapted the technology for the ProLink safety
barrier—a simple, relatively inexpensive soft wall that can
be used on a variety of tracks.
The barriers are made of half-inch polyethylene and can
be partially filled with water. Each 4-foot barrier weighs 73
pounds, making for easy installation and replacement in
case of damage. Fill intermittent barriers to one-quarter
capacity with water, and each one weighs 500 pounds,
heavy enough to absorb a solid hit. Best of all, the barriers
cost, including installation, about $70 per foot.
Other than that—and general track upgrades like
improving the racing surface, nighttime and emergency
lighting, and beefing up emergency crews with personnel,
training, and equipment—much of the safety in amateur
racing is in the hands of the driver.
“It’s amazing what some Friday and Saturday night
racers and tracks get away with,” a frustrated Olvey says.
“It isn’t always expense—we’ve learned how to do a lot
without spending a lot of money.” He recalls that he was at
a lower-level stock car race and was stunned to see a car
that had zero padding on its metal roll bars, including the
portions “that could definitely come into contact with the
driver’s head in a crash. That could easily result in a fatal
head injury. It’s just asking for trouble.”Let’s look at Nelson’s three main threats to a driver,
how they have been addressed, and what to expect in
the future:EXPOSURE TO HIGH G-LOAD:
You likely know that gravitational force, or g-force, is the
measurement of a unit’s mass under acceleration that is
roughly equivalent to weight, with g equal to the gravita-
tional acceleration on Earth. Depending on the track, an F1
driver can experience forces of 5 to 7 g in turns or under
braking.
A typical crash into the wall at the Indianapolis Motor
Speedway, when it had unprotected concrete walls, could
easily expose the driver to a 100-g hit. With the SAFER
barriers, most crashes are in the 60-g range.ProLink Safety Barrier