Safer barriers at national event tracks

[Mike]

What are the pros and cons of the type of safer barrier used for oval tracks?

 

[Cliff]

Some are filled with foam material. The idea is to cushion the impact of the car and is supposed to be safer for the driver. Would be interesting to hear from Maters on which is the best barrier, oval track type or concrete. I've heard that the concrete can disapate a lot of energy & helps the car to slow down. Plus it's pretty hard to move the concrete barrier when a car crashes into it.

 

[Butch]

My 1st. thought is soft wall might stop the car too quick, bad for driver. Concrete allows for the car bounce off. I don't recall in drag racing any crash with a car taking the wall headon at speed like what can happen in NASCAR.

 

[Ramjet]

The soft wall could be a two edged sword. It does absorb a lot of the impact on a straight in hit, but if a dragster for instance hooks it there could be a catapult situation.

 

[Cliff]

Barriers we have now are way better than The Old Daze. Used to have an Armco type barrier, made out of metal. One barrier, & the car (especially a dragster) could go under the barrier or on top of it. The top was so sharp at speed that a driver could lose his legs (that happened). Then they went to 2 Armco barriers and that was a lot better, but not as good as the concrete barriers we have today. Also remember that sometimes the concrete barriers were in sections and if a car crashed into one, it could move the barrier. The track would replace the barrier in that case. I do remember hay bales at San Fernando Drag Strip & also Pomona.

 

[Randy]

I'm thinking they would likely be a disaster. Just curious if they use them for Indycar, open wheel racing.

I would think with open exposed suspension in the front like a dragster or a funny car or a pro stock car has once the carbon fiber is stripped away, would grab the race car like a fishnet. Because the cars are not going into any turns the concrete barriers at the drag strips basically bounce the cars back onto the track. No head- ons like circle tracks or ovals.

 

[Under_Pressure]

I'm thinking they would likely be a disaster. Just curious if they use them for Indycar, open wheel racing.

Actually Indianapolis was the first place they were installed, for Indycars. Keep in mind that the SAFER barrier system is not a "soft wall" in that the surface facing the track/cars is not foam/rubber/etc. Rather, it consists of steel square tubing welded together to create the wall, with foam blocks spaced at intervals between the tubing and the supports (the original concrete wall in the case of retrofits) to provide energy absorption. So the surface that a car hits is steel. That said, for the types of accidents that happen in drag racing I think the benefits would not be that great.

 

[Cliff]

Thanks Chris. Good info to know.

 

[Nick Rienstra]

Safer barriers have been in Indy car a long time at all ovals. They work great as long as the cars stay on the ground. There is no doubt in my mind Safer Barriers would work well in drag racing too. The barriers are flush to the track. There are no major engineered crush zones in drag cars especially door cars. Drag car bodies absorb almost no impact forces transferring the load directly to the rigid chassis and consequently into the drivers body. The latest Nascar cars have had this issue and we've seen several driver head injuries recently even with safer barriers and crazy padded seats. They are redesigning and adding crush zones weekly. Currently the safest drag racing cars I believe are the Top Fuel/alcohol dragsters due to their breakaway design. I firmly believe safer barriers must be in place at all national and divisional event tracks all the way to the end of the shut down (they really should be at every track though). Also, I think any door car over 150 mph weather at the 1/8th or the 1/4 should have roof flaps and much more downforce mandatory. What do you think?

 

[Cliff]

I like the idea of flaps on door cars, think that would work. Thinking, what is the best way to disapate energy when a car crashes?

 

[mick]

don't know enough about safer barriers to have opinion on how they would work in drag racing.
drag racing is an acceleration contest. the walls are there to protect racers and fans. if incidents happen further downtrack at greater speeds,
as a wrecking car is having contact with wall/s (at speed), is it better to keep the guardrails straight? or would widening them past finish line
help to dissipate energy?

 

[ANDY]

they can always put those big water barrels down in the sand trap
and pave the track past the finish line on an uphill grade ..they all
have room to do that just need a bunch of fill

 

[cknight]

don't know enough about safer barriers to have opinion on how they would work in drag racing.
drag racing is an acceleration contest. the walls are there to protect racers and fans. if incidents happen further downtrack at greater speeds,
as a wrecking car is having contact with wall/s (at speed), is it better to keep the guardrails straight? or would widening them past finish line
help to dissipate energy?

Widening the trak enables you to get more crossed up, increasing the chances for a head-on into the wall.

 

[mick]

Widening the trak enables you to get more crossed up, increasing the chances for a head-on into the wall.

my thought was an out of shape car after the finish line would strike a wall at a more obtuse angle, decreasing the pinball effect of parallel walls

 

[Cliff]

This is all interesting. Lots of good thinking and good ideas.