Innovation: SAFER barrier

IRL president and Indianpolis owner Tony George was the recipient of a new award, the Pioneering and Innovation Award, on behalf of the creators of the SAFER barrier which has been introduced to ovals in the US racing scene

Dec 5, 2004, 11:10 PM

Autosport Awards

The Autosport Awards are a series of awards presented by motor racing magazine Autosport to drivers that have achieved significant milestones each season. Some of the presentations are selected by the general public via a reader's poll.

Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the man behind the Bahrain International Grand Prix circuit, awarded the trophy to George.

"It's been a big step forward in speedway racing," said George, whose Indianpolis circuit was the first to fit the new barriers. "It's something that was very important to me, the prospect of coming up with a soft wall has been something we have been working on for the better part of a decade.

"After several years of hard work we called upon the expert advice of the people at Nebraska University. They have done a great job helping us in the development of this system."

"Everyone in the IRL and NASCAR worked very hard for this achievement."

George was joined on stage by Dr. John Reid from Nebraska University, which played a key role in developing the SAFER system.