IRL plans to replace catch fencing

The move is in response to the latest severe injuries sustained by a driver when a car became airborne and got caught in a fence.

Indy Pro Series driver Pablo Perez is recovering from injuries to his feet during a crash at Homestead last Saturday. The injuries were so severe that doctors considered amputation.

Perez's accident has been compared to the crashes suffered by Kenny Brack at Texas Motor Speedway in 2003, and Ryan Briscoe at Chicagoland a year later. In all three incidents the cars were ripped apart by the fencing.

IndyCar Series president Brian Barnhart described the barrier being considered as something similar to a hockey rink - a solid lower wall topped with a clear shield. The idea is to prevent the jarring, shredding impacts that occur when out-of-control cars get high enough to strike the fence portion of the barrier.

In the mid-1990s, IRL officials asked the Nebraska group to design an energy absorbing barrier for the concrete walls that surround tracks. The result was the Steel and Foam Energy Reduction (SAFER) barrier which was installed at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2002 and is now in use at every major oval track in the nation.

"It's something that needs to be done," Barnhart told the Indianapolis Star. "What we have now is a system of fence and posts, and it's not made to protect the competitors."

While fences prevent cars from flying into the grandstands, they often create a violent impact for the driver, especially for open-wheel cars, which can snag in the fence.

"Usually, a fence is the best thing we've got (to corral) a flying car," said Kevin Forbes, director of engineering and construction at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

"Otherwise, there's nothing to stop it until it comes back to earth, where a landing is probably not going to be pretty."