Drivers worried over SAFER

The Steel and Foam Energy Reduction safety device is being installed at several Nextel Cup venues over the next year. Although drivers are mainly in favour of them, several have said this week that they believe the measure could be detrimental at the 1.366-mile Darlington oval.

They say the existing groove around the track will be eliminated because the SAFER wall protrudes 26 inches further out than the normal wall. They also claim that the new line cars will have to take around the circuit means that the spectacle of the race may be diminished for the fans.

To make things worse, NASCAR has been unable to give drivers an extra day of practice to get used to the SAFER wall at Darlington. As compensation, drivers will however get an extra set of tyres for Friday practice.

Dale Earnhardt Jr, a double winner this season, said: "I'm kind of interested to see how much of the track has been taken away by those walls. At that place, you use up every inch of the race track they give you and hope that by the end of the day you haven't painted the walls Budweiser red."

Jeremy Mayfield, who was second at last weekend's race at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, echoed this view. He said: "I don't understand. We just came from the fastest race track on the circuit. There's not a soft wall anywhere at Atlanta.

"You don't even need soft walls at Darlington. We need to run up close to the wall. I think that's the only place the asphalt is any good any more. They've taken it away. I think it might take some of the excitement out of Darlington."