Drivers will be pleased to find out that work has begun to prepare Dover International Speedway for the first phase of its installation of SAFER walls. The SAFER (Steel and Foam Energy Reduction) wall system first will be installed along the inside wall of the backstretch at the high-banked, one-mile oval. The SAFER barriers eventually will be fitted for the walls in the turns, though it is uncertain whether the turns will be completed in time for the MBNA America 400 Nextel Cup Series race on Sept. 26. "They have officially begun preparing for the installation of SAFER barriers at Dover," said Gary Camp, director of public relations at Dover International Speedway. "They are just entering the first phase of the project." Denis McGlynn, president of Dover's race track, said it was just a matter of time before the facility fell in line with all of the other tracks on the NASCAR circuit, most of which already have or are installing the SAFER barriers. "I think anything that's safer is better, and we're on board with all of the improvements that are being made in the name of safety," McGlynn said. The walls, which McGlynn estimated in March would cost around $1 million to install, are designed to absorb energy and decrease the chance of injuries to drivers involved in an accident. They promise to be much safer than the concrete and boilerplate walls that have lined Dover since its opening in 1969.(Delaware News Journal)(7-10-2004)

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