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Dover SAFER Walls Not Complete
The SAFER barriers at Dover are not yet completed despite the Nextel Cup series returning for the second of ten races in the Chase for the Championship. While the barriers will be in place along the inside of the 1,076-foot backstretch this week, they will not cover the outside walls of the speedway until NASCAR drivers return next June due to engineering delays. Denis McGlynn, president and CEO of Dover International Speedway, said the additional engineering means the project will cost nearly $2 million by the time it is completed this winter. The initial estimate was $1 million. Dover Motorsports Inc. will pay for the project, which NASCAR recommended be completed this year for all Nextel Cup tracks except the half-mile oval at Bristol, Tenn., and road courses at Watkins Glen, N.Y., and Sonoma, Calif. The SAFER barriers have been a challenge to install at Dover, a track unlike any other on the NASCAR circuit. The concrete and steel boilerplate walls that line the outside walls are not strong enough to support the SAFER barriers, so steel pilings must first be constructed to solidify the walls. The current walls also will have to be made slightly higher to fit the SAFER barriers, which consist of rectangular steel tubing backed by foam blocks. The barriers, which extend about 30 inches from the wall, are not expected to affect the racing at Dover, known for its wide, sweeping turns.(Delaware Online)(9-22-04)
The SAFER barriers at Dover are not yet completed despite the Nextel Cup series returning for the second of ten races in the Chase for the Championship. While the barriers will be in place along the inside of the 1,076-foot backstretch this week, they will not cover the outside walls of the speedway until NASCAR drivers return next June due to engineering delays. Denis McGlynn, president and CEO of Dover International Speedway, said the additional engineering means the project will cost nearly $2 million by the time it is completed this winter. The initial estimate was $1 million. Dover Motorsports Inc. will pay for the project, which NASCAR recommended be completed this year for all Nextel Cup tracks except the half-mile oval at Bristol, Tenn., and road courses at Watkins Glen, N.Y., and Sonoma, Calif. The SAFER barriers have been a challenge to install at Dover, a track unlike any other on the NASCAR circuit. The concrete and steel boilerplate walls that line the outside walls are not strong enough to support the SAFER barriers, so steel pilings must first be constructed to solidify the walls. The current walls also will have to be made slightly higher to fit the SAFER barriers, which consist of rectangular steel tubing backed by foam blocks. The barriers, which extend about 30 inches from the wall, are not expected to affect the racing at Dover, known for its wide, sweeping turns.(Delaware Online)(9-22-04)
