Drivers thankful for SAFER speedway

INDIANAPOLIS -- When something new comes out, most people want to be the first one to give it a try.

That wasn't the case at Indianapolis Motor Speedway during sunday's Brickyard 400, as the SAFER wall technology got its first Winston Cup test.

	Brett Bodine was caught up in Mike Wallace's crash. Credit: Autostock

Mike Wallace, Kurt Busch, Geoffrey Bodine and Casey Atwood got a close-up look at the new barrier.

Wallace cut a right-front tire coming off of Turn 2 and bounced off the concrete wall, then spun to the inside and collected Brett Bodine before hitting the SAFER wall.

"If I did hit the barrier, I wasn't sure if I hit the barrier or the concrete wall, I guess I'm glad I hit that because it hit a ton just then," Wallace said. "So I'm glad it was there."

Geoffrey Bodine gave the SAFER wall its biggest test when he backed into the outside wall in Turn 1 with the driver's side striking the barrier.

	Kurt Busch leans on his wrecked car. Credit: Autostock

The car shot across the track and into the inside barrier, coming to a rest with heavy damage. He said he couldn't really tell a difference if the barrier helped absorb much of the impact or not.

"I wish I could tell I could feel a difference, but it felt pretty darn hard," Bodine said. "I've survived all those bad hits that you've seen. I have a really good, safe seat and that's really protected me through a lot of crashes and it did today, also.

"We'll look at the car and see if we can tell the any difference there with the crash."

	Busch gestures to Jimmy Spencer to express his displeasure. Credit: Autostock

Busch made contact with Jimmy Spencer and spun, slamming into the outside wall with the driver's side of his car.

"It seemed like it did its job and I'm able to walk away from a 200 mile an hour hit," Busch said. "I'm OK. It did its job. I knew it was going to be a hard hit and braced myself.

"There's nothing to describe what it's like to hit like that, except for standing in the boxing ring and having a heavyweight just knock you upside the head."