From a press release issued by California Speedway:

CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY TO INSTALL SAFER BARRIERS

FONTANA, Calif. (March 1, 2004) — California Speedway President Bill Miller announced today that installation of the SAFER (Steel and Foam Energy Reduction) wall is scheduled to begin at the superspeedway in early April with an anticipated completion date prior to the April 30-May 2nd Auto Club 500 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series weekend.

“We look forward to the construction and installation of the SAFER wall getting under way at California Speedway,” said Miller. “We all know that safety is paramount in our sport, and this is another positive step going forward. We applaud all those involved in constructing this system and its installation at California Speedway.”

Two sets of barriers will be placed along the turns at the two-mile oval, with the first set starting at the entrance of turn one and running continuously to the exit of turn two. The second set will start at the entrance of turn three and run continuously to the exit of turn four. A third set of barriers will be placed on the inside retaining wall off the exit of turn two, extending approximately two-thirds of the way down the backstretch.

Made up of steel tubes and pads of hard foam, which are affixed to the concrete walls, the SAFER barrier system was designed by Dr. Dean Sicking and a team under his direction at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The wall is designed to absorb some of the energy that is transferred during a crash. In 2003, Dr. Sicking, and his team, were honored with NASCAR’s Award of Excellence for their efforts in safety.

California Speedway joins a growing list of racing facilities already with the system or planning to install the system.

In 2002, Indianapolis Motor Speedway debuted the SAFER walls through its four corners for the Indianapolis 500. Talladega Superspeedway followed with SAFER walls on the inside retaining walls of its layout at the exit of turn four and the entrance of turn one for its October NASCAR race in 2002, and will complete installation on the outside walls in the turns prior to its upcoming April NASCAR event.

New Hampshire International Speedway, Richmond International Raceway and Homestead-Miami Speedway installed the system in 2003. Phoenix International Raceway recently completed its installation, while Daytona International Speedway is expected to have the system in place prior to the Pepsi 400 in July. Last week, Darlington Raceway announced that installation of the SAFER walls were under way at its facility.

California Speedway’s 2004 season kicks off April 2-4 with the Yamaha Superbike Challenge followed a month later with the first of two NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series weekends. The first features the Auto Club 500 on May 2nd, with the second highlighted by the “Finish Under the Lights” Pop Secret 500 on Sunday, September 5, of Labor Day Weekend. The Indy Race League IndyCar Series returns to California Speedway October 1-3 for the TOYOTA Indy 400, which last year established the speedway as the world’s fastest oval when Sam Hornish Jr. won his second consecutive IndyCar race at California Speedway with an average speed of 207.151 MPH. For road racing enthusiasts, California Speedway offers the old and the new, with the Southern California Historic SportsCar Festival Presented by RACER June 18-20 and the Grand American Road Racing Association season finale, featuring the Daytona Prototypes, October 29-31. For tickets and event information call 1-800-944-RACE (7223) or log on to www.californiaspeedway.com.

ABOUT SAFER:
· The SAFER wall technology consists of rectangular steel tubing backed by foam blocks that is installed in front of the race track’s traditional cement walls.
· The process consists of ordering the specific materials, bending the steel tubing to fit the radius of the race track’s corners, shipment and installation.
· The SAFER wall project began in the fall of 2000 and remains an ongoing safety initiative among NASCAR, the Indy Racing League, Dr. Dean Sicking and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.