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Talladega adds SAFER barrier to cover exterior, interior walls

GEICO 500

TALLADEGA, AL - MAY 03: Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet, has an incident during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on May 3, 2015 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images)

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Talladega Superspeedway announced Thursday that it has added more SAFER barrier and that the outside and inside walls at the 2.66-mile track will be covered by a protective barrier.

The track stated it has added more than 8,000 linear feet of the Steel and Foam Energy Reduction Barrier in 2015.

Earlier this week, Charlotte Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway stated that they each have added SAFER and other energy-absorbing barriers for their races.

This has become a topic among drivers after Austin Theriault slammed into an unprotected wall during a Camping World Truck Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Theriault suffered a compression fracture. A track spokesman said the section of the frontstretch wall not covered would have a SAFER barrier in place before NASCAR returns in March for the Xfinity and Sprint Cup races.

Charlotte Motor Speedway, which plays host to Saturday night’s Bank of America 500, has added more than 2,200 linear feet of SAFER barriers since hosting the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend. All the track’s exterior and interior walls – with the exception of the pit wall – are protected with either the SAFER barrier or tire barriers.

Pat Warren, president of Kansas Speedway, told NASCAR Talk that the track added 1,250 linear feet of the barrier to the outside backstretch wall and 525 linear feet of the barrier to the outside frontstretch wall near the restart zone.

Also, 1,700 linear feet of the barrier was added to interior walls at the entry and exit of corners. Much of that was concentrated around the entrance and exit to pit road.

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