This wonderful photo by the late great Henny Ray Abrams illustrates how far we’ve come in terms of track safety over the last couple of decades. This 1988 photo is from the old Bryar Motorsports Park in Loudon, New Hampshire, showing AMA Superbike riders John Ashmead and David Sadowski going through a turn. In addition to a racetrack Loudon seemed to also double as a used tire dumpsite. I think many riders will tell you that hitting one of the rock hard old tires was only slightly better than hitting a concrete wall.

John Ashmead (No. 37) and David Sadowski (No. 39) race their Superbikes through a sea of old tires at the old Bryar Motorsports Park in Loudon, New Hampshire in 1988. These rock hard old tires were what passed as ‘soft barriers’ in those days. (Photo by Henny Ray Abrams)