Dr. Dean Sicking

Sicking is best known as an inventor of the SAFER (Steel and Foam Energy Reduction) barrier, an advancement that has saved countless lives over the past 20 years.

Following the death of Dale Earnhardt in 2001, NASCAR partnered with Sicking and the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to better understand the circumstances and help prevent future tragedies -- a partnership that remains in place today.

In addition to designing the SAFER barrier, Sicking studied each track’s incident history and helped implement a plan to cover the most dangerous areas immediately. Currently, all NASCAR national series race tracks feature SAFER barriers.

For his efforts, Sicking was named winner of the Bill France Award of Excellence in 2003 and was awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation by President George W. Bush in 2005.