NASCAR’s SAFER barriers help reduce tragedies at races

The death of Dale Earnhardt Sr. at the 2001 Daytona 500 is credited with sparking a safety revolution in NASCAR

NASCAR shifted to a safety-first culture and in 2002 opened a research and development center to focus on safety innovation. No driver has died in NASCAR’s top three series since Earnhardt’s death.

After a tragic 3 decades, F1 created better safety measures

The first three decades of Formula One saw 41 drivers die in competition; since 1980, only 11 have perished. The reduction is due in large part to better safety measures. This article highlights every safety improvement made by year since F1 started, and describes the accidents or deaths that led to the rule changes.

Austin Dillon appreciates the nuts and bolts of car safety after his horrific crash

When Austin Dillon’s No. 3 car left the Daytona track in 2015 and smashed into the safety net protecting the grandstands, his car shattered, leaving only the driver’s cage spinning on the infield. Crew members from every team sprinted to the mangled wreck, and miraculously, Dillon walked away.

A 'halo' protects drivers

After the 2015 death of driver Jules Bianchi, Formula 1 mandated that all cars include a protective barrier called a “halo.” This video breaks down how that measure saved the life of Romain Grosjean, who survived a horrific crash in 2020 at a race in Bahrain and later credited the halo as the reason for his survival.

NASCAR's latest car design brings back its 'stock' roots

In 2022, NASCAR unveiled its Next Gen car, and the changes were some of the most significant in decades. Teams no longer design each car part, but purchase them from a single source, bringing greater parity.

The NASCAR championship trophy has evolved for decades

From the Winston Cup’s reign from 1971 to 2003, to the Nextel/Sprint Cup awarded from 2004 to 2016, this NASCAR video shows the evolution to the new Bill France Trophy with every track outlined.

NASCAR started declining in 2007

In the 1990s and early 2000s, NASCAR was one of the biggest sports in North America. It was racking up ratings and ticket sales on par with the NFL, and even beating the NBA Finals viewership. Ratings went down in 2007 and stayed there until 2018 due to a number of factors such as a changing media landscape, rule changes, and the retirement of popular drivers.

Bill France Sr. founded NASCAR after organizing stock car races

Bill France Sr. was the first person to organize stock car racing in America. By the 1940s, the company he created had changed the sport forever.

Modern innovations have allowed rides to simultaneously become more extreme and safer

Several ingenious additions to roller coasters, such as extra wheels, magnetic brakes, and hydraulic system safety bars, have largely reduced discomfort and threats such as broken rides or ejected passengers.

Explore the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's guide to automated cars

This page provides answers to questions on topics ranging from liability for crashes involving autonomous cars to the safety benefits of these cars. A timeline of the evolution of automated safety technologies is also provided.

Explore NASCAR’s dozens of tracks across the US and Mexico

See detailed information on every track used for NASCAR’s top three divisions. Tracks vary in shape, length, and seating capacity.

Each person on a racing pit crew has a specific task

No matter what track a NASCAR driver is on, they will eventually need a pit stop to change tires and add fuel. When the cars skid into their pit box, every millisecond counts. This long-form documentary from Joe Gibbs Racing shows the training each pit crew member goes through.

Diving boards disappeared out of safety, but they don't cause most diving accidents

Bouncy diving boards were widely adopted in backyard and community pools in the 1960s. Reports identifying diving as the primary cause of sports-related spinal accidents exaggerated the role diving boards played (most diving injuries were in lakes, beaches, and rivers) and gave insurers a basis to reduce coverage.

In the 1970s, the NFL developed rules to protect players from injuries

It’s hard to imagine a football game without hash marks, but that’s how it was before Walter Camp and the rules committees changed the game. This NFL interactive deep dive goes into the evolution of the kickoff, the hash marks, and the chop block. Those rules committees are still in play today and are making the game safer for the next generation of NFL players.

Why train derailments happen, 101

In 2021 alone, there were over 1,000 reported derailments in the US—and no amount of maneuvering will reduce those numbers to zero. This 101 explains the causes of train derailments and how safety protocols look to limit them each year.

SAFE is a financial tool that stands for ‘simple agreement for future equity’

In the first part of a two-part series, SAFEs are explained as a way angel investors safeguard their investment in a startup. These agreements outline equity expectations.

What a railroad spike through the head taught science about the brain

In 1848, a railroad worker survived an accident that drove a 13-pound iron bar through his head. The injury changed his personality, and our understanding of the brain.

Feds crack down on sassy highway signs

Digital signs warning drivers to make good decisions have taken on some sass in recent years. No more, says the Federal Highway Administration.

Researchers found that 2020 redistricting tactics created safer districts and reduced competition

Studies of the 2020 redistricting cycle show that map-drawing strategies locked in predictable outcomes. The result was fewer competitive races, more incumbents shielded from challengers, and representatives less responsive to broader voter preferences.

Small elevation differences drastically protect homes in hurricanes

The construction of seaside homes has long involved building residences on elevated stilts, but this feature adds costs—and some elevated homes still fail. Explore the engineering behind the ideal height of a hurricane-proof building.

Relive the biggest swings in the Dow’s history

From the 1929 crash to the Coronavirus Pandemic in 2020, this piece spotlights five of the most dramatic single-day moves in the Dow’s 125-year history.

Window collisions and cats kill more birds than wind turbine farms

Researchers are developing solutions to reduce bird fatalities due to wind turbine farms, including radar systems integrating AI to detect birds and shut down systems. Painting blades with various patterns is also being tested, which may reduce bird strikes by 70%.

Drum shields help prevent mic bleed and dampen drum sound

Made of plexiglass or acrylic, the shields are commonly seen in churches and live venues to prevent drums from overpowering other instruments, improving the quality of the audio mix.

How race science influences breast cancer research

Despite researchers' and physicians' pushback, race is still used in studies and clinics to categorize human differences in health conditions and treatment responses. This article explores how race has influenced breast cancer research. Considering race as a factor in cancer research, diagnosis, and treatment can lead to racial inequalities. Sociocultural factors, including food access and air pollution, greatly influence health outcomes.

For centuries, Niagara Falls has been a magnet for daredevils seeking to conquer one of nature's most powerful wonders, with its 200-foot drop and water rushing at 32 feet per second with 280 tons of force.

How baseball shaped Black America during Reconstruction

A cornerstone of the budding Black culture following the Civil War was baseball, with several clubs springing up in Black neighborhoods and leaders like Frederick Douglass cheering on the players, including his son, who played for a team in Washington. This detailed history of the early Black leagues unpacks how the game enhanced the upwardly mobile community—and why that fact led to the segregation of what would become Major League Baseball.

Power lines are dotted with large, brightly colored balls to improve the visibility of these thin wires to helicopters and small planes and help prevent potential crashes.

In 1984, Operation Smash Hit intentionally crashed a 239-ton train into a nuclear waste canister at 100 miles per hour to prove the canister's safety, which remained completely intact and lost just 0.29 of its 100 pounds of pressure.

Domino's Pizza's 30-minute delivery guarantee was responsible for the chain's 1980s surge, but it was discontinued after the company was found liable for delivery driver accidents.

Fireworks-related ER visits are on the rise—in 2024, they increased by 52% as compared to the prior year.

Long before Major League Baseball began allowing instant replay for balls and strikes, an umpire reluctantly used the technology to determine whether a hit was a home run, a move that inadvertently ushered in a new era for the sport.

When you complete a CAPTCHA on a website to prove you are human, you may be unknowingly training algorithms for self-driving cars, whose systems require training data to help identify crosswalks, bicycles, and other outdoor objects.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

View the ten deadliest tornadoes in US history.

Massive 3D printers have been used to build homes by stacking layers of 'concrete toothpaste,' a fire-resistant material that effectively insulates against outside noise.

Cultural norms about how to handle the bodies of loved ones in communities in West Africa have hampered Ebola responses.

The American Society of Civil Engineers' infrastructure report card gave the US a C in 2025, its highest grade since the project launched in 1998.

Larger animals like giraffes, elephants, and blue whales have developed a unique defense against cancer, a phenomenon known as Peto's Paradox

70 years ago today, city officials in Santa Cruz, California, banned rock 'n' roll to protect its youth from corruption after witnessing a 'provocative' concert the night before.

The 1987 Nintendo video game 'Stadium Events' isn't known for being particularly fun, but its scarcity has made it a highly sought-after item that has sold for up to $35K at auction.

Listen to an in-depth conversation on the links between Parkinson's disease and herbicide exposure and the challenging pace of scientific investigation.

Fish populations in the Great Barrier Reef have increased after installing waterproof speakers on the ocean floor that played recordings of sounds from healthy coral reefs.

20,000 letters to the advice columnist 'Dear Abby' provide insight into prevailing sex, religion, and LGBTQ fears, anxieties, and concerns from the 1950s onward.

Dozens of S&P 500 stocks, including Coca-Cola and Walmart—known as the dividend aristocrats—have increased dividends every year for 25 years

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

Abraham Lincoln was almost assassinated weeks before his inauguration as he traveled from Illinois to DC through Baltimore in 1861; it took two independent claims for Lincoln to be convinced the threat was real

Hedge funds, the private investment firms that trade a wide swath of financial assets, make money by imposing steep fees on investors and from the fund's investment performance.

Some coin denominations have ridges etched on their sides, partly to prevent counterfeiting, in a practice called 'reeding.'

See how Budweiser's famous Clydesdales spend their days at Warm Springs Ranch, where roughly 70 to 80 of the beer brand's giant horses can be found at any given time.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.