the SFI Foundation
Currently, SFI maintains about 100 individual product Specs, has approximately 200 member sanctioning bodies worldwide, and about 500 manufacturers participating in their Specs program. Racers are familiar with the fact that they have to get some of their products inspected and recertified on a regular basis.. We took the opportunity to find out more about what SFI is all about. Part as an interview with Jennifer Faye, Vice President of SFI and presented further down, SFI from a members perspective, told by Lars Pettersson, chairman of the Swedish Automobile Sports Federation Dragracing Committee - we believe it to be very interesting reading! 
Interview with Jennifer Faye, Vice President SFI

When, by whom and why was SFI founded?

JF: In racing’s early years, motorsports equipment was often pushed to its performance limits. Catastrophic parts failures would cause damage and sometimes injury to some of the participants involved. In response, a group of racing product manufacturers in 1963 formed an association known as the Speed Equipment Manufacturers Association, or SEMA. In those early days, SEMA's pioneers struggled with the development and implementation of various product specifications. Many "unknowns" they faced were the in areas of design criteria, testing and adoption of specifications. But their dedication to the industry and passion for racing won out. It wasn't long before the specifications were accepted and formed a part of sanctioning body rule books. The specs program became the responsibility of the SEMA Service Bureau, an organization who exclusively developed product specifications and testing programs.

As time went on, the need for a more sophisticated specifications program became apparent. A new organization, the SEMA Foundation, Inc., or SFI, was formed to replace the Service Bureau, and was incorporated in 1986 to organize and manage the expanded industry specs program. The SFI Foundation is completely independent from SEMA and now operates on its own as the organization which we all know today.

What does the operation look like today (what tasks does the SFI perform)?

JF: Currently, SFI maintains about 100 individual product Specs, has approximately 200 member sanctioning bodies worldwide, and we have about 500 manufacturers participating in our Specs program.
 
In addition to developing new standards, an important purpose of the SFI Program is to maintain ongoing quality checks of the products that are certified to its specifications. Racers are familiar with the fact that they have to get some of their products inspected and recertified on a regular basis to be able to continue using them. But did you know that those products must also be repeatedly laboratory tested to maintain the manufacturer certifications?
As the motorsports industry expanded, it became clear that other services were needed from SFI. In addition to requiring certified equipment to be used in their events, race sanctioning bodies saw the need for certification and training programs for their personnel. As a result, the SFI Technical Inspector Certification Program and the SFI Drag Race Incident Response Training Program were developed.

The tech inspector certification program was introduced in 1994 and was the first non-product type of program offered by SFI, with the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) being the first sanctioning body to use it. Today, SFI administers such a program for sixteen different sanctioning bodies worldwide. Each program is custom-designed for each organization.
The purpose of the tech inspector certification program is to demonstrate that the people who carry out tech inspection during an event operate at an expected competency level and also understand the rules of their particular race discipline. This is accomplished when applicants meet certain criteria such as having the required experience, attending a technical seminar and passing a written examination.

Another SFI program focused on personnel is the Incident Response Training Program. Unlike the tech inspector program, workers are not certified, however they are given achievement status after completing the training program. The Drag Race Incident Response Training Program began in 2000 at the request of the NHRA. They desired a basic training curriculum for track personnel, especially at the local level.




SFI developed its drag race-specific seminars to instruct workers on how to handle emergency response for on-track incidents. The seminars include classroom sessions and practical exercises that cover topics such as personnel organization, facility preparation, incident response procedures (administering medical aid if necessary), response vehicles and equipment, fire suppression, extrication, and track cleanup. These seminars are comprehensive two-day courses that nearly 2,000 track personnel have completed since the program’s inception 11 years ago.




photo: The SFI lab’s seatbelt tester

What in your opinion is SFI:s most important role in European Drag Racing ?

JF: We feel the SFI specs make racing safer by assuring that the safety products are more reliable than they were before SFI specs. In doing so, SFI is also helping to make the system fair for everyone.


Looking ahead, are there any major changes you can foresee the nearest years? 


JF: It’s hard to say, because any spec developed by SFI is in response to a sanctioning body’s formal request for one. If sanctioning body officials see the need for a Spec, they will approach SFI with their concerns. It is usually for safety or product reliability reasons so it’s difficult to foresee exactly what the racing needs will be. However, SFI is always here and ready to provide services to the industry when needed. The SFI specs program is also an evolutionary process that takes time, so usually nothing changes too quickly.

Lastly, please tell us more about the European Certification Tour 2011..
 

JF: The purpose for the SFI European Certification Tour is to provide a service to racers so they can be sure their products are still allowed to be used. It also keeps the products from being overly expensive by eliminating the need to ship their items overseas for inspection. SFI has been doing the Tour for over 15 years. It has grown from 104 product certifications in 1997 to 283 certifications last year in 2011. SFI is pleased to see the European racing industry steadily grow over the years and we wish for its continued future success as well.

European SFI Certification Tour 2012

March 22, 2012—Germany
Werner Habermann Racing, Kinzigstrasse 100, 63505 Langenselbold, Germany              9:00AM to 12:00PM

March 23, 2012—Finland
US Parts Speedshop, Holkkitie 10, Helsinki, Finland 9:00AM to 12:00PM

March 24, 2012—Sweden
Persakers Speedshop, 28 Solbergavagen, Akers Styckebruk, Sweden 9:00AM to 4:00PM

March 26, 2012—England
Santa Pod Raceway, Podington, Wellingborough, England 9:00AM to 2:00PM

SFI will be able to perform certification inspections on the following parts:          
                SFI 4.1 Rigid Auto Trans Shield
                SFI 29.1 & 29.2 Flexplates
                SFI 30.1 Flexplate Shield
            SFI 15.1, 15.2 & 15.3 Drag Race Wheels
               SFI 1.1 thru 1.5 Clutch Assemblies
                SFI 6.1 thru  6.3 Bellhousings

Website: www.sfifoundation.com
Contact: Jennifer Faye, Vice President
jfaye@sfifoundation.com




Bellhousings and other equipment lined up for inspection - Persåkers Speedshop Sweden March 2011


Thorough inspections by Race Car Construction Expert Murf Mc Kinney (far right) and Clutch Expert Tim Hyatt. Lars Pettersson (far left) is the chairman of the Swedish Automobile Sports Federation Dragracing committee and member of the FIA commission. Stig Olsson (2nd from left) operates Stig O Transmissions, which specializes in automatic transmissions (and are  part of the Speedgroup EDRS European Drag Racing Series Contingency program for 2012)

SFI Seen from a members perspective - told by SBF Lars Pettersson:

SBF, The Swedish Automobile Sports Federation Dragracing Committee have been members in the SFI since 1989.  Lars Pettersson, chairman of the committee ( and member of the FIA commission) explains;

 - During during the 1970 and 1980´s we had problems with some of the sportsman classes.  The Race cars was not built to withstand the speed and effect the engine combinations had at the time and the safety connected to the drivers environment was not sufficient. 

After the vehicles had been updated according to new regulations, a significant decrease in the accident and incident statistics could be detected. The accidents were fewer and the quality of the race events have increased continuously since then. One example of a product contributing to it is the “diaper” . SBF (the Swedish Automobile Sports Federation) contacted the SFI and inquired how we as a national sanctioning body could participate in SFI´s work as a member. We got answers and also a briefing on how the specifications worked and how the methods for creating the specifications and regulations worked.

As a member in SFI we can order a new specification for a safety product, says Lars Pettersson. The network SFI have is also a great support for SBF as a member. We have the opportunity to participate in meetings and have an impact in regards to the safety work SFI conduct. We are grateful for the skills and efforts SFI´s staff put into this for the good of our stewards at the events and the safety of the drivers

DRT 0.1.1 SFI Specifications
SFI Spec. is a number of test standards for gear and equipment for road- and motorsports use. The base for the standards are requirements like durability, fire resistency etc. that has been set by the manufacturers themselves.

In the standards set by SFI, the test methods and minimum requirements for the equipment are specified. Normally the quality of the material, dimensions of goods and construction design are not stated. That is left up to the manufacturers to decide as long as the product pass the tests. The process is based on type samples taken from the production line for testing. If the samples pass the tests, the manufacturer is allowed to mark the products with the SFI mark (in form of a sticker/patch which is marked with spec.id). The manufacturer with this grant that the typed product comply with the tested samples. Once every year a renewal test is performed as a follow up and guarantee that the product meet the requirements. For chassis (roll cages) the above mentioned is not applicable, here it is instead the specification that state the minimum requirements for dimension, quality of material and construction.

The specifications can be ordered from:
SFI Foundation Inc
15708 Pomerado Road, Suite N 208,
Poway, CA 92064, USA

All documentation from SFI are copyright protected. It means copying of specifications documents is not allowed. It is prohibited for non SFI members to refer to SFI Specifications. Lars concludes by stressing that SBF sees it is important that the SFI marks are on all SFI approved products and gears and can be identified at every inspection.




Photo: Lars Pettersson (left) with Tapio Valja (Finnish FIA Commission emmebr) at the SFI laboratory together with Arnie Kuhns, SFI. The testing equipment featured is for clutches and bellhousings.


Fire resistance testing


Text by Jennifer Faye SFI and Lars Pettersson SBF
edited by Åsa Kinnemar
Photos by SFI, Speedgroup and Lars Pettersson
This article is part of the Speedgroup Club Europe Newsletter #1/2012
www.speedgroup.eu

Published by Speedgroup www.speedgroup.eu
All material, text, images and logtypes are the property of Speedgroup AB.
Used by permission from the photographers
Any use of the above requires permission from Speedgroup.
© Speedgroup 2012