SFI Foundation 2026–27
The SFI Foundation writes and administers safety specifications for racing equipment. This CSP 2026–27 capstone makes those standards easier to search, understand, and track.
Student capstone · In development. This project explores a clearer way to discover and organize motorsports safety information. It is not an official SFI Foundation product and does not replace official SFI standards, labels, or PDF documents.
SFI Foundation, Inc. is a nonprofit that writes and administers quality-assurance specifications for racing and performance equipment, from driver suits and harnesses to roll cages and drivetrain parts. It began in 1978, when the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) spun off its service bureau. SFI now runs independently and is based in Poway, California.
Its goal: give racers, manufacturers, and race organizers one shared, tested standard for safety gear.
By the numbers: SFI maintains more than 100 specifications, and hundreds of sanctioning bodies around the world use them.
Client conversation history
Use the 💬 Microblog button on this page to view the five dated October 22–28, 2026 SFI partnership email summaries, including Jennifer Faye’s interest in continuing the prototype, Katie Salo’s follow-up, and the November 2 Electives Fair invitation. They are marked archived so they cannot be mistaken for newly submitted user posts. The existing client introduction, contacts, and technical project plan remain below.
Core experience
What SFI does
SFI does not race or sell parts. It sets the bar that safety equipment must clear and checks that products keep clearing it.
SFI works with manufacturers, engineers, and sanctioning bodies to define the minimum performance and test procedure for each type of equipment.
Manufacturers test their products against a specification. Products that pass can carry an official SFI label showing which spec they meet.
SFI buys labeled products from retailers and retests them. It also retests when a manufacturer changes production or suppliers, so certified gear stays at the standard.
SFI runs its own laboratory in San Diego County and works with outside test facilities, such as one for head and neck restraints.
How a standard reaches the track
SFI writes the standard, and race organizers decide when their rules require it.
An SFI committee publishes a numbered spec with its test requirements.
A manufacturer tests the product, meets the spec, and labels it.
Sanctioning bodies such as NHRA, NASCAR, IndyCar, SCCA, and USAC list SFI specs their competitors must meet.
At the event, inspectors check each car and driver for current SFI labels.
Labels often carry a date. Some gear, such as restraint harnesses, has to be replaced or recertified a set time after it was made. Gear damaged in a crash or fire should be replaced right away.
Specifications racers see every day
Fire-resistant suits rated by thermal protection, from /1 up to /20. A higher number means more protection from heat.
Seat belt and harness assemblies that hold the driver in place during a crash.
Devices that limit head movement in a sudden stop to reduce neck and skull injuries.
Specs also cover parts such as fuel cells, clutches, flywheels, transmission shields, and roll cage padding.
Official SFI Foundation contact
For technical questions, specification information, or product certification inquiries, contact SFI Foundation directly.
- Email: sfi@sfifoundation.com
- Phone: (858) 451-8868
- Website: Official SFI contact page
This is SFI Foundation’s public contact information. For feedback on this student capstone, use the project’s GitHub organization.
How our capstone supports SFI’s mission
SFI’s information is detailed and spread across many specification numbers and documents. Our prototype helps people find the spec that applies to their gear and keep track of it.
Search in plain language instead of needing the exact spec number.
A text classifier suggests specs that likely match a description of a part.
Image recognition that runs in the browser helps identify equipment from a photo or camera.
Save your gear, check its certification details again later, and ask the chatbot about the specification data.
Team
Scrum Master
Scrum Master
Technologist / Developer
Technologist / Developer
Technologist / Developer
Technologist / Developer