For more than 60 years, the not-for-profit Snell Foundation has worked to improve head protection for race drivers. This independent institution, based in the US, was founded in memory of William “Pete” Snell, an amateur sports car race driver. Snell died during a Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) racing event in 1956, when the helmet he was wearing failed to protect his head.
The Snell Foundation relies on input from helmet user groups, sanctioning bodies, safety organizations, and helmet manufacturers and distributors to help draft and publish meaningful helmet requirements. These standards are specifically relevant to the US market and US-based motorsports sanctioning bodies.
Snell releases a new helmet safety standard every five years. Each time, the standard is updated to raise the bar for helmet safety as speeds increase across most race series, forcing manufacturers to continue innovating. This ensures that certified helmets continue to meet the highest benchmarks for performance and protection, providing safer, better helmets for all drivers.
All three helmet manufacturers within Holley Performance Brands – RaceQuip, Simpson and Stilo – produce helmets that exceed the requirements of the current, Snell SA2020 certification.
While helmets are certified to a specific standard, most racing organizations accept helmets for up to 10 years from their certification date. This means that a helmet with an SA2020 certification will generally be eligible for competition use through the end of 2030.
Each new Snell certification marks the beginning of a new cycle. On October 1, 2025, the next iteration of Snell Special Applications standards – SA2025 – will be introduced. For many drivers, this will mean a new helmet for the 2026 racing season. As part of the natural progression, helmets certified under SA2015 will be phased out by many sanctioning bodies. Going forward, only helmets carrying SA2020 or SA2025 certifications will be allowed by most racing series in the US.
“The Snell cycle continually requires us to innovate our products for safer designs,” confirms Preston Folkestad, brand manager for Stilo helmets. “It provides an industry reset, prompting us to revisit old designs and come up with new ones. That applies equally to all three of Holley’s helmet brands and their products, which have different price points, markets and consumers – from grassroots motorsports to the highest level of professional racing.”
What’s new for SA2025?
Snell lab tests are already very demanding. Pre-impact protection is assessed through tests for chemical, heat and water exposure – all things that could prevent a helmet from performing as intended in the event of a crash.
In terms of crash performance, oblique-impact tests bring the testing regime closer to real-world incidents. Snell specifies multiple impact locations throughout the shell to ensure that inside, the expanded polystyrene (EPS) liner fulfills its protective function.
For post-impact protection, there are strict flame-resistance standards. During the 30-second test, the temperature of the padding and lining materials normally in contact with the wearer’s head must not exceed 70°C (158°F). A thick EPS liner helps a helmet to meet this requirement.
Helmets must also permit removal without major motion of the neck or spine. Careful design of the cheek pads helps ensure that the helmet is easy to remove.
But each new Snell certification cycle typically introduces more rigorous safety requirements, driving innovation across the industry. For SA2025, a more demanding test protocol has been introduced for helmet manufacturers who wish to comply with the standard.
New acceleration limits and impact velocities have been selected for SA2025. Peak g of 275 assures compatibility with another important international standard for helmet safety, FIA 8859-2024, which is usually required for European circuit racing.
The same is true of the new first-impact velocities of 8.70 m/s or 8.30 m/s (depending on the helmet) – up from 8.50 m/s or 8.15 m/s in SA2020. Each helmet is tested consecutively in two impacts, and the velocities are now either the same as, or more severe than, the FIA standard.
“Competing standards help the whole safety market, because one organization can recognize and respond to the best practice of another,” comments Joshua Soucie, RaceQuip product manager. “Helmet technology typically exceeds the current standards, but reducing that gap helps to keep everybody safe, because it pushes the helmet manufacturers to innovate further.”