Roadside safety research at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln began in 1974, when Edward Post left the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) and joined the Civil Engineering department at NU.

As more state agencies and the Federal Highway Administration began supporting the program, it was formally titled the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility and hired a number of full-time staff.

[3] Though it is headquartered at the Prem S. Paul Research Center just east of NU's main campus, MwRSF uses an approximately quarter-mile stretch of runway at the Lincoln Airport to conduct its crash tests.

[8] MwRSF engineers tested nearly one hundred materials for optimal effectiveness, cost, and replaceability before settling on Owens Corning FOAMULAR as the primary energy-absorbing mechanism in the barrier.

[10] During the design and testing of the new barrier, a number of high-profile deaths in NASCAR involving wall impacts, including that of Dale Earnhardt, dramatically increased scrutiny of the United States' most popular racing organization and its efforts to protect drivers.