Justin Wison news conference
 

RIP Justin Wilson

R.I.P. Justin Wilson. Hang tough Indy Car, expect the worst from the non-racing crowd. Also as in the N.H.R.A., look for canopies in 2016.

Re: Justin Wison news conference
 

R.I.P. Sad day

Re: Justin Wison news conference
 

I am going to chime in from the racing crowd, HARF. My heart dropped when I read he passed. We cannot have this happen again. Now, all of us old diehards, let's take a deep breath.

Exhale.

Here I go.

If you could have put something in place prior to this happening to prevent this incident, whether it be a canopy, a bar, a windscreen, etc., would you have done it? Of course you would have.

That said, it is time to end open cockpit racing as we know it and put something of the sort in place. I am an avid fan of motorsports, but his passing has to create the opening for a new era in safety.

I can remember watching unlimited hydroplane drivers doing their jobs in front engine, open cockpit wooden 30 footers. Bouncing and battling across the water to the thrill of all along the shores. I can remember some of them dying, too. They have gone to a canopy-type cockpit, and the safety aspect has improved tenfold. They had to.

It might not be the same, for the fans can no longer see the drivers working the wheel/rudder, but it had to be done.

Head shots from debris has to be halted. Justin Wilson, Ayrton Senna, Henry Surtees, Roberto Guerrero, Christiano DaMatta, James Hinchcliffe, Felipe Massa...... some lived, some didn't. Some were never the same.

The time has come for change and this long time race fan will be more than happy to accept it.

Re: Justin Wison news conference
 

You took the words right out of my mouth Mike! In the early '80s, the unlimited hydroplanes faced the same dilemma. It took the deaths of both Bill Muncey and Dean Chenoweth, the two best pilots in the sport, to force a change. Please keep in mind that the thunderboat drivers weren't even strapped in until the canopies came along.

I know our open wheel history doesn't lend itself to enclosed cockpits, (it will be interesting to hear from Mario, since he stood firmly against the canopies when mentioned after Dan Weldon's accident), but the technology is there and should be used if we want to continue to see the speeds the IndyCars allow us to enjoy.

RIP JUSTIN WILSON - May your tragic accident lead to changes to help save all future drivers!

How about halos on sprints, champs, and midget cages? Yet another non-wing driver is in a coma. After Burton, and now two more critical head injuries in the past two weeks, how many more drivers have to get hurt or killed before halos are made mandatory. Here's a short list of deaths or serious injuries off the top of my head that could have possibly been saved with a halo: Jan Opperman, Larry Martin, Mike Fell, Pepi Marchese, Page Jones, Josh Burton, Josh Jackson and probably many more.

The problem with changing Indy cars is this: closed cockpits are safer, but so are fenders and slower speeds. So, where do you draw the line? With enclosed cockpits and fenders they become nothing more than sports cars. They would no longer be Indy cars. Death has always been a part of the sport. Motorcycle racers get killed every single year at the Isle of Man race and other places. They just don't get the publicity. How many of our soldiers get killed every year in the Middle East? Answer, a lot more than die in auto racing. Racing drivers love the form of racing they are involved in or they wouldn't do it. As a former driver, I would not want the sport that I loved completely changed simply because of my death. I would want it to go on as it was for all to enjoy and only those who choose to risk it all need participate.

Re: Justin Wison news conference
 

100% correct you are, TRT. My stance here is that I am willing to accept any change that will prevent this from occurring again - no matter what the diehard fan backlash is.

Roll cages are the first things to come to mind in open wheel cars. I remember when that push started.

Pit road speed limits. I can remember Mike Rich in NASCAR getting killed on pit lane by an out of control car driven by Ricky Rudd.

Wheel tethers. They have not been 100% successful, but they might have saved three fans at MIS back in the late 90s had they been in place then.

Every time we add safety to our sport, we dilute the "pure" adrenaline/action of it. I am not blind to this, for I like the action as I watch it at the local dirt tracks. But I have my limits. This Justin Wilson incident is over the limit. We cannot have this happen again.

The physical aspects of how to prevent it...... to be determined. But leaving a head exposed to incoming debris from here on out has to end. No matter what the loss of excitement for the fans and especially us die hards.

You make a good point, though. The more the scale tips towards safety, the more diluted the sport becomes. Right now, though, I think it is time to water down.

Not getting too far off on my post......

RIP Justin. You were one of the good guys from Day 1. :6: