[Hustlin-Hoosier]

R.I.P. Justin Wilson and prayers to his family n friends !! We have lost another true racer ! Gods Speed !!

[Stevensville Mike]

Without arguing the point any further, my feelings are that IndyCar's hand is forced. They have to institute a safety device of some sort to prevent debris intrusion into the cockpit or to the head.

Options are out there. And yes, there is pro and con. Canopies: Perhaps a driver can get trapped inside in a bizarre incident, but why does the canopy have to be locked? Perhaps it is as simple as hinging it at the front and flipping it back over the driver. The canopy can even have vent holes for driver comfort at specific spots. Or a roll/head bar of the sort that can be easily flipped back/forward to egress the cockpit.

By running a spec chassis this series can institute this saftey aspect easily. Just like you could in Lights, GP2, GP3, or any other spec series. F1 has a different issue - the cars are all custom built. A standard canopy type device could help some more than others aero wise. But that is their issue should they pursue it.

Some of you make good points, like I said earlier, about removing the aspect of excitement from the sport. Racing is always evolving. Look at IndyCars alone from the 90s, the 80, the 70s, the 60s, etc. Racing never stays the same. Cars change, technology changes. Watch ESPN Classic when they air an old NASCAR race from teh 80s with the in car camera. The driver's head, with an open face helmet, is well above and beyond the seat, with no head rest/support, looking like it is on the end of a bobblehead, just waiting to get knocked off.

Look at a NASCAR stocker inside now.

Someone else pointed out how far an open wheel driver's head used to stick out and above the cockpit years ago. Look at it in comparison now.

No..... when something like this happens, the sanctioning body has to do something. Imagine if this happens again without them doing something. it is not like Wilson crashed. He was HIT by debris. HIT BY DEBRIS. As Tim pointed out in his Wallenda high wire analogy, that would be like Wallenda being struck by a hawk and falling.

CTtoPA, we have to contemplate this after every incident. As I asked before, if you could have put something in place prior to Pocono to prevent this from happening to a driver, would you have? Of course you would have. Then why don't we do it now to prevent it again?

brian2h, I am sorry for you perils in racing. Could you honestly address a group of young drivers with your opinions/angle? But, we are all entitled to our own opinions.

IndyCar's hand is forced, folks. If not and this happens again, they have blood on their hands and the backlash will be overwhelming, perhaps too overwhelming to overcome, from both non-racing fans and racing fans alike.

Now, I am done with my side of this. We'll have to let it play out. Thanks to those for bringing up a lot of good banter about excitement of the sport, safety of the sport, dilution of the sport, and the future and past of the sport. No matter what they do, we will still watch.

[Vukie]

The problem with this generation of Indy Cars is that they get airborne and too many times they end in the retaining fence. I really don't how a canopy would have save Wheldon,Moore,Kronsoff or Renna. With a canopy, the car would need a AC unit and some type of anti-fogging device. Would a canopy do it's job if another car rides over the top of car at 150 plus mph? Would it rip off the canopy of the car that gets hit? It car gets upside down [Carpenter at IMS] will the canopy stay on or get ripped off? There are no easy answers or solutions.

[racer-x]

I am sure with the 3 people being shot on live TV yesterday the main stream media will have enough to talk about this week. Knee jerk reactions can sometimes b more a problem then a solution.
Another story I heard over the weekend was how dangerous it is getting at baseball games with balls going into the stands. I sometimes wonder how I ever got to be middle aged without the safety police by my side.

[CTtoPA]

Originally Posted by Stevensville Mike CTtoPA, we have to contemplate this after every incident. As I asked before, if you could have put something in place prior to Pocono to prevent this from happening to a driver, would you have? Of course you would have. Then why don't we do it now to prevent it again?

No, I wouldn't have. They understand the risks and accept them. They raced without a roll bar until 1958 and roll cages until 1970. Some great drivers lost their lives. It's part of the sport. Not only that, it's nobody's business but the drivers' if they do want to make a change.

[tubemaster]

Originally Posted by CTtoPA No, I wouldn't have. They understand the risks and accept them. They raced without a roll bar until 1958 and roll cages until 1970. Some great drivers lost their lives. It's part of the sport. Not only that, it's nobody's business but the drivers' if they do want to make a change.

I believe it is the sanctioning body's business if you are representing them. Do you think any of these racing sanctioning body's want many of their drivers dying? I think IndyCar has to do everything in their power to make it safer up to and including canopies. I do think it is going to take feedback from drivers on what they think will work and won't work.

[CTtoPA]

Originally Posted by tubemaster I believe it is the sanctioning body's business if you are representing them. Do you think any of these racing sanctioning body's want many of their drivers dying? I think IndyCar has to do everything in their power to make it safer up to and including canopies. I do think it is going to take feedback from drivers on what they think will work and won't work.

I guess just a difference of opinion. Look at the 40s, 50s, and 60s. They killed several, including many champions. What did they change on the cars? A roll bar. Racing kills. Take it or leave it.

[Rhody]

If sanctioning bodies must do "everthing in their power" to prevent injuries, then we won't have racing anymore. If I didn't place myself in harms way in a racecar, I would do it on a ski slope.

[Puppy]

As I said in another post, then why dont we just stop doing it(racing), period...