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:

Re: Justin Wison news conference
 

While I don't disagree that the technology exists to add canopies to Indy Cars, I personally believe that it requires some very thorough and careful study.

Take the incident at IMS with James Hinchcliffe. I am not saying this would have happened, but it certainly COULD have happened. Had there been a canopy on Hincliffe's car and had it jammed due to the high side impact, it could have taken the safety crew a few more minutes to extricate him. We know now that during those few minutes he would have bled out and died.

I agree that head impacts from debris need to be looked at. But this is a very complex issue that requires a look at the overall impact to the car design, esp. from a structural viewpoint, the drivers ability to extricate the car or be extricated, and the impact to the aerodynamics of the car. Just because the technology exists to implement a change doesn't necessarily mean it is the right fix for the problem.

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RIP JW. I've not met a nicer racer in my 35 years of being a race fan. I really feel for those left behind, especially his girls.

Re: Justin Wison news conference
 

Rest in Peace, Justin, and God Speed in your journey, you did what you were set out to do, and with it the perils, may your family remember you as you were in life, and rest in the knowledge that you were happy in your short life! Bob

Racing is inherently dangerous. Why do we contemplate this after every fatality? USAC killed them wholesale in the 60s and racing still lived on.

Re: Justin Wison news conference
 

Some weeks back I was driving and listening to one of the NASCAR talk shows on XM Radio (I was really, really bored). The topic of racing safety came up, to which the question was raised, "Has the element of danger in racing been diminished to the point that racing is too safe?". It was interesting to hear the calls coming in and equally interesting was to hear Chocolate Myers leave me with the impression that he feels the danger has been diminished to the point that some interest has been lost. I am no proponent of negating the safety advances seen to this point. I have been thinking, however, about the question of racing being "too safe", and I'd like to offer the following observations.

While driving a race car takes the afore-mentioned skill, focus and stamina, etc., are we forgetting that the other element required, as highlighted by the tragic events of days of old along with recent times, is courage? We celebrate the exploits and achievements of the drivers but, in my mind, the first thing necessary to strap into a race vehicle is the courage to face serious injury or worse. If that element is reduced to the point of racing being completely safe, then what courage does it take to compete? And, if there is no danger element, does the fan interest diminish to the point of non-attendance? We watch Nik Wallenda walk a tight rope across Niagara Falls or the Grand Canyon on national TV but would it be as entertaining if he was wearing a safety harness should he fall? It would definitely be safer but the two things that make it entertainment, danger and courage, would be lost.

Again, I'm no proponent of negating the safety aspects of racing today especially as my son, the father of my grandchildren, straps in when we race. And I don't have the answers. I just hope we don't establish safety to the point of eliminating the thrill of our sport to our fans, and us. As one article I saw today stated, the only way to make racing totally safe is to stop doing it.

Just a few things I've been pondering.

Tim Simmons

Re: Justin Wison news conference
 

Like everyone I was hoping it wasn't that bad. Very sad. I heard Paul Trace say that the nose on the car was a pretty heavy part. I wondered if they could somehow tether that piece on better. Too bad a really good race had to have that kind of a finish. R.I.P. Justin.

For the person who was curious what Mario would have to say here you go...

http://www.wthr.com/story/29878867/m...ot-stop-living

Re: Justin Wison news conference
 

racing is dangerous because its part of it. if i would of had a hans device or one of the other systems i would of not gotten my brain injury i was lucky i recovered 100 percent. (i could not spell before) lol and when i went back to sprint car racing 9 years later i tried that safety crap that lasted 2 races. didnt like it i decided i would rather take my chances. and honastly if i could go back in time i still wouldnt wear it. you can make cars as safe as you want but people are still gonna get hurt and some will die. look at all the changes that have been made over the years and still it happens drivers understand the risc that will never change. i bet if you ran a non wing cage less race at eldora you would be surprized how many drivers would run it. i would but im not fast enough anymore thats why this old guy went to the pasture lol jmo.

Re: Justin Wison news conference
 

MIke, with all due respect, you guys are going to racing right out of existence. I expect the non racing crowd to mutter these things but now is the time for the racing community to band together and accept that racing IS dangerous(as if we didnt know), and fight against the "outsiders" that only cover the sport when these things happen. I wish it didnt have to happen either but it did, so we must mourn and move on.

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You're not slower!! The young guys are just faster!! I know!!

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

Re: Justin Wison news conference
 

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.

Re: Justin Wison news conference
 

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.

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.

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.

Re: Justin Wison news conference
 

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.

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.

Re: Justin Wison news conference
 

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