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I can't see any reason why a wider frame, especially in the cage area, wouldn't be a safer design.. Unfortunately unless it is mandated very few would use it. The stealth midget chassis was considered to be the best chassis you could get for years and years...they also offered a widebody version and I have heard way more negative feedback about trying to make those cars work right.. so people automatically assume a wider frame won't be as fast...so it will be much more difficult to get the masses onboard with using them. Just like the vertical sidebar safety cage bars...they obviously help keep a car out of the cockpit, but less than half the cars being raced use them, and the more professional the series is (USAC, WOO) the fewer sidebars you see on cars...people are convinced that the sidebars bind up the frame and don't let it flex correctly, so they don't want them on the car. I was talking to a very successful car builder a few years ago (actually was given the USAC builder of the year award more than once) and he said he refused to put the sidebars on any car he built...he followed that up with a comment along the lines of "If you think you need a safety cage you shouldn't be racing....if you aren't willing to have a car get inside the cage with you you shouldn't be driving one at all..besides, they don't let the frame flex correctly"... Going to be difficult to get changes made when people have attitudes like that. A few years ago a company came up with a weld in hoop deal that ran from the buttbar to each side lower frame rail that practically eliminated the chance of a rearend striking the bottom of the seat in a hard flip, and had been proven not to affect chassis flex at all....but I still don't see any chassis being built with this as a standard component, and come to think of it I don't remember ever seeing it on the list of options from any chassis builder.
As drivers we are responsible for what we put on and what we buckle in to. The double edge sword to that is that somebody who makes a living as a driver has to accept the best ride he is offered if he wants to make more money or increase his stock. There is a line a mile long of guys willing to take any ride away from any driver. So if I get offered a high profile ride am I really going to go in there demanding that the owner buys another chassis with a halo, safety cage bars, the buttbar addition, a wider cage, Jeff Swindells new seat mount system, etc? I may ask or mention it, but when that car owner or crewchief says "We don't use that crap on our cars...they won't handle right with it".. I have to decide if I want to go ahead and walk away from the opportunity or if I want to assume the extra risk in order to win races, make money and make a bigger name for myself. There are way more drivers than rides and a guy who turns down too many soon realizes there's nobody left to hire him.
I fully believe that I have no control of how long I have left on this earth...that being said, I do feel like it is still my responsibility to do my part to help maintain the quality of life I am used to. If that means my car won't hook up quite as well as the next guys on a slick track because of a couple extra bars, so be it...I will just have to get better at pedalling it off the corners. I race for fun, for a hobby, to fulfill a passion. Racing is not my livelihood. I don't have to run top 5 every night to be able to eat through the week. If driving a sprintcar was my primary source of income I can't be sure my opinions would be the same.
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