Should IndyCar look into canopies in wake of Justin Wilson’s death?

Justin Wilson’s death sent another grim reminder of the dangers of auto racing.

The 37-year-old IndyCar driver died Monday after being struck in the head by a piece of debris Sunday at Pocono Raceway, leaving behind a wife and two young daughters.

“It’s just tragic,” Texas Motor Speedway president Eddie Gossage said Tuesday. “You sit there and think about the what ifs. What if the car was 6 inches to the right, 6 inches to the left, 6 inches down the race track? A strange convergence of factors.

“It’s very sad.”

The question after any tragic accident always becomes what could have been done to prevent it, much like IndyCar evaluating the tracks they went to after Dan Wheldon’s death at Las Vegas less than four years ago.

And there are no easy answers in the open-wheel racing circuit.

The idea circulating the most in the wake of Wilson’s death is putting canopies over the exposed cockpits, similar to that of fighter jets, to protect drivers from debris.

Wilson was struck by another car’s crashed nose cone, essentially running into a flying piece of steel at more than 200 mph.

Hitting debris is something that has happened to drivers in the past, too.

James Hinchcliffe suffered a concussion after being struck in the head by flying debris last year during the road race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“IndyCar drivers are traveling faster than an airplane does at takeoff,” Gossage said. “The downside to the canopy is, in the event of an accident, can a driver get out in time to avoid a fire? What if you can’t open the canopy fast enough?

“So there are pros and cons.”

Gossage does not think there are any issues with the new aero kits IndyCar introduced this year, although they have been known to crumble more easily than in past years. A fan was injured at the season-opening race in St. Petersburg, Fla., when she was struck by flying debris from one of the cars.

“The same set of circumstances could have occurred last year or 10 years ago,” Gossage said. “He pretty much hit a big piece of steel falling out of the sky at 200 mph. … It’s just a really, really bizarre and tragic situation.”

Wilson had become a familiar face at TMS in recent years. He won the 2012 IndyCar race there, and was a special guest in May for the track’s Speeding To Read championship assembly.

“He was a guy that received the highest compliment I think you can receive in that drivers said they never heard him speak ill of anybody,” Gossage said. “That’s tremendous restraint and care in such a competitive environment. One of the good guys, clearly.”

At the time of his May visit, the main storyline in the sport was the growing concerns about the number of accidents in the days leading up to the Indianapolis 500.

Wilson spoke as any other driver would that day on the inherent dangers of racing.

“Once you put that helmet on, put the visor down and start the engine, you don’t think about anything other than winning,” Wilson told the Star-Telegram. “We know that IndyCar is about as safe as any motorsport in the world.

“You never like to see the worst. It is racing. Anything can happen. Like any driver, we believe it’s not going to be us.”

This story was originally published August 25, 2015 at 4:59 PM with the headline "Should IndyCar look into canopies in wake of Justin Wilson’s death?."