Safety vs. speed: IndyCar tries to strike balance

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Will Power was standing near the long straightaway that feeds Turn 10, a placid waterfront vista along Bay Shore Drive SE, when his preamble to a Grand Prix of St. Petersburg course-building ceremony became intriguing.

The defending IndyCar Series champion said that, girded with new aerodynamic body kits designed by manufacturers Chevrolet and Honda to enhance performance, the twin-turbocharged IndyCars that begin the season here Sunday would likely cover the 1.8-mile street course at least a second quicker per lap than in any of 10 previous editions of the race. The small group of politicos and onlookers nodded.

Perspective was lost on a cool, misty February day when much of the noise was from the marina and the fastest thing on the street was a tour group on Segways.

But when drivers hit the 14-turn course for their first race practice Friday – and first qualifying session Saturday – many things will happen much quicker.

Cars will clatter past where Power stood, bear left through a slight kink and hammer toward Turn 10. One of the prime passing opportunities on a course where close-proximity racing is necessary and contact common, the sharp left turn has been a vigorously contested setting for numerous incidents. It now will serve as an early indicator of the speeds this new IndyCar can attain, and how well the series and promoters have prepared to maintain the balance of safety.

It's a balance which series officials and drivers seem comfortable entering this swift era.

The consequence of losing the balance is symbolized by a street sign aside Turn 10 that reads "Dan Wheldon Way." It is dedicated to the former resident, series champion and two-time Indianapolis 500 winner who died in 2011 in a high-speed crash at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, an oval track with banking. He became the last driver in a major North American series to perish in a racing accident.

"If you start increasing the speeds ten-fold, it opens up areas for different things to occur," said three-time series champion Scott Dixon, one of Wheldon's closest friends. "But I think they've been smart in making sure they're not going to overextend themselves."

IndyCar's decision to eliminate a downforce-generating blade underneath the cars during aero kit design reduced speeds and enhanced control in testing. Dixon said it also engendered a sense that IndyCar intended to "sneak up on speeds" instead of enduring a spike in them.

Still, Dixon believes predictions of second-a-lap improvements could be conservative.

"I would think that it's probably going to be more than that. Some circuits more than others," the Chip Ganassi Racing driver said. "Some of it's a little unknown yet until we get to some of these places because there's different air configurations for different tracks. I would think there's concerns for places like Iowa (Speedway, a short oval.) You don't really want to be going much faster at that place."

IndyCar president of competition and operations Derrick Walker agreed, noting that even after 21 cars bettered the 2014 pole speed during a test earlier this month at Barber Motorsports Park, a driver has yet to utilize the higher-grip, speed-producing "red" specialty tires on a surface layered with rubber on a race weekend while "going for it in anger." Those tires will be used in qualifying.

"There's still some more on the table there that hasn't been seen so far," he said. "Good early start, definitely more to come there."

'Maybe Kyle's incident opened some eyes'

St. Petersburg will be the first test of what that "more" may be.

Power set the qualifying record here in an IndyCar in 2013 at 1 minute, :01.2070 seconds or 105.870 mph. Sebastien Bourdais holds the all-time course record of 1:00.928 (106.710) in a Champ Car race in 2003.

Walker said the greatest increase in speed has been measured so far in corners, adding performance gains and modifications to the Chevy and Honda engines and Firestone tires have factored in. However, he said the largest growth is directly attributable to the aero kits, a collection of winglets, pods and blades affixed to the cars to differentiate the manufacturers aesthetically and aerodynamically.

Walker said IndyCar, while cognizant of likely increased speeds "doesn't see any place we need to over-react to it." He said most track safety upgrades being made had been planned before this season.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Doug Boles told USA TODAY Sports on Monday that the facility will have 1,560 additional feet of SAFER barrier installed in time for Indianapolis 500 preparations, a decision that had been planned but was expedited in the wake of NASCAR star Kyle Busch's crash at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 21 that left him with a broken right leg and left foot.

"Anything we can do to make the track safer for drivers, that doesn't carry some other unintended consequence is certainly worth doing," Boles said.

Driver Graham Rahal, who won at St. Petersburg in 2008, said after a series of safety meetings with drivers last week he believes "without a doubt our tracks are being pretty proactive.

"They need to. I get cost, but safety is number one. If we have something like a SAFER barrier that can help improve driver safety, then why wouldn't you spend money to keep people in one piece?"

Walker said a post-race assessment is made of every venue and deemed St. Petersburg one of low concern given that "speed is generally not an issue there." Still, such a meeting led Green Savoree Racing Promotions to alter the angle of the walls in Turn 10 to allow for greater run-off area before reaching tire barriers.

"When guys do get with each other there they've got a little bit more room before they get to the wall and the tire barrier," GSRP co-owner and president Kevin Savoree said. "If you think about where they're headed, it's pretty common sense, actually. It funnels them toward tire barriers."

Tracks hosting NASCAR events have scrambled to install stop-gap safety measures – usually tire barriers - since Busch's car slammed into an unpadded concrete wall in an Xfinity Series race at Daytona.

"Unfortunately, maybe Kyle's incident opened some eyes," Rahal said, "but at least we're not having to sit here and beg them to do it."

Focus on NOLA Motorsports Park

IndyCar had its own moment of concern when 20-year-old Chip Ganassi Racing driver Sage Karam injured his wrist crashing into a barrier during the series test at Barber. Walker stopped short of deeming Karam's crash a rookie mistake, but said increased speeds were not culpable. The track has pledged, to add tire barriers at the impact site.

"You're pushing to the limit all the time because you can't tell anything until you push it to the speed its intended," Walker said. "He hasn't had a lot of experience and he's certainly had very little experience with aero kits. And aero kits really just elevate the performance."

NOLA Motorsports Park officials also seemed receptive to numerous safety suggestions from drivers, Rahal said, after a recent test. The Avondale, La., facility will host its first IndyCar race April 12. The facility was originally built without barriers so that weekend enthusiasts would not crash their expensive personal cars after going off-track.

"New Orleans is going to be crazy to see how that works out. That place is fast," Rahal said. "Safety- wise, I think there is some work that needs to be done there. It's a new place. It's our first year going there. I think we've already all highlighted a lot of stuff we need to get changed and I think they are going to do most of it, so that's a good thing."

Four-time series champion Dario Franchitti was forced to retire in 2013 after he sustained a broken back, right ankle and concussion after his car went airborne into a temporary catchfence during a crash in a speedy, tight turn on a temporary street course in Houston. The series does not return there this season.

At a Sebring International Raceway test Monday, Power and teammate Simon Pagenaud pondered racing had the series not forced the removal of the under-wing.

"On the straights, it would be almost be undriveable. It would have been so insane," Power said.

"Yeah, it would have been crazy," Pagenaud concurred.

"It would have been interesting, though," Power posed. "I would have liked to have tried it, just to see."

All of which underscores the trust element between those paid to dare and those paid to insure they stay safe.

"I keep coming back to something (former CART champion) Paul Tracy told me years and years ago and it's something as a track owner you have to think about," Savoree said. "Paul said, 'Race car drivers don't have any imagination.' I'm like, 'What?' He said, 'Yep, if you can imagine all the things that can happen to you in a race car, you'd never get in one.'

"I kind of went 'fair enough.' That's our job."​

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