The 99th running of the Indianapolis 500 will take place at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend under a cloud of questions. Not the usual questions we’re used to before an event of this magnitude, such as: Will there be a first-time winner, or does a long shot have a real chance to snag victory?
Instead, we’re focused on the new aerokits that IndyCar introduced to the series this year and wonder how much of an impact they’ve had on what has been a month full of scary crashes at the Speedway. The most serious one involved Oakville’s James Hinchcliffe, who was seriously injured. If not for the tremendous and heroic actions of safety workers and hospital staff, the end result could’ve been much worse.
Hinchcliffe will not be racing this weekend (or anytime soon), but he is thankfully expected to make a full recovery. His crash was the result of a part failure, but other incidents have raised questions about whether the cars themselves contributed to the crash.
The new aerodynamic designs by both Chevrolet and Honda have been the story of the season for a host of reasons — from huge debris fields created by contact between drivers in the first couple of races, to the streamlined design that adorns the cars for the two-and-a-half-mile superspeedway at Indy.
Three of the crashes resulted in the cars going airborne and flipping over. It’s not yet possible to say the new body styles are the reason for the cars leaving the racing surface. When a racecar moves backwards, as they did in three of the crashes, the air goes under the car instead of over top of it as designed. The result is the cars will get light and potentially go airborne. Could it be that it’s just a coincidence we’ve had several of these crashes the same month the new styles are hitting the track? Perhaps.
But it also can’t be said definitively that the new aerokits aren’t contributing to the spectacular crashes this year. The IndyCar teams hit the track for the first time together in the new package only a couple of weeks ago. Having only minimal on-track testing conducted prior to the IndyCar teams taking to the track in competition for the biggest race of the year is just a poor decision by the series.
With no definitive answer as to why cars were leaving the racing surface, a late change in the qualifying rules was made to slow the cars down. While those intentions were good, it also had teams scrambling to find out how the cars would behave in the new configuration, again with minimal track time. Once again, not the ideal set of circumstances.
Auto racing is a dangerous sport. It is part of the thrill, excitement and appeal for the audience. While those that participate accept those risks and respect the danger and speed that is inherent with racing when they strap in, they shouldn’t have to deal with last-minute rule changes and racecars that haven’t been put through a rigorous set of on-track tests to determine the behaviour of new body styles.
So we head to Indianapolis this weekend to watch magnificent drivers compete in a century-old race, but with several questions surrounding safety. Instead of focusing on the history and great traditions that make up the Memorial Day weekend festival, everyone will be wondering how the cars behave when 33 competitors push them to the limit at the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”