Paul Tracy Calls For IndyCar To Look At Driver Safety

NBC Sports' Paul Tracy today called on IndyCar to "review safety standards" after a crash in yesterday's Pocono 500 left driver Robert Wickens in the hospital with "multiple injuries." Wickens suffered "two broken legs and injuries to his lung and spine on Sunday after his car was sent hurtling into the catchfence following a collision." Tracy, a former IndyCar driver, in an Instagram post said that IndyCar "should find an alternative to chain link fencing and posts around racetracks" (AFP, 8/20). Tracy "cites the fact that we've seen the untimely death of Dan Wheldon and retirement of Dario Franchitti because of high-impact collisions into walls and fencing, and the same could've occurred to Wickens" (SPORTSNET.ca, 8/20).

 

Long day and sleepless night , could not shut the brain down . So relieved that @robertwickens will be ok , but that again was too close for comfort . It’s long overdue for the racing industry to start looking into a new way of retaining the cars inside the track without poles , fence and cable . If it were me I would have much rather gone out of the park !!! We lost @danwheldon . @dario_franchitti and @robertwickens had a angel looking down on them . But it’s time as a community of racers and fans to push things to a higher level . I know racing is a dangerous game and we know the risks , but it can always be better . Kudos to @sbourdais for saying how it was and having the balls to get back in and have one of his best oval drives ever . . Sorry for the rant , I’m just thinking out Loud . Let’s all put our thinking caps on for the best solution and most cost effective one . Peace

A post shared by Paul Tracy (@paultracyblacklabelbaggers) on Aug 20, 2018 at 3:52am PDT