LONG POND, Pa. -- One year after he was killed in a freak accident at Pocono Raceway, it was natural that Justin Wilson was in everyone's thoughts this weekend, when the Verizon IndyCar Series returned to the Tricky Triangle.
Wilson died on Aug. 24, 2015, when he was struck on the helmet by a piece of flying debris from a car that crashed nearly half a mile up the track. The recent death of USAC star (and occasional IndyCar racer) Bryan Clauson in a Midget car only added to the feeling of sadness hanging over the Pocono tri-oval.
While the IndyCar community is reflecting this weekend on the losses of Wilson and Clauson, series officials remain focused on improving cockpit safety to minimize the chances that an incident similar to Wilson's could happen again. IndyCar has closely monitored cockpit safety advances such as the canopy developed by Don Schumacher Racing for NHRA Top Fuel drag racing cars and initiatives being explored by Formula One, including a wraparound aeroscreen and a carbon composite halo.
The series faces two key challenges in proceeding with some form of cockpit protection for its open-wheel cars. The wide variety of tracks, from walled-in street courses to high-banked ovals, creates visibility and sight line issues that might preclude the use of a halo. In addition, the solution must be adaptable to the current Dallara DW-12 chassis, which is expected to be in use for at least three more years.
"We're working on two or three different directions," said Jay Frye, IndyCar president of operations and competition. "Obviously, safety is our No. 1 priority, so it's something we've been working hard at for the last six to eight months, whether it's a screen or a halo or possibly some other type of idea coming out.
"Because what we do is so diverse, you can't maybe have just one configuration that goes across the board," he added. "So we're looking at all kinds of different things. We are collaborating with lots of different people to come up with what could be the best solution. Is it a 2017 initiative or a 2018 initiative? At this point, we're really not sure. Obviously, we want to make sure we get it right. As soon as we get it right and ready to go, we will implement it as soon as we can."
Respected orthopedic surgeon Terry Trammell, who has worked with open-wheel sanctioning bodies on safety-related matters for decades, is leading IndyCar's research efforts. Trammell revealed that the latest direction of development is what he called a "deflector" reminiscent of the canopy on an F-16 fighter jet.
With Trammell often assisting, open-wheel sanctioning bodies have made numerous changes to the cockpit area the past two decades. CART introduced raised cockpit sides in 1996 and a year later mandated a wider cockpit area that incorporated a padded, horseshoe-shaped collar that fits over the driver's shoulders.
This year, in the wake of an accident in May 2015 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, in which a suspension arm pierced the monocoque and caused serious injury to driver James Hinchcliffe, IndyCar added additional strengthening panels to the sides of the tub.
"The head surround in the Indy car is probably one of the most advanced features to protect against head injury because it, by itself, absorbs head impact into the head surround very well and better now than it did even two years ago because of the evolution of what we've built into it," Trammell said. "That whole complex system of what goes on inside the chassis, inside the tub around the driver -- we package them much better now than we did, certainly much better now than 20 years ago and really better than we did 10 years ago."
The unusual nature of Wilson's accident, which occurred less than a year after Jules Bianchi's fatal accident in the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix Formula One race (when his car slid under a safety vehicle tending to a wrecked car and caused a massive head injury), has made the search for a safe way to enclose the cockpit of an open-wheel car the highest priority for sanctioning bodies around the globe.
But IndyCar doesn't want to rush a flawed solution into action before it can be adequately tested and proven.
"I wouldn't say we're close," Frye said. "We're very aggressively going after the right solution, and we're probably close to coming up with a direction. But whenever you do something like that, there's a cause and effect in everything you do. So there's going to have to be some testing that goes along with it. I don't think working with an existing tub is a big issue. We deal with lots of smart people every day, so retrofitting it will not be that difficult. It just depends on what it is.
"There's issues like product supply, and there's the cost. So far, we've been surprised in a good way because I think we can do some different things that are very, very good, and it's going to be more economical than we thought to was going to be. So that's always a nice surprise."
The one-in-a-billion randomness of Wilson's accident made his passing somewhat easier to accept for IndyCar drivers, who are generally happy with the safety record of the current car, as well as the series' efforts to develop additional improvements.
"I think they have done a good job on safety," IndyCar Series points leader Simon Pagenaud said. "This year, they have done tremendous improvements on the cars, and they're being proactive, which is awesome to hear for the future.
"Personally, I'd like to have something [protecting the cockpit] because you don't like to think what could happen -- that's the nature of being a human being. I know it's a dangerous sport, and it's never going to be fully safe. The human body is not meant to travel more than 200 mph. But if we can do something to protect us and make it better, I'm all for it."
The progress that has been made over the years is even more pronounced for veteran drivers who were around to drive previous generations of Indy cars.
"I think the series has done a really good job with safety," said Juan Pablo Montoya, whose IndyCar career dates to 1999, when he won the CART-sanctioned series as a 23-year-old rookie. "I think in the last 10, 15 years we've come a long, long way.
"You can't prevent everything -- it's motor racing. There's always a danger to it, and as drivers, we need to accept that. It's never going to be 100 percent, but I think they're looking at the future and how to make it better. They care for us.
"As a driver, you always want more, but I think they've done a good job."