The NTT IndyCar series’ decision to outfit its cars with a titanium halo wrapped in a thick laminated shield could have saved one or more lives on Friday night at Iowa Speedway.
After avoiding a restart on lap 157, Ed Carpenter Racing’s Rinus VeeKay seemed to slow down behind eventual race winner Simon Pagenaud and move to the right, and behind Dutch rookie Colton Herta of Andretti Harding Steinbrenner Racing was caught in an accordion effect, throwing the No. 88 Honda onto the left rear tire of the VeeKay’s No. 21 Chevy.
Before flying significantly into the air, Herta’s unobstructed nose, minus his wings, attempted to launch himself to the left side of VeeKay’s cockpit, level with his helmet. With the PPG display acting as a vertical barrier, Herta’s nose was forced upward, sliding skyward on the screen before hitting the Pankl halo and flying over VeeKay’s Dallara DW12 chassis.
Behind VeeKay and Herta, the debris from their cars shot up toward Marcus Ericsson’s No. 8 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, but the debris was deflected by the windshield.
“It was a little scary to restart,” Ericsson told RACER, who ducked inside the car when the pieces hit the screen. “A lot of debris blew up and some large parts hit the windshield, so it shows that IndyCar has done a great job with the windshield. They did a really good job today to protect me. “
After the race, Ericsson’s race engineer Brad Goldberg reported that the spray suffered no visible damage and would be reused for Saturday’s race.
“I was really surprised, actually; There is nothing to show from the impacts, “he said.” More damage has been done to the sidepod than to the debris field spray that returned to Marcus. “
The VeeKay team has to do extensive repairs on the car to prepare it for Saturday night’s 250-lap race to close the Iowa doubleheader. The teenager was understandably pleased that he didn’t have to overcome any physical damage after the hovercraft did its job.
“I am very happy, especially with security,” he said. “I left. I saw the whole line (slow). The spray was destroyed. So thanks to IndyCar for the great security cell. ”
Designed by Red Bull Advanced Technologies, and manufactured by PPG, Pankl, and Dallara, the DW12’s bolt-on titanium frame is rated to withstand loads in excess of 30,000 lbs. The display, which underwent ballistic testing, repelled a two-pound metal bullet fired at more than 170 mph.
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