Wipers for IndyCar might be worth a look
IndyCar’s development team has given the aeroscreen a hefty overhaul since it debuted in 2020. But can they add a wiper blade? Simon Pagenaud would like to know.
The suggestion from Saturday’s runner-up in the chaotic GMR Grand Prix on a rain-soaked Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course was one of several reactions to the aeroscreen’s first true in-season test, outside of the foggy, misty series-wide test at COTA and a wet track during a qualifying session at Mid-Ohio in 2020.
From the front to the back, the field’s 27 drivers largely agreed that Saturday’s rain-shortened event (including 75 laps, instead of the planned 85) may have been the craziest set of conditions they’ve ever faced in a race car.
The race, won by Colton Herta, included three pivotal turning points on tire strategy, eight cautions, nine penalties, 31 laps under yellow and 362 passes for position (shattering a previous record of 190). But no matter where they were running (other than Herta at the end) drivers said they dealt with a lack of visibility far worse than anything they had previous faced when dirt and precipitation on their helmet was the worst vision hurdle.
“At the end there, man, you could not see a thing,” said third-place finisher Will Power, who started on the pole. “There was a spray in front of me. I don’t know how it was behind just one car, but for two, I can’t imagine being back in 10th, man.
“You lift early (on the throttle), but you don’t want to lift too early because no one can see from behind. Pretty crazy day. It was just about survival.”
Power clarified, though, saying the worst visibility issues he had was just the spray that is kicked up from cars running on a wet track, a visibility issue that would exist with or without the aeroscreen. He did wonder whether, in the final 15 laps or so, the spray had reached a point that put officials on the brink of having to throw a red flag and pause the race.
Pagenaud’s suggested fix comes rooted in his days of running more than four-dozen high-level sports car races with machines equipped with windshields and wipers.
Whether IndyCar would consider such a massive change is unclear, but over the last two years, IndyCar decision-makers have proven willing to listen and act upon driver feedback. Since its in-race debut in June of 2020, the series has added several vents, as well as an air tube and a scoop used in some races to aid in cooling the driver.
“I couldn’t see,” said Pagenaud of the closing laps of the race. “I didn’t even know where (Colton) was, quite frankly. I picked a few points on the fence to know where I had to brake, but it was very difficult to see without a wiper. If we had one, it would probably help, but it’s the first real race with the aeroscreen (in the rain), so you’ve got to give credit to IndyCar.
“The safety is amazing, but in these conditions, you would need a wiper like they don in sports cars.
“Obviously, I’m not an engineer. We’ll find solutions and improve it and make sure that when we have rain races – and hopefully we have more – then we don’t have these issues.”
NASCAR Truck Series
Zane Smith drove away from polesitter John Hunter Nemechek and Seymour native Ty Majeski on a restart with nine laps to go at Kansas Speedway on Saturday night in Kansas City for his third NASCAR Truck Series victory of the season.
The 22-year-old Smith was slicing through lapped traffic with a comfortable cushion on the rest of the field when Dean Thompson crashed in the closing laps. Smith chose the inside lane and launched away from Nemechek, who spun his tires, while Majeski finished a career-best second.
Majeski’s career-best Truck Series finish came a week after finishing fourth at Darlington.
“Just a little bit too free to be able to attack the way I needed to to get by (Smith),” said Majeski, racing in his first full season. “He was class of the field all night. I really struggled on restarts, but once we got going, I could pick up the spots. Hats off to Joe Shear Jr., my crew chief. It’s been a fun season so far. Just a huge relief to run good consistently.”