Tracy wants improved safety
Wickens crash will only add to calls for fortified fencing
Canadian Paul Tracy is calling for change in the auto racing industry.
The outspoken former IndyCar star made the comment on Instagram on Monday, the day after fellow Canadian Robert Wickens was involved in a horrific crash at Pocono Raceway. Wickens, from Guelph sustained a pulmonary contusion and injuries to his lower extremities, right arm and spine after trying to pass Ryan Hunter-Reay during the ABC Supply 500 in Long Pond, Pa.
The two cars slightly touched, resulting in Wickens’ vehicle soaring over Hunter-Reay’s. Wickens hit the catchfence and the tub of his IndyCar spun several times, shredding with each turn before it crashed back on to the track.
Wickens, 29, was described as “awake and alert” before he was airlifted to hospital Sunday. A release from IndyCar said Wickens was scheduled to undergo surgery Monday evening for a spinal injury after an MRI “was instrumental in revealing the most appropriate surgical course.”
“So relieved that @robertwickens will be ok, but that again was too close for comfort,” Tracy said in his Instagram post. “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 rath- er gone out of the park!!! We lost @danwheldon, @dario_franchitti and @robertwickens had (an) angel looking down on them.”
Wheldon died from severe head injuries during an IndyCar event in October 2011. He was 33. Franchitti, 45, a four-time IndyCar champion and threetime winner of the Indianapolis 500, retired from racing after being involved in a serious crash at the Grand Prix of Houston in October 2013.
“But it’s time as a community of racers and fans to push things to a higher level,” Tracy continued.
“I know racing is a dangerous game and we know the risks, but it can always be better.
“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.”
The 49-year-old Tracy, affectionately dubbed The Thrill From West Hill, was the 2003 Champ Car champion with an aggressive driving style and unwillingness to pull punches off the track .
Since Wheldon died when his head hit a pole in the fence at Las Vegas, drivers have made a compelling case for fortified fencing and alterations that would move the poles outside the track. Sébastien Bourdais was unhappy Sunday with the way the fence was repaired after Wickens’ accident. He made it known he felt the job was inadequate and a danger to the competitors, despite a twohour delay. But he got back in the car.
“I’m old but I’m not wiser,” Bourdais said. “Everybody’s in the seat. You gotta go.”
Hunter-Reay, James Hinchcliffe of Oakvile, Pietro Fittipaldi and Takuma Sato were among the drivers also involved in Sunday’s wreck. Hinchcliffe appeared to suffer a wrist injury as a result of the mishap but was cleared and released from the medical centre.
“Praying for @robertwickens,” Hunter-Reay tweeted. “Since the moment my car came to a stop after that horrific crash all I can think about is Robbie’s well being. Thinking about (his fiancée) Karli and their whole family. He’s as tough as they come, I know he’ll be focused on getting back on track.”
Hinchcliffe and Wickens form the all-Canadian Schmidt Peterson Motorsports team. They competed against one another in Toronto with Hinchcliffe helping lure Wickens to IndyCar this season.
Hinchcliffe had his brush with serious injury in 2015 when a broken piece from his car severed an artery during a crash at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Quick action by the medical team to hold the artery together as it moved Hinchcliffe from the track to the hospital prevented the Canadian from bleeding to death.
Hinchcliffe left the Pocono track to visit Wickens in the hospital without speaking to reporters Sunday.
He was still unavailable for comment Monday.