![\"Indy](\"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/IndyCar-wind-screen-min.jpg\")
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Following the deaths of INDYCAR standout Justin Wilson and Formula One racer Jules Bianchi, the reaction was a knee-jerk one. Do we build a halo? A windscreen? Do we get rid of open wheel racing altogether? The offered solutions to the once-in-a-lifetime issue were many and varied. F1 is going with a halo device over the cockpit; INDYCAR is checking out a large windscreen next week at ISM Raceway, formerly known as Phoenix International Raceway.<\/p>\n
The Verizon IndyCar Series\u2019 windscreen has been under evaluation for nearly two years and will be tested for the first time next Thursday, on the car of four-time series champion Scott Dixon. The rationale for this test is to validate visual acuity for the driver in a series of different lighting conditions at the Valley of the Sun racetrack: During the test session, it will be used in full sun, at dusk and in night-racing conditions using track lighting.<\/p>\n
The windscreen is constructed of a proprietary material called \u201cOpticor.\u201d It is an advanced transparency material made by PPG and is the same stuff PPG uses in its production of fighter jet canopies, where vision must be optimal. It has proved to be stronger, lighter and more impact-resistant than the polycarbonate used in the past, according to Jeff Horton, INDYCAR\u2019s director of engineering and safety. Horton has been a leader in this windscreen development, together with the series\u2019 longtime medical and safety consultant, Dr. Terry Trammell.<\/p>\n
![\"Indy](\"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Horton-and-Trammell-examine-windscreen-min.jpg\")
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\u201cThis has been a long process, one that\u2019s been very methodical and purposeful,\u201d said Jay Frye, INDYCAR president of competition and operations. \u201cWe have been striving to create a safety piece that, aesthetically, looks good and works in all conditions. This is a test,\u201d he said, \u201cof those things. Any piece we put on an Indy car must work for multiple types of venues and different lighting conditions. It has to be versatile.\u201d<\/p>\n
INDYCAR has tested the prototype in Dallara\u2019s scale-model tunnel and in the chassis manufacturer\u2019s racing simulator, both located in the Italian company\u2019s Speedway, Ind. workshops. The series\u2019 chassis constructor enlisted Harding Racing\u2019s Gabby Chaves to provide driver feedback after testing in Dallara\u2019s driving simulator last year. The on-track test at ISM Raceway is the series\u2019 next step in the windscreen\u2019s evolution. The windscreen was fitted at Chip Ganassi Racing Teams\u2019 Indianapolis shop this week.<\/p>\n
Frye stated there is no timetable for implementation in competition at this time. \u201cWe\u2019ve tested this [windscreen] at Dallara\u2019s simulator, but this will be the first time it has been on a car at speed. So, this is just the next step in the process,\u201d he confirmed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Following the deaths of INDYCAR standout Justin Wilson and Formula One racer Jules Bianchi, the offered solutions to the once-in-a-lifetime issue were many and varied. F1 is going with a halo device over the cockpit; INDYCAR is checking out a large windscreen next week at ISM Raceway.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":48755,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3470,5029],"tags":[5614,4508,3752,712,5782,5783,3293,41,1632],"class_list":["post-48753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-racing","tag-anne-proffit","tag-f1","tag-formula-one","tag-indycar","tag-ism-raceway","tag-jules-bianchi","tag-justin-wilson","tag-news","tag-racing"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/IndyCar-wind-screen-min.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p42YSK-cGl","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/65"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48753"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48753\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48756,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48753\/revisions\/48756"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}