IndyCar Drivers Foresee Safer Sport in 2012

IndyCar is trying to make high-speed racing safer in 2012, and drivers say series officials are reacting to their concerns.

They point to everything from the reduction in oval-track races this season to the elimination of double-file restarts. The moves come four months after two-time Indy winner Dan Wheldon was killed in a crash at Las Vegas.

Three-time defending series champ Dario Franchitti and former series champ Tony Kanaan, both friends of Wheldon’s, spent much of the offseason coordinating efforts to get the drivers’ concerns to series officials.

And drivers have almost universally applauded the measures that have been taken, though they also acknowledge more can still be done.

Series officials are hoping a new barrier over rear tires will limit wheel-to-wheel contact, which can launch IndyCars into the air.