Beyond the Flag
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2018 IndyCar season in review: The good, the bad and the ugly

By Asher Fair

SONOMA, CA - SEPTEMBER 16: Scott Dixon, driver of the #9 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, celebrates after becoming the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series Champion after the Verizon IndyCar Series Sonoma Grand Prix at Sonoma Raceway on September 16, 2018 in Sonoma, California. (Photo by Jonathan Moore/Getty Images)
SONOMA, CA - SEPTEMBER 16: Scott Dixon, driver of the #9 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, celebrates after becoming the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series Champion after the Verizon IndyCar Series Sonoma Grand Prix at Sonoma Raceway on September 16, 2018 in Sonoma, California. (Photo by Jonathan Moore/Getty Images) /
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FORT WORTH, TX – JUNE 08: Robert Wickens, driver of the #6 Lucas Oil SPM Honda (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
FORT WORTH, TX – JUNE 08: Robert Wickens, driver of the #6 Lucas Oil SPM Honda (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /

Pocono Raceway (continued)

For a race that had previously been one of the most exciting races on the IndyCar schedule, this year’s race at Pocono Raceway was a dud and quite possibly the worst race of the season. Add to it the fact that it was marred by the early five-car wreck that has Robert Wickens still recovering from his injuries more than eight weeks later.

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Wickens’s car itself certainly did its job to prevent him from being hurt worse than he was or possibly even killed. But the debates that arose as a result of this crash have to do with the catch fence and head protection since his car flew into the catch fence, albeit not cockpit-first, and it flew right over the cockpit of Ryan Hunter-Reay’s car.

Is the catch fence really the best solution for keeping cars within the confines of the track during nasty wrecks? Should other options be explored for possible implementation in the near future?

Will IndyCar begin using the windscreen that they have been testing for quite some time? If so, when? Is the halo device that Formula 1 began using this season an option if the windscreen doesn’t pan out?

These are questions that need to be answered. Period. But believe me when I say that those who are in charge are working on answering them as we speak. IndyCar’s safety development is second to none, which is something that is reiterated pretty much whenever a terrible accident occurs and definitely serves as a somewhat of a silver lining when it is.

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What are your thoughts on the 2018 IndyCar season, the first season during which the new UAK18 was utilized? What are you most looking forward to already for next season even with almost five months still remaining in the offseason?