IndyCar makes wheel upgrades in wake of flying tire situation at Indy 500

This weekend, IndyCar heads to Iowa Speedway for a doubleheader weekend and there are some new changes to the cars. Following the Indy 500 situation, where a wheel from Kyle Kirkwood’s No. 27 Dallara-Honda flew off his car after contact with Felix Rosenqvist, and over the catch fence, IndyCar is making changes – sounds a bit like the NASCAR season.

Iowa Speedway will be the first oval race since the Indy 500 for the NTT IndyCar Series. So, in order to prevent disaster, there are safety enhancements. IndyCar and Dallara have come together to strengthen the rear-wheel bearing retaining nut. This will hopefully keep wheels from being sent into the parking lot or, God forbid, the stands.

Here is what happened with Kirkwood back in May. The wheel missed fans in the stands but hit a parked car.

IndyCar has achieved a high level of motorsport safety by studying accidents in minute detail and learning every possible lesson from them. This could have been a horrendous accident, I have no doubt changes will be made as a direct result.

📸: IndyCar#INDYCAR | #Indy500 pic.twitter.com/ZhNy79bN6u

— Bryson Sullivan 🇺🇲 (@NaturalParadigm) May 29, 2023

“Dallara continues to be a tremendous partner of the NTT IndyCar Series,” IndyCar president Jay Frye said, via NBC Sports. “Their thorough review process of the incident between the No. 6 and the No. 27 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway began immediately and included an extensive re-creation at their headquarters in Italy.

“IndyCar takes safety very seriously. This update is an important step in making sure an incident like this does not happen again.”

INDYCAR and longtime partner Dallara have worked together to develop and produce a strengthened rear-wheel bearing retaining nut to debut at Iowa doubleheader.

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— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) July 19, 2023

Oval racing at high speeds can be incredibly dangerous. It isn’t just in NASCAR where the big wrecks happen and cars fly into pieces. IndyCar has had its fair share of incidents. Let’s not forget Simon Pagenaud is still recovering from a violent wreck at Mid-Ohio.

However, the series has never been afraid to fix things and make safety a top priority.

IndyCar set on making safety number one

While the incident at the Indy 500 brought in a ton of attention and eyeballs, it wasn’t the attention you want exactly. You want fans to feel comfortable at races. They need to not just feel safe but actually be safe as well. IndyCar is doing al it can to make that happen.

“It is Dallara’s mission, along with IndyCar and all the racing series we work with, to maintain and continuously improve safety based upon the highest standards,” Dallara CEO Stefano dePonti said. “After completing a detailed analysis of the accident during this year’s Indy 500, together with IndyCar we have reached the conclusion that the outcome was the consequence of an unusual and never experienced set of circumstances.

“Nevertheless, we have developed and produced new components that will increase the strength of the corner in the case the unlikely sequence of events repeats itself.”

Two races this weekend at Iowa Speedway. The ARCA Menards Series was just there a week ago to take on the track and possibly lay some rubber down. The IndyCar series will be racing on Saturday at 3:00 PM and Sunday at 2:00 PM, both on NBC and Peakcock.