Callum Ilott: IndyCar aeroscreen '100% necessary' on ovals after avoiding debris at Texas

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- IndyCar rookie Callum Ilott called the series' aeroscreen safety device "100% necessary" for open-wheel oval racing after driving head-on into debris from Jack Harvey's practice crash at Texas last month.

The Juncos Hollinger Racing driver, preparing for his sixth IndyCar start this weekend in the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, tweeted a screenshot of in-car camera video the morning after the incident that showed the instant before what he believed to be a pushrod off Harvey's No. 45 Honda making square contact with the center of the aeroscreen on the No. 77 Chevy.

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At the time, Ilott said he was concerned with aggravating IndyCar regarding his rights to post the video on social media, and so he opted for just the screenshot. Earlier this week, IndyCar president Jay Frye posted the full video, which displayed the gravity of the situation and the role the aeroscreen played in possibly saving Ilott's life.

"We don't share this type (of) stuff often — but this incredibly high-tech/game-changer did it's job again. Thanks again for (the) incredible effort to all involved getting it done #aeroscreen," Frye said in the tweet.

When watching at full-speed, it's clear just how sudden the impact was after Harvey nudged the outside wall exiting Turn 2, sending him into a spin climaxing in massive contact with the inside wall that sent debris hurtling across the track. Harvey made contact at the 5-second mark in the video, and with Ilott trying desperately to slow down from more than 200 mph, the pushrod comes into the picture, tumbling end-over-end, at the 7-second mark. It ricochet's off the aeroscreen within a single second.

Ilott said Saturday after Practice No. 1 at Long Beach that he initially wasn't sure any piece of debris had hit his aersocreen.

"I just came in and said, 'I think I hit something. Can you check the car?'" he recounted asking his crew. "Obviously, I'd going through a lot of debris, and I looked at the aeroscreen, and there was a slight hairline crack. Obviously, they couldn't see it, and after the session, I said, 'Can you just check that and make sure it's okay?'

"It had to be changed out of precaution, but it's weird to think about it, looking at the video, that three years ago, that may not have been the same outcome. I'm very lucky to be in this position and having the innovation that we do. It's crazy to witness and be part of, out of nowhere. It's one of those things you can't avoid, and I didn't see it before it hit. So thank you IndyCar for the innovations."

The British driver began his car racing career in 2015 in F3 before European formula car racing had adopted the halo driver safety device that's currently used in Formula 1. Back then, he said, "You just hoped and prayed you're never in that situation. Most of the big accidents in Europe are nominal, but they happen, and we take that risk."

In it's two-plus years of use since IndyCar officially adopted the aeroscreen for the start of the 2020 season, the device appears to have played a significant role in driver safety in at least three other accidents. The most recent came in the 2021 season-opener when in an opening lap crash at Barber Motorsports Park, Josef Newgarden's No. 2 Chevy went airborne and ran over the top of former Andretti Autosport driver Ryan Hunter-Reay. During the contact, one of Newgarden's wheels made contact with and was deflected by Hunter-Reay's aeroscreen instead of hitting his helmet.

Hunter-Reay credited the aeroscreen for quite possibly saving his life.

The year prior at Iowa, the aeroscreen not only protected Rinus VeeKay when Colton Herta ran up and over the back of the Ed Carpenter Racing driver's No. 21 Chevy on a restart, but it also saved Will Power from possible head-on contact with a loose wheel that came off his own car on-track.

Last year, Power said he believed, had the device been around years ago, it would have prevented both on-track deaths the series has experienced over the last decade.

More:Five years after Justin Wilson's death, aeroscreen protects drivers at Iowa

"I'm pretty sure for Justin (Wilson), (debris that hit his helmet in the aftermath of an IndyCar crash at Pocono in 2015) it would have bounced off. And Dan (Wheldon) would have ricocheted off (the fence in his deadly accident at Las Vegas in 2011)," Power said. 

"You can't say for sure, but it's a huge advancement. Huge."

Email IndyStar motor sports reporter Nathan Brown at nlbrown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter: @By_NathanBrown.