Drivers still adapting to new debris deflector at Indy

INDIANAPOLIS -- The first time Takuma Sato drove with IndyCar's new debris deflector he felt like he had one eye closed. Ed Carpenter thought he was seeing double.

A one-day test in April, last weekend's road race and two full days of practice on the oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway have helped change those initial perceptions -- even as they fight to get fully acclimated to the new safety device: a 3-inch tall, 3/4-inch wide metal plate attached to the chassis just inches from drivers' faces.

"Like everything, you get used to it," said Carpenter, the series' only owner-driver. "When you're in a race car, you become very accustomed to your surroundings so any time you put something in your…