Jody Scheckter wants his son to quit Indy, son wants more horsepower

Tell us if this sounds familiar: Parent wants kid to stop doing something because it's too dangerous, which makes son only want to do it more. It's a common enough occurrence, played out every day in households across America and around the world. Only this is no ordinary family. It's the Scheckters.

If the name rings a bell, that's because it belongs to the 1979 Formula One World Champion Jody Scheckter. These days, it's his son Tomas who wears the driving gloves in the family, competing in the IndyCar series. Tomas Scheckter has won a couple of races, never managing better than seventh in the championship, but he's only contested a few rounds this season. Following the tragic crash in Las Vegas that killed Dan Wheldon, AutoWeek reports that Jody has said he would like to see his son leave the series. But Tomas has other ideas.

While other parties have called for reduced speeds in Indy in the wake of the Wheldon crash, Tomas wants next year's cars to have more power so they can more ably pull away from tight fields that, by some accounts, is what led to the massive fifteen-car pile-up.

Tomas just might get his wish, as new engines provided by Chevrolet, Honda and Lotus are set to power a new, lighter Dallara chassis next year. The question is whether that will be the prudent move given the recent tragedy.