[Land-speed] Crush zone

[Kirkwood]

I see a lot of roll cages located to within an inch or two of the A and B
pillars and other body parts of cars. In fact I have seen comments on
Landracing.com indicating how difficult it was to get a cage in the car
without a big space between it and the body.

 

Why? With all of the NASCAR interest in crumble and crush zones and other
impact deforming structures why not have a very wide clearance between the
body and the cage? Wouldn't a large gap act as a crush zone and absorb some
of the energy. Does the driver's cage need to be close to the door?