Hi Hawkeye,
The bar gap in the aluminum around the foot box tube is covered later by a sound deadener / heat shielding from the inside. It is actually a very small space. The foot box tube extends past the end for a few reasons; as a safety measure in case of impact and to match the length of the driver’s side tube, which was extended for the pedal assembly. There is plenty of foot box room laterally so there is no reason to extend the box deeper. Keep in mind we have moved the cockpit seat wall back 3/4 inch and dropped the foot box floor 2 inches for more room as well. If a need every came up to extend the box, say we had to fit someone measuring 6' 8", we could easily modify this. The frame was designed to allow more room than most rollers using a standard 427 SC body. There are more pictures coming soon!
--Mike / Turn Ten Racing, Inc.