R.I.. Dan Wheldon.

[Bob Fechter]

Something we never want to happen.

Indy 500 Winner Dan Wheldon Killed in 15-Car Crash at Las Vegas Motor Speedway | Video | TheBlaze.com


don't know what happened to the title of this thread. Obviously R.I.P. Dan Wheldon, rest in peace and may God be with your family.

 

[tom pritchett]

It's all over the news. I don't follow this series, so I don't know much about him, but this is never anything anyone wants to see happen. There was a 5 lap tribute and they ended the race at the time of the accident.

 

[Mark]

R.I.P

 

[Paolo-LoveGT40 Modelworks]

saw the race..too sad.
he had payback time for the lucky he got in Indianapolis

unlucky british pilot.

 

[Pat]

Thoughts and prayers are with his young window and their small children. Godspeed #77.

So sad...

 

[Jim Rosenthal]

It's a damn shame. We all get used to the idea that this isn't dangerous, because it's so much safer than it was years ago. But racing kills people, and this is a reminder of just how dangerous it really is. He didn't even cause the accident, and he died in it.

Were there too many cars on too small a track, going too fast? I don't know enough about racing to tell. Any opinions? Speculation about this is already in the news.

 

[Mark]

Just my thoughts as you asked the question Jim.

I imagine that 34 cars on the same piece of tarmac travelling at 210MPH+ is probably asking for trouble.

Racing though, can never be 100% safe can it? Should we need it to be? The changes in safety in motorsport in general have been fantastic really. It is great that we don't see multiple deaths every year in every formula like we have had in the past.

It's good that we care about safety now when perhaps we didn't then, but I believe we should not let the Sandal Brigade get there hands on our beloved motorsport to the point where there is no danger whatsoever. Media morons will be insisting that we limit cars to 5 per race with no over-taking alowed and max speeds of 50MPH.

 

[Jeff Young]

I generally agree Mark, but this is someting different. These guys are all running 225 mph flat out, no lifting on a high banked oval. People have known for years that USAC/CART/Indy Cars on high banked ovals are (a) amazing to watch and (b) incredibly dangerous.

CART stopped racing at Michigan when the speeds got into the 240s, and Texas and some of the other venues have been dangerous from day one.

These cars are best suited for Indy, road courses and flat ovals. The high banks just mean too much dangerous speed.

 

[Mark]

................

 

[Tod]

Point one: I think there were too many cars on the track - and too many inexperienced drivers in them. I can't remember where I read it, but somewhere in the history of the Inidanapolis Motor Speedway they calculated how many cars could be safely spread around the race track. How can you have more cars than run at Indianapolis run on a smaller track??? That many cars (34), running that close together, at that speed, with that many inexperienced drivers was a recipe for disaster.

Point Two: Quit trying to make a circus out of Indy Car with silly promotions. The idea of offering $5 million dollars to any driver who could come in and beat the field is insulting and down right dangerous. Look at how many drivers accepted that challenge...

 

[Jim Rosenthal]

I know that auto racing is an inherently dangerous activity, and so do all the guys that get in the seat. They know it for real- I only know it from observation. And they all accept those risks when they turn the key and start the car up.

With that said, I think, from what I am reading, that this race went beyond the usual bounds of what is considered safe in IndyCar racing. The concerns about track size, number of cars, and top speeds were already made before the race. NASCAR guys can bump into each other- they do it all the time and expect to. Open-wheel cars are completely different; they bump into each other and someone's going to get hurt.

I'm sure we'll hear all the usual rubbish about "he died doing what he loved" etc. Okay, fine. If you ask me, it would have been far better if he'd lived doing what he loved. No one made these kids get behind the wheel in each of those cars, I understand that, but I can't help feeling that some of the blame accords to the people who placed the apple of temptation out there in front of everyone. I hope they are at least intelligent enough to avoid staging this kind of circus again.

 

[Pete McCluskey.]

I know that auto racing is an inherently dangerous activity, and so do all the guys that get in the seat. They know it for real- I only know it from observation. And they all accept those risks when they turn the key and start the car up.

With that said, I think, from what I am reading, that this race went beyond the usual bounds of what is considered safe in IndyCar racing. The concerns about track size, number of cars, and top speeds were already made before the race. NASCAR guys can bump into each other- they do it all the time and expect to. Open-wheel cars are completely different; they bump into each other and someone's going to get hurt.

I'm sure we'll hear all the usual rubbish about "he died doing what he loved" etc. Okay, fine. If you ask me, it would have been far better if he'd lived doing what he loved. No one made these kids get behind the wheel in each of those cars, I understand that, but I can't help feeling that some of the blame accords to the people who placed the apple of temptation out there in front of everyone. I hope they are at least intelligent enough to avoid staging this kind of circus again.

Well said Jim.