More Thoughts About Dan Wheldon Crash

I haven't forgotten about the Dan Wheldon incident.  It still irks me a little.

This is what we know about the Las Vegas race.  Indy Car was trying to incentivize non-Indy drivers to participate for rating's sake.  If you won, you got a cool $5 million BUCKS.  Indy Car hoped to get at least five other drivers to participate but they couldn't even get that many.  Even famous dirt-bike/rally driver Travis Pastrana considered but backed out because he injured his leg.  Dan Wheldon was in the running for the jackpot although he and many others were reluctant because of the dangerous conditions.

Think Indy Cars traveling 220 mph without using the brakes.  Sure, that makes for safe conditions.  Coming that close to each other...all it took was one minor calculation and that's it.  The drivers couldn't even make it 11 of 200 laps in without a serious wreck.  NASCAR drivers could see this coming a mile away.  Sadly, Indy Car set up the drivers for this situation.  To quote this article which practically sums it up:

Danger equals excitement in auto racing, and they pushed this one too far. This is a sport that sells danger, and the drivers and their teams are professionals, beating death. It's the edge that creates so much of the thrill that fans pay to see.

But if you have a track where drivers will go three across, where they can't separate themselves from the pack, where they are going 225 mph, and it's all a cry out for attention? Well, that seems recklessly dangerous.

Part of this race's purpose was to stir the excitement of onlookers.  Oooo, a 220 mph race makes up for all those left turns!  Indy Car is losing ratings to NASCAR as well as Danica Patrick who is quitting at the end of the year.  The $5 mil jackpot was another last-ditch effort to get some cool names in the race and get ratings. Too bad it exploded in their faces.  Will veteran Indy Car racers still participate in the series in the future?

Remember that NASCAR officials slowed down stock cars to about 180-190 mph for safety's sake (boooo, that's boring).  Sure, the difference between 190 mph and 220 mph isn't that huge but the stopping distance exponentially increase the faster you are driving.  See this (just assume it goes up to 220 mph):

In other words, Indy Car should probably stick with technical courses.  Besides, no one likes driving in circles anyway.

The death of Dan Wheldon was capped by five slow laps at Las Vegas with "Amazing Grace" played over the speakers, a moment of silence during NASCAR's next race (including Dan Wheldon stickers on the drivers' helmets), a funeral in Indianapolis Florida (EDIT: oops, I'm sorry), and changes to Indy Car's rules.  That's good, very good.

The reason I'm still making a semi-big deal out of this incident is because I've always wanted to be a race car driver since when I was a kid.  But obviously I'm a bit scared to do for obvious reasons.  Hey, would I rather live my life without doing anything fun & exciting like this OR I give driving a try and take a risk?  What's the point of being safe this whole time when you may be taken out to heart disease or a traffic accident anyway?  Isn't life fragile enough to NOT have fun?  I read a survey once in which a bunch of 90+ year olds were asked what advice they could give for us young people.  One of them was "take more risks."  Wait didn't they already make a movie like that?

Darrell Waltrip (the boogidy boogidy NASCAR announcer) wrote an interesting on why race car drivers still drive despite the risk.  I think it's a good read:

Racing is a passion. It’s what we drivers love. Sure, when we are out of the race car we can reflect on all the “what ifs” of a race. When it’s time to put that firesuit and helmet on and go do our job, those “what-ifs” evaporate. We are willing to risk it all hoping we don’t have to give it all for the reward at the end of the day.

Even NASCAR drivers sound off.  The worst sound a driver’s loved ones can experience at a racetrack is silence. The car finally stops and the dust settles. The team radio falls silent.

You know, here's an observation of mine.  And I'm NOT trying to start a religious debate here.  There are a few people that are so abhorrent of any kind of belief/faith whatsoever.  But how can you think that way?  You have faith that when you get up in the morning that you can go to work and come home safely.  That you'll live to see tomorrow.  That you'll be able to perform tasks to your fullest ability.  That you'll be there for your friends and family.  There's no guarantee or "proof" that any of these things will happen but you go out and work anyway.  What kind of life will you live if you DON'T have faith in these things?  You'll just mope around your house like some emo kid and accomplish nothing anyway.

Sooo....about racing, I know that many people who are into that stuff won't have the time, resources, or ability to drive fast cars.  That's why video games are so important.  We want to make good racing games to meet that need.  So that's why I get pissed off when I see the racing genre become infected with all these generic/mediocre racers.  That's just my three cents.  I wouldn't say "be safe" since that sounds contrary to my post.  Instead, I say "don't be stupid."

RIP Dan Wheldon, he was a good man.

Never drive faster than your guardian angel can fly.

Tragic Day For Race Car Drivers

Today was a sucky day.  Well, my New Orleans Saints finally lost because they kept turning the ball over, they couldn't play defense, and the officiating sucked.  Even head coach Sean Payton got injured when Jimmy Graham fell over the sideline and fractured his coach's knee.  How often does that happen--the head coach being hospitalized in the middle of the game??  Peyton was taken away and his assistant coach (or someone, I don't know) took over play calling duties.

But no, that's just peanuts.  The Saints played three road games in a row so I wasn't terribly shocked that they lost (and were still in the game up until near the very end).

Did you watch the Indy Car race in Las Vegas?  The final race of the season.  I didn't watch anything today (not even the Saints game) because I had schoolwork to deal with.  They had "The Big One" wreck on lap 11 of 200.  There was a 15-car pile-up.  Oh God help those who were in this wreck.  EDIT: Reuploaded video.



33-year-old Dan Wheldon died in that crash as his car was launched into a fireball (watch 3:40 for an on-car view).  Now Dan isn't someone I'm very knowledgeable of (although I remember his name).  He won two Indy 500's in his career (one of those was that JR Hildebrand choke) and he was cut short so soon.  I don't even know if they finished the race although they did do three more slow laps in Dan's memory.

And I don't even want to know what happened to the other 14 drivers in that wreck.

I guess the reason I'm so shocked is that I thought we made such moves in terms of car safety that this would never be an issue.  You look at guys like Gordon Smiley and Dale Earnhardt and those were the old days.  We've moved on from that--these new cars are super safe!  They're made of titanium, the walls are padded, we got neck braces, etc.  But racing is never safe it seems.  Racing is scary--I said that over a year ago!

Then again, if you're driving in a coffin-shaped vehicle going over 220 mph (355 kph) and you get airborne and hit the wall, you're probably dead.  That's not going to change for a very long time.  A similar wreck happened to Jimmie Johnson a day before, although he was in a slower (190 mph), more durable car (more of a buffer).  Jimmie walked from the wreck okay (but shaken up).  Had he been in a smaller, faster car, he would be serious injured or worse...  EDIT: Had to reupload this too.



Do I even need to say anything about Burnout and how much that series pisses me off?  They way they glamorize the same crashes that get people killed in real life?  Yes, wrecks are a part of racing, but not to the point of seeing how many people you can crash and burn.  No, that crap doesn't deserve my time so GTFO.

God be with Dan and his friends and family.  He was doing something he loved to do so this is really sad.  RIP.  I cried a little, I swear.