Horrific crash at Las Vegas speedway

[Merckx index]

I know almost nothing about car racing except it’s very dangerous. But the accident that happened today in Las Vegas was by all accounts one of the worst ever. At least sixteen cars were involved, some flew in the air and crashed into a fence, some burst into flames, debris all over the track. One driver, this year’s Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon, has now been reported to have died.

Apparently many of the riders expressed concern before the race that the long straightaway would result in speeds too high to be safe.

Some pictures can be seen here:

http://sports.yahoo.com/top/gallery...20050301:top,photo,ap-201110161550570555353:1

 

[issoisso]

Nicest guy in the world, Dan.

And now he's gone. Sad. So very very sad.

 

[Ragerod]

Unbelievable.

I don't get to watch a lot of Indycar but Wheldon came across as a super nice guy and it was unfortunate he didn't have a full-time drive this year, despite being better than half the grid. heard him do commentary for one race and he was fantastic.

Made all the worse if the dangers had been highlighted and concerns had been expressed beforehand.

 

[roundabout]

Even though one fears the worst it's still no less painful when it's confirmed.

 

[Anonymous]

Heartbreaking....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3og2MojvMM

 

[richwagmn]

Heartbreaking. He just had no chance.

I wonder if these cars even belong on ovals? Aren't the speeds just too high? Was something like this inevitable?

NASCAR runs restrictor plates on super speedways because the speeds are just too high (especially for cars with so little downforce).

Does anyone know why F1 does not allow oval racing?

 

[ksmith]

That was horrible. RIP

 

[Martin318is]

Lets try to keep this thread for condolences etc rather than discussion of wider topics.

I think danwheldon.com is down due to overload at the moment.

My sympathies for his family and friends

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Saw it today. Horrific indeed. It's peculiar how you can see crashes like Dale Ernheart or Scott Brayton and wonder how they died. But this crash, I'm amazed more people weren't killed.

RIP Dan.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

I've long feared that the Indycars could see something like this happen. The vehicles are worryingly old at this point, and we can probably count the upgrades since Paul Dana's fatal accident five years ago on one hand. And the format here - more cars on track than at Indianapolis including several part-time entries, on a shorter circuit with steeper banking - was always asking for trouble. Yes, NASCAR runs more cars on shorter tracks, but tin-tops are always going to be intrinsically safer in an oval-racing environment than open-wheelers.

I know the budget is low, but a change with safety in mind, or, to follow Champ Car's lead, a move away from the high ovals focus, has been overdue for a while. Hopefully the lesson will be learned, but it's tragic that it got this far and somebody had to die to jolt us back to reality.

As Alpe says, some fatalities are surprising - Ashley Cooper's fatal accident, for example, makes you fear for the neck supports because the crash seemed relatively innocuous. Others, like Gilles Villeneuve or Jeff Krosnoff, are pretty clear, and when you see them, you KNOW that it's going to end in death. Yet more are miraculous escapes - how Katherine Legge is still with us after her 2006 Road America crash is beyond me. But this? This was an absolute warzone. Dario Franchitti described coming around the following lap as being "like going through Terminator or something" with all the carnage, burning pieces of cars and medics running around. And it feels really hollow, but we do actually have to be thankful that Wheldon was the only one killed, even though it's horrible, tragic and quite difficult to actually write that, because it's no comfort to anybody out there and it doesn't change the fact that it's more horrible and tragic that Wheldon was killed.

Rest in Peace, Dan.

 

[Zam_Olyas]

May he Rest In Peace.

 

[jordan5000]

This is why I hate motor sports, people cheer for crashes, it pollutes way too much, and it's boring. I can't believe how hicks/rednecks support this, this track wasn't safe either, too many cars for this small track.

 

[Izzy eviel]

There was nothing wrong with the track. It was just one of the things, a chain reaction and Dan got caught up in it. That was by far the worst crash I've ever seen, it's amazing no-one else died or was badly injured.

Whether it's cycling, horse racing, motor racing etc, accidents will and do happen. Everyone who takes part know's alot more about the risks and consequences then we do. Dan and the other 33 drivers out there knew there would be crashes and accidents in that race especially. They know what they're doing, they love racing, they all accepted the risks...

Dan was one of my all time hero's. This is how I'll remember him: Dan Wheldon, Two Time Indy 500 Champion, 2005 Indycar Series Champion, 2006 Daytona 24hour Champion.

 

[fatandfast]

This is why I hate motor sports, people cheer for crashes, it pollutes way too much, and it's boring. I can't believe how hicks/rednecks support this, this track wasn't safe either, too many cars for this small track.

glad to see you are compassionate, the guy was a talent, and his family and friends and fans are suffering a loss of a hero to all of them. Weldon was a great open wheel race car driver by descriptions given by people that have done it for a living. RIP

 

[Libertine Seguros]

This is why I hate motor sports, people cheer for crashes, it pollutes way too much, and it's boring. I can't believe how hicks/rednecks support this, this track wasn't safe either, too many cars for this small track.

To echo Izzy eviel, I don't see that there was anything wrong with the track. The organisers fouled up by putting 34 cars on it. You can put 40+ NASCAR tin-tops on a short course, but they run slower and offer the driver more protection in the case of an accident (plus you don't get the same horrific interlocking wheel problem). You couldn't put 34 cars on that course. And with such a high bounty on it enticing non-regular season participants, meaning a lot of part-time entries who weren't racing these cars regularly at high level, and of varying experience levels (Wheldon of course was the most high profile of them).

Given the way the IndyCar series has gone since the reunification and how the car counts have fluctuated, this probably seemed like a good idea, to entice part-time drivers in to create a festival atmosphere, more competition and to allow people the chance to shine ahead of selections for the next year's racing. But they went too far, and there were simply too many cars for the course.

Motor racing is never truly safe, and oval racing in particular. But while the death may be avoidable, it wasn't Las Vegas Motor Speedway that caused the accident. It was too many drivers in too small a space trying to avoid a minor incident that turned what would have been a problem at any circuit into a catastrophe.

 

[jordan5000]

glad to see you are compassionate, the guy was a talent, and his family and friends and fans are suffering a loss of a hero to all of them. Weldon was a great open wheel race car driver by descriptions given by people that have done it for a living. RIP

I'm defending him, I'm saying his life didn't need to end on that track, they made the wrong decision to put that many cars on the track and many said the track was too fast.

 

[ramjambunath]

Truly sad news and that too just a few months after his career high.

Just too many cars in too small a space.

RIP Dan Wheldon.

 

[Martin318is]

...And it feels really hollow, but we do actually have to be thankful that Wheldon was the only one killed, even though it's horrible, tragic and quite difficult to actually write that, because it's no comfort to anybody out there and it doesn't change the fact that it's more horrible and tragic that Wheldon was killed.

Rest in Peace, Dan.

Don't feel bad about writing that - I think we all agree with you completely.

Watching it unfold and seeing the aftermath, it was easy to believe that more than half of the drivers in the crash are very VERY lucky to be alive. Power, etc got into positions that could easily have resulted in something a lot worse for them. It didn't and we can all be thankful for their survival without disrespecting Dan.

 

[richwagmn]

Many good comments from everyone here.

I agree with others and the racers themselves, that Las Vegas is probably not a good venue for these cars. Certainly not with 34 cars.

I wonder just how lucky does Will Power feel today? His car was flying through the air every bit as much as Wheldon's and yet he walked away (with some back injury). Dan was simply unlucky.

Motor racing does work hard to make the cars and tracks safer. If anyone saw Jimmy Johnson's crash on Saturday (eerily like Dale Earnhardt's) we saw how the safer barrier and Hans device probably saved him from serious injury.

It is a dangerous sport.

 

[Oldman]

I've long feared that the Indycars could see something like this happen. The vehicles are worryingly old at this point, and we can probably count the upgrades since Paul Dana's fatal accident five years ago on one hand. And the format here - more cars on track than at Indianapolis including several part-time entries, on a shorter circuit with steeper banking - was always asking for trouble. Yes, NASCAR runs more cars on shorter tracks, but tin-tops are always going to be intrinsically safer in an oval-racing environment than open-wheelers.

I know the budget is low, but a change with safety in mind, or, to follow Champ Car's lead, a move away from the high ovals focus, has been overdue for a while. Hopefully the lesson will be learned, but it's tragic that it got this far and somebody had to die to jolt us back to reality.

As Alpe says, some fatalities are surprising - Ashley Cooper's fatal accident, for example, makes you fear for the neck supports because the crash seemed relatively innocuous. Others, like Gilles Villeneuve or Jeff Krosnoff, are pretty clear, and when you see them, you KNOW that it's going to end in death. Yet more are miraculous escapes - how Katherine Legge is still with us after her 2006 Road America crash is beyond me. But this? This was an absolute warzone. Dario Franchitti described coming around the following lap as being "like going through Terminator or something" with all the carnage, burning pieces of cars and medics running around. And it feels really hollow, but we do actually have to be thankful that Wheldon was the only one killed, even though it's horrible, tragic and quite difficult to actually write that, because it's no comfort to anybody out there and it doesn't change the fact that it's more horrible and tragic that Wheldon was killed.

Rest in Peace, Dan.

Rest in Peace, Dan for sure.

That much downforce create these insanely unstable projectiles. Don't know what would help because I love to watch fast cars as much as those guys love to drive them.

 

[Martin318is]

Don't know what would help because I love to watch fast cars as much as those guys love to drive them.

very true. It defines who they are and although many will feell sick for quite a while, probably all of them will be there on the start line at the next event. They can't not race. All we can be glad about is that with progress, this is a tragedy that is rare compared to a few decades ago.

 

[Oldman]

very true. It defines who they are and although many will feell sick for quite a while, probably all of them will be there on the start line at the next event. They can't not race. All we can be glad about is that with progress, this is a tragedy that is rare compared to a few decades ago.

Unfortunately for the drivers they aren't quite the franchise in Indy that Dale Sr. was to Nascar. The Nascar standards are much, much higher comparitivly because of his franchise value and the current crop have a better opportunity to survive because of it. Indycars have been so strained for crowds they'd pack 35 drivers on this track, mix in rookies and retreads and see what happens. If you watched the coverage you saw a very sparse crowd. Cynically I would wonder what the crowd numbers will be from here on.

 

[craig1985]

Dan was meant to be in Australia this week to co-drive for one of the V8's in the Gold Coast 600 this weekend. They are doing a memorial service for him on Saturday.

RIP.

 

[Martin318is]

yes, a number of the guys were going to be co-drivers here. I think several have already deferred and said they are staying in the US - totally understandable!

 

[sublimit]

Its very sad and a great driver is gone. I saw the Greg Moore crash when he ended up losing his life a few years ago and its been tough ever since for me to continue watching oval racing, just glad the other drivers got away with that because that could of been multiple fatalities right there.