Aftermath
Posted: October 17, 2011 Filed under: Indycar Series | Tags: Dan Wheldon, Death of Dan Wheldon, Indycar Series, Las Vegas, racing car drivers, sports Leave a comment »
It’s difficult to get excited about racing right now. F1 still has a few races left, but unrestrained thoughts of Dan Wheldon’s death are front and center. The joy is gone. Like Wheldon, we have small children. Unlike Wheldon, we don’t risk death when we go to the office.
Death has been part of racing since cars were first raced. Volumes have been filled about drivers dying too soon, victims of avoidable accidents, happenstance, injuries that should not be life-threatening but were 50 years ago. We close our eyes and hold our breath and assume it will all work out. Over and over again, it does work out. Rarely, it seems, do things go horribly wrong.
Dan was a fan favorite, likeable, engaging, and telegenic. Even as he lost his ride for 2011, he stayed sharp enough to win at Indy this year. He had the Brickyard nailed, and his second win was for a small-time team fielded by fan favorite Bryan Herta. Two hard luck racing kids teaming up to win the big one. As much as you felt sorry for J. R. Hildebrand’s final-corner, final-lap wreck, you loved that Dan Wheldon was winning it.
It was cinema, to be sure. What we didn’t know was that the Indy 500 was not going to be the second act in his career revival, but instead was a prelude to an unspeakable tragedy. We are…angry, sad and shocked.
Racing does what it can to make the sport safer. HANS devices, deformable crash barriers, safety cells – all are helpful but none are foolproof. Racing is not safe. It is deadly and dangerous and more people will undoubtedly perish at the wheel of a race car, sure as the sun will shine. You can question Wheldon’s sanity if you want. At speeds of 225 mph, these are not car crashes but rather low-altitude airplane wrecks. And we don’t stop airplane crashes with steel mesh fencing.
In the coming weeks and months, many will cast blame. Some will blame the IndyCar Series for putting 225mph rocket ships into a smallish, 1.5 mile oval. Others will fault the drivers for aggression too early in the race (“drivers are drivers”, they will say). Some will fault those who build catch fences, or design the cars. These are all good questions that should be answered.
Veteran drivers like Paul Tracy are questioning their future in the sport; the father of Tomas Scheckter (1979 F1 champion Jody) wants his son to quit ovals. Tony Kanaan has said that he will press on despite the enormity of his loss. Others caution against hasty decisions.
In the end, none of that will bring Dan back to his family. If something can be learned from Wheldon’s death, and racing can be made safer as a result, at least it will not have been in vain.
