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View Full Version : Dan Wheldon Killed in Crash in Vegas


Rick
October 16th, 2011, 5:34 PM
This is just breaking. How sad.
Rick
October 16th, 2011, 5:53 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=neFX1oGq4Ss
TheOldProgrammer
October 16th, 2011, 6:20 PM
I was watching the race when it happened... The talking heads said he was something like the sixth driver to win the Indy 500 and die in a racing incident in the same season... I think all sanctioning body's will be taking a long, hard look at what they can do to fix the catch fences as this appears to be what inflicted the catastrophic injuries he suffered...

http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/news?slug=ap-obit-wheldon

:smoke
Rick
October 16th, 2011, 7:28 PM
If his was one of the cars to get launched when it ran into the car in front, fence or no fence, it was bound to be catastrophic.
gnatsum
October 16th, 2011, 11:13 PM
R.I.P., Dan

:(
TheOldProgrammer
October 17th, 2011, 6:39 AM
If his was one of the cars to get launched when it ran into the car in front, fence or no fence, it was bound to be catastrophic.

Wheldon's was the second car to go airborne... Will Power's was the first one and he walked away... Wheldon's car went airborne and then cockpit first into the catch fence and came down on the track upside down...

IMO, if they can come up with the SAFER barrier they can come up with something for the catch fence...

Here's a better video of The Big One...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=AT5WRrzo-4A

:smoke
Night Owl
October 17th, 2011, 7:10 AM
It is sad, but you drive a car at 225 MPH there will be wrecks and people will die. It is a part of the sport.
Ludwig
October 17th, 2011, 2:52 PM
It is sad, but you drive a car at 225 MPH there will be wrecks and people will die. It is a part of the sport.

But in this case the track was purposefully crowded and the speeds raised to give the people a trill on their last day. I hope that the people who made that decision will be able to live with the consequences. What a shame!
TheOldProgrammer
October 17th, 2011, 3:35 PM
But in this case the track was purposefully crowded and the speeds raised to give the people a trill on their last day. I hope that the people who made that decision will be able to live with the consequences. What a shame!

Don't know if you watched at all but the drivers they interviewed did criticize the IRL about too many cars on the track and the number of inexperienced drivers in the field who were doing 'stupid' things...

This is gonna come back and bite the IRL leadership in the ass big time... As well it should... You just don't put 34 IndyCars on a 1.5 mile oval...

Here's a link to some still photos that show just how horrific this crash was... From looking at the first photo one could surmise that Dan Wheldon was dead before being airlifted to the hospital...if he even survived the crash.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=BG&Dato=20111017&Kategori=SPORTS&Lopenr=110170802&Ref=PH

:smoke
kantwin
October 17th, 2011, 4:06 PM
Or it could be some serious bandages on his head.
Night Owl
October 17th, 2011, 4:14 PM
It looks like the red car blew a tire and that started the whole thing. It also looks like there were a lot of drivers in back that kept their foot on the gas and one driver slowed down in front of them. Wrecks happen in racing all the time, I really don't think the number of cars had anything to do with this one, it was a blown tire at 200+mph.
TheOldProgrammer
October 17th, 2011, 4:37 PM
Dan Wheldon loved to drive fast, from the time he first took the wheel of a go-kart when he was 4 years old, but the two-time Indianapolis 500 winner had begun to have concerns about the speeds cars were reaching on the IndyCar circuit.

He and other drivers had also expressed concern about the conditions for Sunday's IndyCar series final at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

It was crowded -- 34 cars -- and drivers were speeding, even by Indy standards, getting up to 225 mph. As ABC News' Josh Elliott noted, "Even the tiniest mistake can touch off wrecks like we see today."

Read the complete article here:
http://gma.yahoo.com/indy-500-winner-dan-wheldon-dies-15-car-012702976.html

:smoke
TheOldProgrammer
October 18th, 2011, 7:21 AM
Or it could be some serious bandages on his head.

Based on this article, I think he was DOA at the infield care center... Time of death was 1:54pm (Mountain Time)... That's the approximate time of the crash... I could be wrong though...

http://sports.yahoo.com/irl/news?slug=ap-indycar-lasvegas-wheldonautopsy

:smoke
Night Owl
October 18th, 2011, 7:24 AM
I agree he was DOA at impact. They were trying to spare the wife and fans. Just my opinion.
TheOldProgrammer
October 18th, 2011, 7:51 AM
I concur with your opinion however, I think they did more harm than good but dragging it out so long...

I was at Indy one year when Gordon Smiley died during qualifying... From the time of the crash until they made the announcement was less than 30 minutes...he died on impact with the Turn 3 wall...

:smoke
wolfcub
October 21st, 2011, 7:30 AM
They need to stop racing on the progressive banking ovals. Ovals are ok just not the ones with progressive banking,