Could Dan Wheldon's Death Have Been Prevented?

I'm an Indycar fan. My friend Jeff and I went to a race at Kansas Speedway in 2005, I believe, and I was hooked. The next year, I had a vendor who sponsored a team send a group of us to hang out at the Speedway all weekend long. We watched everything - qualifying, the truck race, and the race itself from the pits. I even got to have dinner with Dario Franchitti (and I'm pretty sure he got a text message from Ashley Judd while we were sitting there. Which was awesome.). Ever since, I've been a huge fan. I watch pretty much every race, cheering Dario on (ask my wife......I'm pretty sure it drives her nuts).

Why Indycar and not Nascar? Well, for one, I like the design of the Indycars better. They go faster, and the cars are more delicate. You don't see Indy drivers riding around with a bumper hanging off, like you do in Nascar. I like the drivers better, too. Yeah, most of them are foreign, but there's a certain class and precision about them. The whole "Nascar culture" is too much for me. I won't elaborate on that. But most of all, I like the clean brand of racing that Indycar provides. You don't see much "Rubbin's racin'" in Indycar. Why is that? I believe it's because instead of having 45 cars on a track (Nascar), you have 25 cars on a track. On Sunday, in Las Vegas, there were 34 cars on a mile and a half track. 34 cars gunning it at speeds of over 225 MPH for the whole race. How did they not know something bad was going to happen?

I wasn't a Dan Wheldon fan. I didn't really even have an opinion on him. There are drivers I like (Dario, Dixon, Kanaan) drivers I don't like (Will Power, Helio) and drivers who just plain suck (Danica). But Wheldon was one of those guys who was kinda harmless. No one seemed to dislike him. He didn't complain much, and always seemed to be hanging around during big races. I guess if there's anything I don't like about him, it's that he almost ran me over with one of those little scooters they ride during the '06 Kansas race.

Despite not having an opinion on him, I can't help but feel like his death could have been prevented. Look, anytime you've got a bunch of guys and gals driving around in a circle at insane speeds, something bad could happen. They've made a lot of safety improvements to Indycars, but the driver's head is still exposed. Tragedy is always a huge possibility.

I get really tired of watching oval races, and seeing people start to get lapped 10 minutes into the thing. Some cars are just slower than others, and some drivers are just better than others. Get those friggin' people off the track, and your racing's going to be a lot cleaner. All of the drivers I mentioned above have one thing in common: they're all good, experienced drivers, who deserve to be there. (Yeah, even Danica) Accidents like the one that killed Wheldon can be prevented. I was stunned when I heard that 34 cars were going to be racing a mile and a half track. That's ridiculous. I certainly didn't expect anything like the horrifying accident on Sunday, but I did expect something like 20 cars to finish that race.

But Indycar is the black sheep of the auto racing community. They don't have the money that Nascar does. They were willing to do whatever they could to get as many cars and sponsors on that track on Sunday, and it ended up costing Dan Wheldon his life. I hate that it took this tragedy to happen to make Brian Barnhart and Indycar officials realize that it's not worth it to put lives at risk just to make a few extra bucks.

Someone named Jimmie Johnson came out this week and said that the IRL needs to quit racing ovals. I understand where he's coming from, but that's absolutely ludicrous. All but 2 (I think) IRL races are held in the United States. I think half of those races are on ovals. They realize that if Indycar is going to succeed in this country, there have to be oval races. Road courses are fine and dandy, but we Americans want to see cars go fast for a couple of hours. We don't want finesse racing. It's just not feasable to abandon oval tracks in this racing league.

As my wife and I sat and watched ABC's coverage on Sunday, I had an empty feeling in my stomach. ABC's announcers (who did an absolutely incredible job) didn't want to say it, and I didn't want to believe it. But we all knew that Dan Wheldon had lost his life in that accident. I watched the 5 lap parade to honor Wheldon with a giant lump in my throat. It was one of the most chilling things I've ever watched. At the time, I didn't think anyone could be blamed. It was a freak accident. It could have happened at any time, to anyone. But then I started thinking about it. Why were there so many cars, and so many inexperienced drivers on a 1.5 mile oval? Why was it Wheldon, who was one of the most experienced guys out there, who was lifeflighted away from that track? It didn't seem real, and it doesn't seem fair.

It sucks, but I think it's going to take the death of one of the most popular drivers in Indycar to make some real changes happen. It's not all about the money. There are lives at stake. Regardless, I never again want to spend 2 hours like I did on Sunday. Rest in peace, Dan. I hope your death inspires change, and saves lives in the sport that you loved.