As I’ve written a column about Dan Wheldon for the Saturday Star Wheels section (online tomorrow), I’m about to move on. But here are some parting thoughts.
As Jimmy Durante used to say, “Everybody wants ta get inta da act.”
So Jimmie Johnson was first out of the gate to say IndyCar shouldn’t be racing on ovals. The five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion, who’s never raced an Indy car, has since modified his position because of the backlash, but he’s still talking about something he doesn’t know anything about.
Then retired F1 driver David Coulthard, who’s never raced an Indy car, spouted off with his two cents.
Now we have Mark Webber, who’s never etc., saying that “what organisers certainly have to do is work out how to stop cars leaving the ground and flying into the air in such situations.”
What?
Isn’t this the same guy who nearly went into orbit last year when he ran into the back of Heikki Kovalainen at the Valencia circuit in Spain (watch video here)? I didn’t see a quote from him after he landed in which he said that F1 organizers “certainly have to work out how to stop cars leaving the ground and flying into the air in such situations.”
Did you?
Then we have Jean Alesi, who’s never etc., saying that the Wheldon crash hasn’t spooked him about racing in the Indianapolis 500 next May. Why?
“What happened at Las Vegas can't happen in Indy: the banking there is negligible and most of all you never take it flat out except in qualifying."
Huh?
How does he know?
Who are these people?
Don’t you find it interesting that the two guys who know what racing an Indy car is all about – Tony Stewart and Juan Pablo Montoya – haven’t said squat about the Wheldon crash?
So here is a quote to chew on:
Confucius: “It’s better to keep one’s mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.”
That kind of fits, doesn't it?
Somebody wrote in their blog that auto racing should be outlawed as a result of the Wheldon accident.
In the last three weeks, three people participating in city marathons (including one in Toronto last weekend) died of heart attacks.
I think marathon running should be outlawed...
By the way, most auto racing websites are reporting that the FIA and ACCUS (Automobile Competition Committee for the United States) are part of the team investigating the Wheldon accident.
IndyCar revised that this morning:
“As part of our standard safety protocol, a full investigation has been launched by IndyCar, with assistance from individual members of various motorsports bodies. It was incorrect to state that either ACCUS or FIA are formally involved.”
Originally Posted by flatout:
And now we have this idiot calling for the end of all autoracing even though she has seen nothing more than highlights on SportsCenter:
This article is a joke and represents the mindset of a big percentage of people in this country. These drivers know the risks and choose to drive. This is supposed to be a free society. We dont need extreme regulations or even end motorsports.
As far as improving the safety of the fence. I would include an additional catch fence beyond the first. maybe about 40 or 50 feet away. Then the vertical supports from the main fence could be removed as well has the stranded wire cable. Then replace supports with much smaller ones that broke away during impact. The main supports and wire rope are what always do the damage. If the main fence failed it could take away some of the kinetic energy. This could be done in the corners only. My 2 cents
These calls to end Indy Car Racing is nothing new...The person who pointed out the tragedy at Dayton Speedway is correct. After the tradgedy of the 1964 Indy 500...those calls again resurfaced.
I am 53 years old, and am aware of that history...thank goodness we do not have the fatalities we had back then. This one with Wheldon is very hard to take. This has been as hard to shake as the passing of Rich Vogler shock wise for me.
The Indy Car Series has been a LEADER of racing safety...has it been 100% removed? Of course not. Improvements will be made...we do NOT need any NASCAR input..unless it is from a former open wheel driver. Tony and Montoya know how much this hurts...thats why they have the class to not comment much at this time.
"Now we have Mark Webber, who’s never etc., saying that “what organisers certainly have to do is work out how to stop cars leaving the ground and flying into the air in such situations.”
Originally Posted by KKinser99:
This article is a joke and represents the mindset of a big percentage of people in this country. These drivers know the risks and choose to drive. This is supposed to be a free society. We dont need extreme regulations or even end motorsports.
I know, she's from the land of fuits and nuts. The place where you need a permit to breathe less you emit too much CO2. Not sure who let her out of the kitchen anyways (I keed, I keed ).
To make up for her, here is a good article from Bob Jenkins:
I will finally go on record as disagreeing was disagreeing with Jimmie Johnson. That said, Jimmie Johnson has been the most successful race car driver on the planet the last five years. Naturally, sooner or later someone is going to stick a microphone in he face about any current event in racing and if it is sooner he will have a quick impromptu answer, which I think was the case this time around.
Thanks Jimmy...I just heard a DJ on racinrock in Kalamzoo say that he agreed with Jimmy that the only oval race should be The Indy 500. You can twitter them at racinrock.com? and give your opinion the DJ said. These people probably don't even follow IndyCars. It's sad that it takes a tragedy for the news people to acknowledge IndyCars. Some of the best racing I have ever witnessed have been IndyCars on high speed ovals.
Like everyone else this BS has got me angry. I just wish these people had a little more perspective. I don't know if any you have heard of Butch Lindley, but he was a really successful late model racer when I was a kid. He turned down the opportunity to go big time NASCAR racing, because he thought that the high speeds at the big tracks were unsafe. In a case of tragic irony, he was killed when he crashed at a 3/8 mile bullring in Florida. Moral of the story, you take the best precautions available (Wear a good firesuit, a good helmet, good belts, good seat, mount it all properly) and then let 'er rip, because a freak tornado can kill you while you are sitting on your couch.
).