Dan Wheldon dead

[Marshall Bennett]

Killed in Indy car race about 2 hours ago.

[Overlay]

Here's a story on it:

Dan Wheldon (http://msn.foxsports.com/motor/story/Indy-500-champion-Dan-Wheldon-killed-in-crash-at-Las-Vegas-101611?gt1=39002)

[cj]

Here is the crash.

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[dav4463]

Very sad. Not since Earnhardt and Senna has a racing death hit me like this. I know these guys are doing what they love to do, but sometimes it seems like such a waste of life.

[Marshall Bennett]

Thanks Cj. Had to watch several times to figure out which car was Wheldon's. Has to be the worst crash I've ever seen. Reminded me of the horrible crash in the 1973 Indy 500 that took Swede Savage's life.

RIP Dan.

[LottaKash]

Very sad. Not since Earnhardt and Senna has a racing death hit me like this. I know these guys are doing what they love to do, but sometimes it seems like such a waste of life.

Sad for the driver(s) and their families....I feel for them aplenty....

But, being a race-driver is still much safer than being a "soldier" nowadays...

Fact is, driving a race car in todays world is so much safer than in times past... Thank God, for giving those in charge, the wisdom to make these machines as death resistant as they are today...

And yet it happened, but, that's the way I would want to go, "doing what I loved to do"...(heck, we all go anyway, all, except for the timing of such)

best,

[Marshall Bennett]

Fact is, driving a race car in todays world is so much safer than in times past...
A hell of a lot safer. I don't think any amount of safety would have helped in an accident such as the one Wheldon had. Concussion from impact alone is often fatal regardless of what happens with the car. Dale sr. died the same way, the car didn't look that bad. Wheldon's car was a mess, but the impact with the wall killed him. Even with the the worst wrecks anymore, most drivers escape relatively unharmed, so long as the crash travels a bit.

[Robert Goren]

After Dale sr's death,Nascar put a lot of money in to make their races safer. It has paid off. There have been no deaths and very few serious injuries since. I am not so sure about Indy car racing.

[LottaKash]

After Dale sr's death,Nascar put a lot of money in to make their races safer. It has paid off.

Just this past saturday nite @Charlotte, nearing the end of the race, Jimmy Johnson smacked the wall real hard, almost mimicking Dales life ending crash to a tee, and JJ came out ok, living wisethat is....Proof positive that the new devices work, and work well....Right Jimmy ?

best,

[headhawg]

I think that the last Indycar death was in 2006 and that was not in the race itself. Open wheel racing is inherently more dangerous than Nascar especially when the drivers are going 225 3-4 wide around an oval. One of the drivers remarked that at the Vegas race there was no separation between the best drivers/machines and the worst. Plus they had 34 cars running, the largest field at any race this year. It looked like a recipe for a disastrous result which indeed happened.

I don't know why but I get particularly sad when an auto racer dies. I was very upset when Earnhardt died and I'm not even a big Nascar fan.

Rest in peace, Dan Wheldon, and may God bless your family.