 |
| Dan Wheldon crash |
 |
| Dan Wheldon |
It could not have been more horribly wrong.
A fire of 15 car accident on lap 13 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway tragically killed at the Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon.
IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard had hoped to preside over an event marking the start of the IndyCar return to the national stage. Instead, they stopped delivering the words to pray for each racing official, never uttered.
"IndyCar is said to announce that Dan Wheldon led off unsurvivable wounds," he said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with his family today. IndyCar, its drivers and the owners have decided to abandon the race."
Before the race started it was much more aggressive, the speculation was about Dario Franchitti winning the championship second place, if by force of will could arrest him and earn his first IndyCar title.
And if Wheldon - who had snatched a surprise victory in May to win his second Indianapolis 500 - would come from the back of the pack of 34 cars to win the race and qualify a special price of $ 5 million.
At the end of the day none of that mattered.
At the end of the day it did not matter that the 2011 IndyCar champion has been, or if the master himself would be crowned.
The $ 5 million, seemed especially now - indecent.
With the race is canceled, the drivers - many of them in tears - again in his car and drove five laps to honor his friend.
At some point there will be an investigation into what happened, how it happened, why it happened.
At some point there will be engineering studies and suggestions on which cars and tracks safer.
At some point, questions arise on the track, the race, a lot of machines in the field.
Now there is no time to worry about all this. Now it's time to honor a champion, to remember a man welcoming and friendly, a true ambassador for his sport, and a husband of 33 years and father of two. Dan Wheldon will be missed.
He was devoted to help improve the sport - so much so that even if not a full-time ride with a team, he became a pilot of the series' official test of the redesigned car will use the next year. He was in Birmingham in August to test the new car at Barber Motorsports Park.
Since the death of Dale Earnhardt Sr. during the 2001 Daytona 500, fans have been inundated with stories about how much safer racing has become. SAFER barriers, walls, restraint of the head and neck car modernized, more seats and belts have helped many NASCAR drivers walk away from wrecks that years ago would have left them severely injured or worse.
To a large extent, the fans were able to take these safety features taken for granted and assume that all walking distance from their car after Talladega Big One, and greet the crowd.
Jimmie Johnson walked away from Saturday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway, after hitting the wall with tremendous force.
Even the way in which the disaster occurred and the angle that Johnson hit the wall was eerily similar to the wreck that killed Earnhardt.
But the race can never be completely safe. Men and women compete - from NASCAR to IndyCar to local gravel roads - about it. They have always known.
The racing world to mourn Dan Wheldon. And who turns his passion and his memory by continuing with the sport he loved.
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar