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Post by Belle on Oct 17, 2011 12:30:04 GMT -6
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." Only minutes into the race, two cars touched tires, setting off the 15-car crash that would claim Wheldon's life and send three fellow racers, including championship contender, Will Power, to the hospital. Wheldon was 33 years old and is survived by his wife, Susie, and two children, Sebastian, 2, and Oliver, 8 months. IndyCar Series CEO Randy Bernard made the official announcement of Wheldon's death without further comment. Officials decided to call the race. "IndyCar is very sad to announce that Dan Wheldon has passed away from unsurvivable injuries," Bernard said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with his family today. IndyCar, its drivers and owners, have decided to end the race. In honor of Dan Wheldon, the drivers have decided to do a five-lap salute to in his honor." More-> gma.yahoo.com/indy-500-winner-dan-wheldon-dies-15-car-012702976.html
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Post by Deleted on Oct 18, 2011 11:03:46 GMT -6
A truly tragic thing. The world has been lessened with his loss.
The impromptu five lap memorial run was quite moving. Remarkably, in this day and age, the crowd stayed silent throughout, only engaging in mild applause each time the cars passed.
Dignified.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 23, 2011 9:33:32 GMT -6
NASCAR was reaching this same problem several years ago and they instituted rules which slowed the cars down considerably....but the fact remains, there will always be someone looking for ways to make them go faster.
They can do things to make the cars run faster, but then the tech guys will start coming up with ways to use the rules and make the speeds start climbing again.
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