Beerlight 0 #1 October 16, 2011 Awful wreck... RIP Dan http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sn08nh7zoto Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 4 #2 October 16, 2011 I watched it happen on TV and waited the couple hours to hear the announcement. What strikes me are the differences between how they and we deal with the issue of a death in the sport. Sure, it always hurts, that never changes, but that they stopped the race. Looking back, I guess it's not actually surprising they do. However, generally speaking, we don't stop events or competitions for fatalities. I'm not sure if there's any huge significance in that, I think arguments could be made for just about every way of dealing with the death of friends, co-workers and competitors, but this is the first time the difference has ever jumped out at me that there even is a difference.quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rwieder 0 #3 October 16, 2011 Unbelievable. RIP Dan. You will be sorely missed.-Richard- "You're Holding The Rope And I'm Taking The Fall" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andrewwhyte 1 #4 October 16, 2011 Actually I am surprised they stopped the race. When Greg Moore was killed at Fontana in 1999 they continued the race. When Alex Zanardi lost his legs in a crash in Germany in 2001 they also finished that race. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanuckInUSA 0 #5 October 17, 2011 Lot's of safety innovations over the years, but it still remains a less than safe sport. RIP Dan Try not to worry about the things you have no control over Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OhioDreamsChris 0 #6 October 17, 2011 After watching and listening to the hosts, they were afraid something like this was going to happen even before it did....my guess is they didnt want another one on the same day...15 cars out is a pretty big wreck...jmo Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Belgian_Draft 0 #7 October 17, 2011 Dan will be missed very much in the racing world. I had the chance to chat with him for about 30 seconds at Indy this spring and he was, as always, smiling and happy. He had an infectious smile that spread to all around him. Driving a race car is much different than skydiving. Yes, the risk of injury/death is present but the similarity ends there. Skydiving requires attention to detail and moderate to intense concentration for a few minutes. Racing requires it for hours. Losing a friend skydiving hurts, but one can still manage those few minutes of concentration without too much trouble. Losing a friend racing also hurts, but it is very difficult to keep the level of concentration needed for the hundrds of miles and several hours an event takes to run. In skydiving a mistake usually only harms the participant. It may harm those nearby if it happens in a group. In racing, a mistake has a VERY high chance of affecting other drivers nearby, spectators, pti crew, officials, etc. Todays incident was not like the Moore or Zanardi incidents. Today 15 cars were involved, 13 eliminated, 4 drivers taken to the hospital, one died and two are being held overnight for observation. To ask the remaining drivers to set aside what happened and continue racing would be to invite disaster. As a former driver myself, one who watched friends die on the track literally in front of me, the process of mentally preparing for a race begins the night before. Each driver has their own way of preparing, but that process is very important. This incident completely disrupted that. Knowing exactly what the drivers in todays race were feeling and going through, I would have been shocked had they continued the race. Yes, Dan probably would have wanted them to. Scratch that...there is no probably. He would have insisted they continue. But that could not happen today. The drivers were dealing with far to much shock and grief to safely race at 220-225 mph.HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 2,106 #8 October 17, 2011 QuoteAfter watching and listening to the hosts, they were afraid something like this was going to happen even before it did....my guess is they didnt want another one on the same day...15 cars out is a pretty big wreck...jmo Apparently Indycar is desperate to increase "spectator appeal" and deliberately orchestrated this race to put the cars really close together on a tight track and maximize the amount of passing.... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nightingale 0 #9 October 17, 2011 Some of drivers had made comments concerning the high speeds being reached with regards to the track conditions (closeness of cars, amount of passing required, like mentioned above). My guess would be that given these concerns and given the emotional condition of the drivers, it was decided to stop the race. _____________________________________________ Drivers had been concerned about the high speeds at the track, where they were hitting nearly 360 kilometres per hour during practice. "We all had a bad feeling about this place in particular just because of the high banking and how easy it was to go flat. And if you give us the opportunity, we are drivers, and we try to go to the front. We race each other hard because that's what we do," driver Oriol Servia said. "We knew if could happen, but it's just really sad." Cunningham echoed those remarks. ________________________________________________ http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/10/16/sports/main20121120.shtml Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanuckInUSA 0 #10 October 17, 2011 QuoteApparently Indycar is desperate to increase "spectator appeal" and deliberately orchestrated this race to put the cars really close together on a tight track and maximize the amount of passing. No form of motorsports is safe. Never has been, never will be. Yes putting 30 open wheelers on a tight oval track just makes it even less safe. Only time will tell if the IZOD Indy series returns to Las Vegas (maybe it's more of a NASCAR track), but I sure hope people take a step back and not venture into a "It's time to ban motorsports" rhetoric. I know you didn't call for an outright ban in this post of yours. But up here in Canada there is no shortage of the usual nanny state supporters who are calling for motorsports to be banned because of this fatal accident. These race car drivers know the risks, but despite the risks they know why they do it. There is a reason why 7 time World Champion Michael Schumacher is back racing in F1 after taking several years off (racing against many people half his age). It's because racing makes him happy and it is in his blood. RIP Dan Try not to worry about the things you have no control over Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 2,106 #11 October 17, 2011 QuoteQuoteApparently Indycar is desperate to increase "spectator appeal" and deliberately orchestrated this race to put the cars really close together on a tight track and maximize the amount of passing. No form of motorsports is safe. Never has been, never will be. Yes putting 30 open wheelers on a tight oval track just makes it even less safe. Only time will tell if the IZOD Indy series returns to Las Vegas (maybe it's more of a NASCAR track), but I sure hope people take a step back and not venture into a "It's time to ban motorsports" rhetoric. I know you didn't call for an outright ban in this post of yours. But up here in Canada there is no shortage of the usual nanny state supporters who are calling for motorsports to be banned because of this fatal accident. These race car drivers know the risks, but despite the risks they know why they do it. There is a reason why 7 time World Champion Michael Schumacher is back racing in F1 after taking several years off (racing against many people half his age). It's because racing makes him happy and it is in his blood. RIP Dan No, I'm not calling for a ban, but questioning the wisdom of making an already risky sport even riskier just to increase specatator appeal.... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanuckInUSA 0 #12 October 17, 2011 I'll be surprised if the IZOD Indy series will be back in Las Vegas next season. Definitely not the best track to be racing with 30 open wheelers. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Belgian_Draft 0 #13 October 18, 2011 QuoteQuoteQuoteApparently Indycar is desperate to increase "spectator appeal" and deliberately orchestrated this race to put the cars really close together on a tight track and maximize the amount of passing. No form of motorsports is safe. Never has been, never will be. Yes putting 30 open wheelers on a tight oval track just makes it even less safe. Only time will tell if the IZOD Indy series returns to Las Vegas (maybe it's more of a NASCAR track), but I sure hope people take a step back and not venture into a "It's time to ban motorsports" rhetoric. I know you didn't call for an outright ban in this post of yours. But up here in Canada there is no shortage of the usual nanny state supporters who are calling for motorsports to be banned because of this fatal accident. These race car drivers know the risks, but despite the risks they know why they do it. There is a reason why 7 time World Champion Michael Schumacher is back racing in F1 after taking several years off (racing against many people half his age). It's because racing makes him happy and it is in his blood. RIP Dan No, I'm not calling for a ban, but questioning the wisdom of making an already risky sport even riskier just to increase specatator appeal. A few weeks ago in New Hampshire they restarted after a rain delay while it was still raining. Not good.HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lawrocket 3 #14 October 18, 2011 QuoteI'll be surprised if the IZOD Indy series will be back in Las Vegas next season. Definitely not the best track to be racing with 30 open wheelers. Indeed. A 25 car field would be a better choice, I think. It wasn't just the speed but 15 cars indicates that the crowding was as much - if not a bigger - issue. How long is the track? My wife is hotter than your wife. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolfriverjoe 1,523 #15 October 18, 2011 QuoteQuoteI'll be surprised if the IZOD Indy series will be back in Las Vegas next season. Definitely not the best track to be racing with 30 open wheelers. Indeed. A 25 car field would be a better choice, I think. It wasn't just the speed but 15 cars indicates that the crowding was as much - if not a bigger - issue. How long is the track? Not very. 1.5 miles. You can't crowd open wheel cars that way. One touch is usually a disaster. It isn't NASCAR."There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lawrocket 3 #16 October 18, 2011 Thanks. I really don't know much about racing but it seems like from the numbers that the ytrack was too crowded. I guess I can ask this, as well. You mentioned open wheel. How would something like stock cars be different? My wife is hotter than your wife. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
normiss 845 #17 October 18, 2011 Fenders prevent the open wheels from contacting. Once the open wheels contact, they can, and usually do, climb on each other. Quite a bit faster too. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillyVance 34 #18 October 18, 2011 Quote Fenders prevent the open wheels from contacting. Once the open wheels contact, they can, and usually do, climb on each other. Quite a bit faster too. Yep, you go airborne, over the car in front of you, usually. What was that movie that Emilio Estevez and Mick Jagger did where Emilio was a F1 racer and Mick "beamed" him out of his car just before it got obliterated on an overhead bridge from such a wheel-to-wheel contact? This real accident just proved what can happen. "Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jakee 1,558 #19 October 18, 2011 QuoteFenders prevent the open wheels from contacting. Once the open wheels contact, they can, and usually do, climb on each other. Or just break the exposed wishbones/steering arms. Either way, not great.Do you want to have an ideagasm? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gonzalesna 0 #20 October 18, 2011 QuoteLot's of safety innovations over the years, but it still remains a less than safe sport. RIP Dan There's no such thing as a safe sport.Some people refrain from beating a dead horse. Personally, I find a myriad of entertainment value when beating it until it becomes a horse-smoothie. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ryoder 1,590 #21 October 18, 2011 Quote Quote Lot's of safety innovations over the years, but it still remains a less than safe sport. RIP Dan There's no such thing as a safe sport. You mean we've been putting bowlers at risk with that speech we use on the clueless newbies?"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wildcard451 0 #22 October 18, 2011 Quote Quote Fenders prevent the open wheels from contacting. Once the open wheels contact, they can, and usually do, climb on each other. Quite a bit faster too. Yep, you go airborne, over the car in front of you, usually. What was that movie that Emilio Estevez and Mick Jagger did where Emilio was a F1 racer and Mick "beamed" him out of his car just before it got obliterated on an overhead bridge from such a wheel-to-wheel contact? This real accident just proved what can happen. Freejack. Favorite old school scifi movie. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gonzalesna 0 #23 October 18, 2011 Quote Quote Quote Lot's of safety innovations over the years, but it still remains a less than safe sport. RIP Dan There's no such thing as a safe sport. You mean we've been putting bowlers at risk with that speech we use on the clueless newbies? Bowling is a sport? I just thought it was an excuse to get away from the ol' lady and hang out with the boys.Some people refrain from beating a dead horse. Personally, I find a myriad of entertainment value when beating it until it becomes a horse-smoothie. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lawrocket 3 #24 October 18, 2011 Quote Fenders prevent the open wheels from contacting. Once the open wheels contact, they can, and usually do, climb on each other. Quite a bit faster too. I didn't ask you for your opinion. I wanted the other guy to answer it. Know-it-all. My wife is hotter than your wife. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lawrocket 3 #25 October 18, 2011 Quote I just thought it was an excuse to get away from the ol' lady and hang out with the boys. So, which bathhouse do you frequent? My wife is hotter than your wife. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
