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Thread: Driver Dan Wheldon Killed In Horrific Indycar Crash

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    Driver Dan Wheldon Killed In Horrific Indycar Crash

    Jesus, I was watching this in real time as it happened, and my first thought was that no one could survive the impact. The race was red-flagged for an hour and a half, and it was then announced that Wheldon had died as a result of his injuries.




    Dan Wheldon Dies After Massive Crash in Vegas


    Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon died Sunday in a fiery 15-car wreck at Las Vegas Motor Speedway when his car flew over another on Lap 13 and smashed into the wall just outside turn 2.

    Wheldon was 33. Drivers were told of Wheldon's death in a meeting about two hours after the fiery, smoky crash that many drivers said was the worst they had ever seen.

    He won the Indianapolis 500 twice, including this year.

    "IndyCar is very sad to announce that Dan Wheldon has passed away from unsurvivable injuries," IndyCar CEO Randy 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."

    Three other drivers, including championship contender Will Power, were hurt in the pileup.

    The wreck left Townsend Bell upside down and smoldering cars and debris littered the track nearly halfway up the straightaway of the 1.5-mile oval.

    The track was red-flagged following the accidents while crews worked on fences and removed smashed cars.

    Wheldon started in the back of the pack but quickly worked his way through the 34-car field before the wreck.

    "It was like a movie scene which they try to make as gnarly as possible," said Danica Patrick, making her final IndyCar start. "It was debris everywhere across the whole track, you could smell the smoke, you could see the billowing smoke on the back straight from the car. There was a chunk of fire that we were driving around. You could see cars scattered.

    Drivers had been concerned about the high speeds at the track, where they were hitting nearly 225 mph during practice.

    Their concerns became reality when contact on Turn 2 sent cars flying through the air, crashing into each other and into the outside wall and catch fence.

    "I'll tell you, I've never seen anything like it," Ryan Briscoe said. "The debris we all had to drive through the lap later, it looked like a war scene from Terminator or something. I mean, there were just pieces of metal and car on fire in the middle of the track with no car attached to it and just debris everywhere. So it was scary, and your first thoughts are hoping that no one is hurt because there's just stuff everywhere. Crazy."
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    Missed the wreck but found this only 45 min later..sad.

    If these cars weren't compensated with 1000's of pounds of down force they would be airplanes and it really is that simple.
    They did 5 laps in honor of Dan and called the race.
    I think it was the right thing to do.

    RIP

    Last edited by clarathecarrot; 10-16-2011 at 06:34 PM.
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    Not a race fan. but I've seen videos of crashes before. This one was horrible. Rest in peace Dan. Thoughts with all the friends & families and others injured.
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    Here's some onboard camera feed from Will Power's car, which also went airborne. Scary shit......

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    motor racing is inherently dangerous. i was at surfers indy 300 in 2002; there was a massive stack in terrible weather but no-one died. the guys know the risks. rip mr. wheldon.
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    This just fucking sucks..

    Dan was such a great guy and so well-liked in the sport. I'm kinda just in shock.
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    You don't sit in a race car you wear it. They are in a custom made seat with all sorts of protection around them. Your body isn't going to move much because you are really strapped in there. Probably the biggest danger is burning to death in the car.

    I think hydrofoil boat racing is more dangerous because the water literally tears the boat apart.
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    I don't follow racing very closely, but in searching for the previous clip I posted on You Tube, I got the impression that Dan Wheldon crashed several times before this, and apparently walked away from all of those. Obviously an occupational hazard in that line of work, but I've always believed that you can only beat the odds and walk away from something like that so many times, and it looks like Dan reached the end of his lucky streak.

    Which makes it ironic that this should happen in Vegas, of all places

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    Wheldon won the Indy 500, but was only in his third race of the season because he couldn't get a sponsor. Had he won, and he had a good car, he'd have won 5 million. God, he had 2 little boys...a 2-year old, and a 7-month old...

    Sad...

    He won Indy the first time when Danica burst out on the scene, and he did a nice job ripping on her on Letterman...since he owned her car at the time...
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    There hasn't been a death in Formula One since Senna in 1994 after which they got really safety orientated, it seems it's time for Indy to do that. Quite recently a guy in F1 hit a wall head on at 160mph and walked away.

    I know it's a bit different but you don't seem to get fire when F1 cars collide these days, maybe it's because they use a kind of kevlar bag for their gas tanks.
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    This..actually brought tears to my eyes.

    Indy Racing is something near and dear to me, something that means a lot to my family being that I have heavy Indiana roots. I saw a couple assholes on Huffington Post and other places say all these derogatory things about it, and..they just don't get it.

    It's a great sport, it's a challenge and the people who suit up to do this are brave and doing things that only a select group of people have the skills to do.

    And Dan himself? Class act. Was well liked among the fanbase and just embodied everything right that could be in the IRL. His Indy 500 win this past May could not have happened to a better man.

    I like to imagine that when he entered the pearly gates, the first thing that was played was "Back Home again in Indiana", and two cups of milk set out near a yard of bricks.

    RIP Dan, you'll be missed.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Seshmeister View Post
    There hasn't been a death in Formula One since Senna in 1994 after which they got really safety orientated, it seems it's time for Indy to do that. Quite recently a guy in F1 hit a wall head on at 160mph and walked away.

    I know it's a bit different but you don't seem to get fire when F1 cars collide these days, maybe it's because they use a kind of kevlar bag for their gas tanks.
    It's called a fuel cell. I'm not sure about the Indy cars but in stock cars that I have raced it's a square heavy duty plastic fuel tank. The fuel pump is electric and has a inertia switch that if the car crashes it stops the pump.

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    Just saw on twitter that the phelps gang is protesting Wheldon's funeral.

    If I was anywhere near this, I'd love to counter protest this with a big poster of Dan winning the 500 and a glass milk jug.

    Fuck those people. I have trouble wishing nothing but ill-will and bad karma on them.

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    Should I even ask why they think God "hates" Dan Wheldon??

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    Quote Originally Posted by FORD View Post
    Should I even ask why they think God "hates" Dan Wheldon??
    because he drove the national guard car .

    Not making shit up, they also made some bullshit logic as to why he was killed was a sign from god or something.

    If the funeral is in Indianapolis, you better believe that those jackasses will be drowned out by the patriot guard and indy fans.

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    I don't care how much tubular frame you have around you and how well you are strapped in. When you crash hard going that fast your body organs and brain still move and get damaged. Things fly through the air so fast even a helmet and roll cage might not protect you. The driver was an egg in a pretty good box but when a big gorilla throws it as hard as he can against the wall; sometimes the best box fails.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Unchainme View Post
    Just saw on twitter that the phelps gang is protesting Wheldon's funeral.

    If I was anywhere near this, I'd love to counter protest this with a big poster of Dan winning the 500 and a glass milk jug.

    Fuck those people. I have trouble wishing nothing but ill-will and bad karma on them.
    Here's some Phelps gang repellent for you. Easily purchased at any gas station.


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    Wheldon had just signed with Andretti Motorsports on a multi-year deal starting in 2012...

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    Wheldon in front of the new indy car for 2012, with a more closed rear tire system.

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    Wheldon driving the car, which will be named after him in 2012...ironic...and small consolation...

    Formula 1 immediately began talking about a closed cockpit after this wreck. Old school Indy car drivers already bitching about possible changes, saying it was a freak accident.

    No shit assweeds, hence the term..."accident"

    Cockpits are a good idea...maybe not for every race...but when you cram 34 cars on a 1 1/2 mile oval...perhaps then...

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    actually...F1 had been talking about cockpits for several months...and while clearly it wasn't inevitable...the Wheldon crash has likely put it on the frontburner again...

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    Here's a concept that doesn't seem to unrealistic...

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    It's the drivers who's life is on the line. I think it's them who should decide the safety rules regarding the cars. I think the racing organization has the responsibility to protect the spectators from harm but it's the drivers who should have the final say on their safety equipment.

    I say allow a closed cockpit if anyone wants one but don't force it if they don't want it.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Nitro Express View Post
    It's the drivers who's life is on the line. I think it's them who should decide the safety rules regarding the cars. I think the racing organization has the responsibility to protect the spectators from harm but it's the drivers who should have the final say on their safety equipment.

    I say allow a closed cockpit if anyone wants one but don't force it if they don't want it.
    You should watch the Senna movie.

    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1424432/

    Actually everyone should, it's a great piece of work.

    I don't know what Indy is like but the F1 drivers had to fight the authorities for years to get things made safer.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Nitro Express View Post
    It's the drivers who's life is on the line. I think it's them who should decide the safety rules regarding the cars. I think the racing organization has the responsibility to protect the spectators from harm but it's the drivers who should have the final say on their safety equipment.

    I say allow a closed cockpit if anyone wants one but don't force it if they don't want it.
    Utterly ridiculous. In the aftermath of Dale Earnhardt's death in 2001, drivers refused to wear the HANS device until it was mandated by NASCAR. Drivers are the last people on the planet that should be arbiters of their own safety. If they were cognizant of the inherent danger, they wouldn't be tooling around, wheel to wheel at around 225 miles per hour in the first place.

    What Indy cars (and to an extent, F-1 cars as well) need are fenders. Every time the wheels of two vehicles come into contact, the result is either a spin or a crash with the cars getting airborne. Putting the driver in a cocoon would instill a degree of safety, yet no structure is going to prevent injury or death when that same structure sails through the air and smacks a wall at 200-plus mph. It might as well come with handles on the sides, like the coffin it will surely become.

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    If they were cognizant of the inherent danger, they wouldn't be tooling around, wheel to wheel at around 225 miles per hour in the first place.
    Exactly. So let's just ban racing all together so nobody will get killed. I have no problem if someone wants to do something dangerous. If you want to risk your life fine with me. As long as it doesn't endanger the public at large I'm fine with it. If you want to jump that motorcycle over those buses. Go for it! It's your choice. We are headed towards a world that you won't be able to do anything because someone might get hurt or it's dangerous. The average person won't drive a race car, jump out of a plane, fly aerobatics, jump off a cliff and all that. A few people will because they love the adrenaline rush.

    Society doesn't advance if someone doesn't take risks. What the Wright Brothers did was dangerous. People got killed. Ok that's enough with those flying machines, they are too dangerous! We are going to regulate ourselves back to the stone age if we keep at it.

    As long as a car doesn't crash into the grandstands and kill a bunch of people I'm fine with the rest of it. They love the thrill and face it, the possible danger of it makes it exciting. If racing was safe, nobody would want to watch it.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Seshmeister View Post
    You should watch the Senna movie.

    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1424432/

    Actually everyone should, it's a great piece of work.

    I don't know what Indy is like but the F1 drivers had to fight the authorities for years to get things made safer.
    Race cars are expensive items. I can see the owner of the car maybe wanting to forego some safety due to costs. At the end of the day it's the driver who has to sit in it and go around the track. If they want to band together and push for safety in the cars that's fine. I have been in situations where some government agency has made the working situation more dangerous in the name of safety because the person who came up with the new regulation never worked the job. I used to work up on very high scaffolding without any safety railing. OSHA forced us to put up the safety railing and we almost had accidents because it was in our way and you had to climb over it to get to what you were working on. The railing was more dangerous than not having it there.

    I don't drive a race car for a living. We can come up with all sorts of armchair solutions but sometimes a well meaning solution becomes the problem.

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    Why don't we bring our military people home? Those wars are dangerous! Someone might get killed! Maybe we should sue Bush and Obama over safety infringements. People died.

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    In 1955 at Le Mans, 84 people were killed and another 120 or so were injured on a straightaway when debris from a two car incident flew into the stands. As an immediate result, auto racing was banned in France, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, and several other nations until safety could be improved. Of the two cars involved, both Jaguar and Mercedes shut down their racing operations completely, and neither returned to Le Mans for close to 30 years. Switzerland only recently lifted it's ban on racing, which lasted over 50 years.

    Six fans were killed in 1997 during separate incidents at Michigan International Speedway and Lowe's Motor Speedway, both were Indy races. Indy racing at both tracks was discontinued until safety measures could be applied.

    I'm not saying ban racing, yet a precedent has already been set for discontinuing auto racing until a solution became available. The fact is, a handful of drivers were already nervous about running at the Las Vegas track, mainly because it and the other ovals used by Indy are designed for much slower moving stock cars. So the obvious thing to do here is to stop racing on these ovals, concentrate on street and road courses and make the Indy 500 the only "oval".

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    The Reno Air Races may be history. People know people are going to die in these sports but when the crowd gets killed that usually puts the breaks on the thing. In other words, we love the possibility of a big crash but we don't want it on our lap.

    I used to race downhill in my early 20's. 60 plus miles an hour on skis. It could have put me in a wheel chair or even killed me. I knew the risks and still did it for the thrill. It was fun and I'm glad I did it. I'm just glad they replaced the hay bails with nets. Hitting a frozen bail of straw at high speed sucks.
    Last edited by Nitro Express; 10-19-2011 at 01:41 PM.

  31. #31
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    Well, why not dive into the ridiculousness of this conversation...since we're fucking comparing Indy cars to fucking soldiers losing their life....

    Closed Cockpit or no closed cockpit, the cars are still going to go just as fast (perhaps faster), because of the different aero package involved. 90% of race fans (probably more) don't watch racing to see someone die. Wreck!!!???!!! That's a whole different animal altogether. A closed cockpit, or closing the open wheels ( as they've essentially done with the 2012 car) will save lives. The cockpit changes would help stop guys like Felipe Massa from nearly turning retarded, and would have given wheldon a slightly better chance at surviving. I'm sure that the more closed off wheels will again add to the aero, so they'll likely have to mess with the engine output or the downforce.

    As nitro said earlier...these things are less downforce away from becoming airplanes...

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    I don't think we have to be extreme about any of this....to be honest.

    Sure..the thrill of a wreck is always there in racing. I was at Daytona for the Nationwide race in 2010, and was on the infield when a massive wreck happened right between turn three and four...taking out fifteen or so cars. Shit...it was the best part of the night...but drunk as I was...the think I remember most was hoping nobody died.

    I've always loved Indy cars because of the speed around those ovals...and the wrecks were just fucking incredible...not why I watched...but fuck...as bad as that wreck was...and most are saying one of the worst they've ever seen, I've seen 20 in the ballpark. Maybe not with so many cars, but fuck, I remember watching video of a couple of cars in the 60's blowing the fuck up at Indy, I think Indy...killing two drivers...and the fire and flame from those two cars were something to behold. Then another Indy...perhaps a practice...not sure...but a car hit the wall I think...and another behind it just ran it's normal line, but the car that hit the wall changed the aerodynamics, and lifted the following car behind it...and it literally took off...like a fucking airplane...did a complete fucking 360, and nearly landed back on it's wheels, before rolling over again and ending up sliding on it's roof for 3 or 400 yards...a few seconds from the drivers head. I'll see if I can get videos of both in a second..

    So fuck...

    Make the cars safer...who fucking cares what the drivers say...most are about as smart as a box of fucking lint anyways. Christ...Earnhardt dies...and quite simply, the only reason why is because the old school fucker didn't have a brace for his head. So who was the biggest naysayer about the Hans device at first?

    His rocket-scientist son.

    So these types of fucking safety measures won't preclude the violence that apparently is the driving force of motor sports...

    Now...as for fucking plane wrecks at a fucking air show...well...fuck...you're pretty much dead no matter what...

    But cars going 225 MPH? Clearly it's not a sure bet, since wrecks in Indy happen weekly without deaths...going between 180-220 MPH...so it's apples and oranges...

    And seriously...if you put 34 cars on a track that can't hold 34 cars...going 225...bad things will happen. They should have taken the top 20 drivers who earned their way in. Fucking imagine if you were #2 in points, and you didn't make the final race...

    Coulda been good stuff...

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