msweet Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 Killed in a horrific crash in Las Vegas today.. the last race of the season http://thebiglead.com/index.php/2011/10/16/major-15-car-wreck-at-indy-car-race-in-las-vegas-could-be-serious-injuries/ http://goo.gl/F1hoK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quinn01 Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 (edited) I was just watching this. Unbelievable. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpgx1MHHVMM&feature=iv&annotation_id=annotation_809745 "Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon died Sunday after he was involved in a multi-car wreck at an IndyCar race in Las Vegas, IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard said.The race was stopped and the remaining drivers, many of whom were visibly emotional after emerging from a meeting with IndyCar officials, will do a five-lap salute in Wheldon's honor, Bernard told reporters." -Cnn.com Edited October 16, 2011 by Quinn01 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zubie#8 Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 (edited) He was my favorite IndyCar driver. Its a shame because this was only the third race this year he raced in. RIP Edited October 16, 2011 by Zubie#8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmajeski06 Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 Here's from the broadcast. What is crazy is they are on board with Wheldon at the start of the crash. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVu7iTf59SQ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mayday Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 The name says it all, this is an open forum for anything affecting the hockey world. Enter at your own risk! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njdevil26 Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 Always some a$$hole trying to be the "forum police." This is a pro sports tragedy and someone died. No one asked for your opinion about where this thread should go. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mayday Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 yeah sorry. but this gets me, as it did with steve jobs. its sad that such a famous athlete has tragically died. but it makes me think, many will mourn the deaths of Dan Wheldon and Steve Jobs. At the same time I think this: Every day, almost 16000 children die from hunger-related causes. That's one child every five seconds this basically sums up what I'm thinking. My link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thefiestygoat Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 RIP Dan Wheldon - always sad to see a driver pass away, especially so young. I don't follow Indy Car like I do NASCAR but its always something that you hope to never see as a fan of racing. That wreck was hard to watch...hopefully everyone else from it ends up being fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devilsfan118 Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 yeah sorry. but this gets me, as it did with steve jobs. its sad that such a famous athlete has tragically died. but it makes me think, many will mourn the deaths of Dan Wheldon and Steve Jobs. At the same time I think this: this basically sums up what I'm thinking. My link Not a fantastic place to start this debate now. RIP, I don't personally follow the sport or know who he was really, but apparently he had a family, some young kids. Tragic. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NHLeBeau44 Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Worst part about it was the fact that he has a 2 year old and a new born baby at home. Truly a sad day in Indy Car and in the world of sports. RIP Dan Wheldon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATLL765 Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Wow, it's been a while since there's been a death in open open wheel racing. Sometimes you can really forget that it can be this dangerous. Is there anything on what exactly caused his death? I would assume some sort of traumatic head injury, as is usually the case. Hopefully this can motivate IndyCar to take a look at how they can make the cars safer. F1 hasn't had a driver death in 17 years, so maybe they could get a few tips looking at those cars. This quite sad no matter what, but again, hopefully this will be used to better the safety of all the drivers moving forward and can be a catalyst for good instead of just a tragedy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zubie#8 Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 (edited) Ive been watching IndyCar with my dad since 2001 and every time they race at these kind of tracks (Las Vegas, Texas, Chicago) theres always this mutual feeling between me and my dad that something like this is going to happen. In my opinion, the IndyCar series should not race at these 1 mile plus banked tracks because the speeds are too insane...this isnt like Nascar or F1, these are open wheel racecars racing at 230mph on fast banked tracks in tight groups. I had to watch my favorite driver die today, I dont want to see something like that happen again. Edited October 17, 2011 by Zubie#8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BelieveinBrodeur Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 So sad RIP. Don't get to watch Indy as much as I would like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ice dog Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 RIP... he went out doing what he loved to do. it's amazing just how dangerous that sport is. I'm surprised this does not happen more often, amazing talent to drive like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cachorro Louco Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 (edited) Wow, it's been a while since there's been a death in open open wheel racing. Sometimes you can really forget that it can be this dangerous. Is there anything on what exactly caused his death? I would assume some sort of traumatic head injury, as is usually the case. Hopefully this can motivate IndyCar to take a look at how they can make the cars safer. F1 hasn't had a driver death in 17 years, so maybe they could get a few tips looking at those cars. This quite sad no matter what, but again, hopefully this will be used to better the safety of all the drivers moving forward and can be a catalyst for good instead of just a tragedy. You simply can not compare F1 to racing Indy Cars at oval. F1 for one rarely go over 300km/h . on the other hand Indy Cars At oval are usually Racing well above 300km/h, in some case the speed reach 362km/h ( more or less 225MP/H) F1 they are a good dispersion btw cars, in case of accidente most driver will have some time to escape, The other hands on ovals if theres a accident there is no time to escape, because they are packed so tightly many cars will be involved. Even if Indy Cars had the exact same safe standards as a F1, the reality is that there will be more crashes resulting in deaths, simply because the scenario they race in. By the way the last time Indy had a fatal crash was in 2006 no that long ago. Edited October 17, 2011 by Cachorro Louco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pepperkorn Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 It's still shocking when stuff like this happens in this day and age. I guess it was pretty common place comparably when I was little and my dad was massively into cars and stuff. I remember how people would marvel at how luck and smart people felt Jackie Stewart was to have retired before he died. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATLL765 Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 You simply can not compare F1 to racing Indy Cars at oval. F1 for one rarely go over 300km/h . on the other hand Indy Cars At oval are usually Racing well above 300km/h, in some case the speed reach 362km/h ( more or less 225MP/H) F1 they are a good dispersion btw cars, in case of accidente most driver will have some time to escape, The other hands on ovals if theres a accident there is no time to escape, because they are packed so tightly many cars will be involved. Even if Indy Cars had the exact same safe standards as a F1, the reality is that there will be more crashes resulting in deaths, simply because the scenario they race in. By the way the last time Indy had a fatal crash was in 2006 no that long ago. I wasn't trying to compare the style of racing, more so that this could be used to push for better safety as was the case after the 94 season in F1. I actually was talking to a friend of mine about this and how I thought that oval track racing was partly to blame for multi-car crashes like this and is imo boring anyways. I don't understand the entertainment in watching cars drive in circles like that, so I though this could open up debate on whether to continue to race at venues with oval tracks. I don't really follow IndyCar racing, but I will watch the races if it's a road race, but not if it's an oval track. As I said before, I just hope that his can be used to push for better safety in the next gen chassis, which Wheldon tested not long ago and is slated to be in use next season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satans Hockey Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 (edited) I haven't been on here in a few days so I didn't see this thread, so I'll just repost what I posted in the locker room section Such a terrible tragedy, one of the worst wrecks I have ever seen. Dan won the Indy 500 this year. R.I.P. Dan, you will always be one of my favorite drivers. I feel so bad for his young children and family. This was taken after he won the 500 Edited October 20, 2011 by Satans Hockey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satans Hockey Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 Wow, it's been a while since there's been a death in open open wheel racing. Sometimes you can really forget that it can be this dangerous. Is there anything on what exactly caused his death? I would assume some sort of traumatic head injury, as is usually the case. Hopefully this can motivate IndyCar to take a look at how they can make the cars safer. F1 hasn't had a driver death in 17 years, so maybe they could get a few tips looking at those cars. This quite sad no matter what, but again, hopefully this will be used to better the safety of all the drivers moving forward and can be a catalyst for good instead of just a tragedy. They happen too often as it is, Henry Surtees was hit in the head with a tire that came lose in Formula Two a couple years back. Wheldons head basically hit the catch fence and went along it for a few feet which is what did the majority of the damage. The other cars that went airbourne really lucked out, especially Will Power. Wheldon was actually testing next years cars and with those new cars this accident most likely wouldn't have happened. Next years cars are designed so that when tires actually collide they won't have these problems with cars going airbourne as much. The main issue with Vegas was there were just too many cars in the field and too many rookie drivers out there. It's all a shame but the drivers were worried about it before the race and a lot of them thought that something bad was going to happen. They should have protested and spoken up even more so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satans Hockey Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 I actually was talking to a friend of mine about this and how I thought that oval track racing was partly to blame for multi-car crashes like this and is imo boring anyways. I don't understand the entertainment in watching cars drive in circles like that, so I though this could open up debate on whether to continue to race at venues with oval tracks. I don't really follow IndyCar racing, but I will watch the races if it's a road race, but not if it's an oval track. I watch all sorts of racing and enjoy them for their differences but there are a lot of people out there, especially in the states that say formula one racing is boring because there isn't a lot passing on the track and that qualifying determines the race winner more then anything else(which Vettel has backed up this year in f1) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATLL765 Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 I watch all sorts of racing and enjoy them for their differences but there are a lot of people out there, especially in the states that say formula one racing is boring because there isn't a lot passing on the track and that qualifying determines the race winner more then anything else(which Vettel has backed up this year in f1) There's been more passing in recent years than there has been in the past and while Vettel has dominated nearly always from pole, the last race being the exception, this was truly a perfect season(so far) for Red Bull Racing. You really shouldn't look at this year as the norm though, last year at this time, there were 4 guys with a chance to win it all, but RBR just blew everyone away this year. I mean, Vettel won most of these races without any real challenge, so they truly just have had the best car, always getting pole was just a byproduct of such. As for what you said about Wheldon testing the next gen chassis, I actually read an article about him and the chassis in Road&Track or Car&Driver, one of the two, I mix them up, but point is, it was weird reading it now knowing what happened. With any type of open cockpit car you're gonna have problems like this. With the head exposed, it's always a safety issue. In F1 a couple years ago, Filipe Massa was struck in the head by a spring that fell off another car's suspension IIRC, which could have been worse than it was. I hope that IndyCar can learn from other open wheeled racing formulas, such as F1, seeing as they have a really good safety record, having gone without a driver death for 17 years. Indy cars are a bit smaller than F1 cars, but maybe they can make the chassis/safety cell of the car a bit wider and seat the driver a tad lower, as to try to avoid this type of injury in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cachorro Louco Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 I wasn't trying to compare the style of racing, more so that this could be used to push for better safety as was the case after the 94 season in F1. I actually was talking to a friend of mine about this and how I thought that oval track racing was partly to blame for multi-car crashes like this and is imo boring anyways. I don't understand the entertainment in watching cars drive in circles like that, so I though this could open up debate on whether to continue to race at venues with oval tracks. I don't really follow IndyCar racing, but I will watch the races if it's a road race, but not if it's an oval track. As I said before, I just hope that his can be used to push for better safety in the next gen chassis, which Wheldon tested not long ago and is slated to be in use next season. When I compared the two races styles, was to make a point that no matter how safe the car is if you put them, to race at the conditions we saw last sunday, the chances are we gonna see a major crash and probably resulting in severe injuries or worse. Yes I'm all for R&D of the safety in the car, but still think the problem is not the car itself is those high-banked track. The problem for Indy if they ditch ovals they gonna compete directly with the F1. They can however ditch those High-Banked ovals, and race only at regulars ovals, and increase the numbers of street courses. Talking about street course i don't see the point to make a street course in São Paulo, they should put the race in Rio de Janeiro... for one São Paulo already has F1, second Rio de Janeiro is much more turist city then São Paulo, making that a much better product to sell to audiences, and thus probably increasing the number of viewers for Indy Races But Again i don't know who came up with the deal to race in São Paulo, if was Indy itself or the city or state of São Paulo, or even maybe the Major Sponsor the Itaipava Beer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zubie#8 Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 I can see why the IRL goes to these tracks, they need to get a bigger fanbase, the series will go bankrupt if they went to all road courses. The first ten laps of that Las Vegas race was the best racing I have ever seen from any open wheel series. It was very exciting but dangerous. I just hope the new 2012 Dallara chassis will fix the issue of the cars wheel hopping and taking flight so they can go to these tracks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cachorro Louco Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 (edited) Talking about Formula!1 they are rumors backed by the Wall Street Journal That New Jersey will have its own Gran-Prix it will be held on West New York and Weehawken. So effing awesome to have a street circuit here in New Jersey. :cheers: :boogie: http://jalopnik.com/5852369/formula-one-coming-to-new-jersey-in-2013 Edited October 23, 2011 by Cachorro Louco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newjerseydamo Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 RIP Dan Wheldon, and now RIP Marco Simoncelli. Such a gut wrenching accident at Sepang MotoGP tonight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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