Indy 500 Winner Dan Wheldon Dies in Crash

We don't talk much about racing on this blog, but this is a big story, and a sad story. 33 year old 2-time winner of the Indy 500 (including this year's event) Dan Wheldon died as a result of injuries sustained in a crash in a race in Las Vegas. He's survived by a wife, a 2 year old son, and a 6 month old son.

It's just sad. I know racing is inherently dangerous and this is something that can happen, but a young guy killed like this just sucks.

I'm not an IndyCar fan, but I don't think they belong on high-speed oval shaped tracks like Las Vegas. This same kind of wreck occurs in NASCAR, but the drivers are protected by a full car. IndyCars are essentially small bathtubs with wings attached and a 650 horsepower engine in the back. When they get airborn and fly into a fence, this happens. Whereas a NASCAR driver would be protected by windows and a roof. So maybe they shouldn't be on tracks with high speed corners, and should stick to road-courses with left and right turns, and slower corners.

There's going to be discussion on ESPN about who to blame and what can be done to make racing safer, et cetera. Most people didn't know who Dan Wheldon was, which is fine. He was well-known in the relatively small circle of racing fans. But now he's famous in such a tragic way.

-The Commodore