roosterracing Posted October 16, 2011 Report Share Posted October 16, 2011 After the 15 car crash at Las Vegas,Dan Weldon was transported by air to the Las Vegas hospital. This is one of the worst multi car accidents I have seen in 40+years of watching Indy cars. Please pray for Dan Weldon and his family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToryC Posted October 16, 2011 Report Share Posted October 16, 2011 Weldon Crash News Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesHigdon Posted October 16, 2011 Report Share Posted October 16, 2011 For those not watching they just announced he didn't make it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightmoves 99 Posted October 16, 2011 Report Share Posted October 16, 2011 Bad wreck!! I'm so sorry that this has happened, ....just saw on TV that Weldon has passed away...very very sad !!! Keep his family and friends and fans in your prayers!!!! Godspeed Dan!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roosterracing Posted October 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2011 R.I.P. Dan Weldon. Thanks for the memories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShortTrackFan Posted October 16, 2011 Report Share Posted October 16, 2011 Horrible news, my prayers go out to his family, friends & team Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slideways27 Posted October 16, 2011 Report Share Posted October 16, 2011 RIP Dan............ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastmontgomery15 Posted October 16, 2011 Report Share Posted October 16, 2011 WHAT A LOSS TO A GREAT YOUNG MAN AND ONE GOOD DRIVER. IT MAKES YOU THINK WHEN YOU GO OUT ON THE TRACK THAT YOU REMEBER WHAT YOUR DOING IS WHAT YOU LOVE TO DO! SO DAN WELDON DIED WHAT HE LOVE TO DO. I DONT RACE BUT MY SON HUNTER MONTGOMERY DOES AND I LOVE IT JUST AS MUCH AS HE DOES TAKE THE TIME TO SAY A PRAYER BEFORE YOU STRAP IN YOUR CAR THATS SOMETHING HIM AND I DO BEFORE EVERY RACE!!! OUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS ARE OUT TO THE WELDON FAMILY!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
direct-flo Posted October 16, 2011 Report Share Posted October 16, 2011 R.I.P Dan Wheldon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ddavidchris Posted October 16, 2011 Report Share Posted October 16, 2011 R.I.P DAN WHELDON Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJVANCE Posted October 17, 2011 Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 R.I.P. Dan Wheldon. May god give your Family Comfort and peace..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooliganz Posted October 17, 2011 Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 Godspeed one hell of a driver!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel Posted October 17, 2011 Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 Sad Day, RIP 77 Dan Weldon, *Note* Wow, did anyone notice how fast the first responders were on the scene. Very Impressive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazyhorse Posted October 17, 2011 Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 i'd almost be willing to bet that by the 2013 season you will see these cars with break away top seals like drag/speed boats. they will not stop racing ovals, but they already have the absolute best in driver containment compartments. they will just put a top on them and restrict them. Dan Wheldon was VERY good at what he did..r.i.p. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwmbishop Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 I'll bet by the 2012 season Indycars will no longer throw 5 mil bounties and extend the field limit from 26 to 33 cars on a 1.5 mile flat out track just to create traffic and the excitement THAT creates in a move to boost ratings... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBSF Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 Very unfortunately, that horrible crash boosted ratings. Somewhere there's somebody rubbing his hands together figuring how to capitalize on the coverage this massive crash created. The only REAL difference between this death and Ryan Bard's is the $$ involved. I feel for his family and close friends, he did nothing to deserve this, and it has to be SO frustrating, senseless. So saddening. So fortunate that more weren't killed, what a field of destruction! My heart goes out to the wife, that's gonna leave a scar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dano36 Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 This was a very ugly unfortunate racing accident that like any accident should not have happened. TMS is a mile and a half and this year they ran 30 IRL cars in the June race. They ran it in two segments with two yellow flags in the first segment and the second segment (114 laps) was ran from green to checker. LVMS is pretty much a cookie cutter track and what I saw were slightly higher speeds than what they had at TMS in June. IRL has some changes in store for next years cars which I understand includes the rear tires being protected by fender wells. Maybe that could have avoided this accident but we will never know. This change maybe could avoid tire contact causing accidents but I also think it could cause a bit of the rubbing is racing attitude. Jimmy Johnsons suggestion that IRL cars not run ovals was a pretty dumb statement because IRL by another name had been running ovals long before they ran road courses. I've been around long enough to remember when the buzz around the Indy car circuit was how were they going to make it safer for their drivers with speeds now reaching up to the 150 MPH mark. Yep, I am that old. Rest in Peace Dan, we will miss you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiTech Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 jimmy needs to keep his mouth shut ..if he had gotten killed in his wreck .what would be the story ....more safer equipment ....racing is dangerous ....always has been .always will be ...the drivers know that every time they strap in ...look at texas ...irl has some of the closest racing at high speeds over all other tracks they run on ..that's why i like watching them race there ..whats going to be the story when someone gets killed there ..tragic as it is loosing dan ...the death factor will always be present ...every race is just one freak accident away from someone dieing ......you cant stop that from happening .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwmbishop Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 jimmy needs to keep his mouth shut I can agree with the REST of your statement - but it like pointing out that single deck blackjack has better odds for the player than multi deck. You wouldn't tell some else they need to shut their mouth for saying this so it should be no different when ANYONE points out that the sanctioning bodies actions and decisions increased the odds of that freak accident happening. So saying he needs to shut his mouth makes no point other than YOU don't like him. Thats not on topic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiTech Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 jimmy needs to keep his mouth shut I can agree with the REST of your statement - but it like pointing out that single deck blackjack has better odds for the player than multi deck. You wouldn't tell some else they need to shut their mouth for saying this so it should be no different when ANYONE points out that the sanctioning bodies actions and decisions increased the odds of that freak accident happening. So saying he needs to shut his mouth makes no point other than YOU don't like him. Thats not on topic! well his statement from what i understand .was really cutting down irl .i am not a big fan of irl ..he also cut done the track ..i did not hear that when dale was killed .just my point of view ... FYI.. i never said i didn't like him ..sorry if i hit a nerve . but THAT'S NOT ON TOPIC .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwmbishop Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 No nerve - all's good. Just that ANY driver who has experience in any sanctioning body (and their promotions) at any track and in any car SHOULD be heard to when it comes to things like what can be done differently to lower such risks - their opinions are more valuable than the talking heads on ESPN abc etc... after all they are the ones who entire life existance and carreers revolve around the inner workings - unlike bench or weekend racers... And yes we DID hear about it after dales death - just ask Mr Simpson... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trbfan Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 I have watched Indycar for years, and I was a fan of Dan Wheldon. I honestly believe this race should have never happened. It was pretty clear from practice that it would be a NASCAR at Talladega style race (Before the 2 car stuff) with this aero package. I know somebody that had tickets that did not go, because it looked like what happened, was going to happen. Half of the drivers went to Brian Barnhardt and told him to either slow the cars, spread them out, or cancel the race. Indycar officials did neither, but because they were racers they went on and raced. Adrian Fernandez who retired in 2004 and now races ALMS, said he had never seen the drivers (including Wheldon) as scared as they were Sunday morning. The entire event was a bad idea from the get go. Its not the first time Indycar has put their drivers in danger this year when it was unneeded. At New Hampshire they restarted the race when it was way too wet to do so. At Baltimore they started the race with a safety truck on the track and they had to floor it to get into a safezone before the cars got to the straight it was on. Not only that, but the Dallara chassis has a horrible problem with taking flight. In 2003 or 2004 one of the Penske cars did a black flip just from hitting a peice of debris. One good thing is that the 2012 car is supposed to have better ground effects so it doesn't take flight as easy, and is supposed to have bumpers covering each of the rear wheels, though I am not convinced of how much they will help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uhcougs Posted October 20, 2011 Report Share Posted October 20, 2011 I forgot who said it in there interview during the excruciating long wait to hear the news that we all knew was coming but the quote was: "We have to put on firesuits and helmets to do this... it must be dangerous and we all know it." I think we'll see some sort of roll cage that would protect the drivers head which has always been so vulnerable but still alway fast easy in and out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiTech Posted October 20, 2011 Report Share Posted October 20, 2011 I HAVE ALWAYS WONDERED HOW LUCKY THOSE DRIVERS ARE CRASHING WITH OPEN COCKPITS ..BROKEN FEET LEGS AND SO FORTH .YET NOT MANY HEAD INJURIES ..BUT I KNEW SOME DAY THAT MAY HAPPEN SOMEONE WOULD NOT BE SO LUCKY ...SADLY THAT DAY CAME .....THEY NEED A BUBBLE OF SOME TYP .....I KNOW THAT WOULD TAKE SOME OF THE LUSTER AWAY ...BUT SAFER .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwmbishop Posted October 20, 2011 Report Share Posted October 20, 2011 I HAVE ALWAYS WONDERED HOW LUCKY THOSE DRIVERS ARE CRASHING WITH OPEN COCKPITS ..BROKEN FEET LEGS AND SO FORTH .YET NOT MANY HEAD INJURIES ..BUT I KNEW SOME DAY THAT MAY HAPPEN SOMEONE WOULD NOT BE SO LUCKY ...SADLY THAT DAY CAME .....THEY NEED A BUBBLE OF SOME TYP .....I KNOW THAT WOULD TAKE SOME OF THE LUSTER AWAY ...BUT SAFER .. I have wondered about that over the years as well. Best I can see is that the monocoque has structure fore (above the dash) and aft over the head) of the driver that creates a straight line with his head entirely within that line (we ran a formula ford once and it was built much the same way only using rollbar and skin rather than monocoque) - the roundness of both creates a safe zone - when impacted to a flat hard surface. Dan hit the catch fence which as we all know can form around stuff (by design to grab and contain) and likely we will find that it formed around the head and dash structures allowing encroachment... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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