Dan Wheldon RIP

[screamingeagle]

I am actually morning the loss of Dan Wheldon. Auto racing is a dangerous sport so you expect a few losses during the year. I am sadden by this loss.

Remember this is the guy who, twice, kept the cute Danica Patrick out of victory lane at Indianapolis. He seened like the nicest guy in the world. He will be missed.

 

[Matra2]

He was my favourite driver in Indycar over the past 5 or 6 years.

Remember this is the guy who, twice, kept the cute Danica Patrick out of victory lane at Indianapolis

When he beat Danica at Indy in 2005 he was kind of treated like a villain by the media that so desperately wanted a woman to win.:icon_rolleyes: He didn't get the recognition he deserved. He's only now being recognized in his native Britain.

As for the incident itself Indycar's obsession with copying NASCAR contributed to his death. No way should so many open wheel cars be 'pack racing' on a short track with banking designed for NASCAR. (Of course NASCAR owns half the ovals in the US and they won't let Indycars race on most of them so they don't have a great selection of ovals to choose from).

 

[screamingeagle]

The fates of Danica Patrick and Dan Whelden seem to be locked together.The only Indy 500s that that Whelden won were those that Danica led a few laps. I was joking this summer that Whelden was begging her to stay in the Indy car series so that he could win Indy again.
Danica is a racer. She is goo solid driver and she does finish a lot of races. She is a second string driver, not a dominating driver. Her hope is to stay in the top of the field and hope for a lucky break. I could see her winning a few races and maybe Indy- once. This year is the closest she go to winning and I think she realizes that she is past her prime. This is why she is moving to NASCAR.