Certain sports we follow are extremely dangerous. Some sports we engage in,such as Alpine skiing, are dangerous. Nevertheless, the particpants engage in the pursuit because they love it and accept the risk. Indy Car Racing is one sport I follow that offers the risk of death each time the driver pulls on is helmet and ventures out on the track. Yesterday, the Auto racing world lost Dan Wheldon in an incendiary twist of metal and fiberglass during the early laps of a race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. You may recall I posted back in May about Dan's exciting Indy 500 victory. Sadly, this talented and handsome British native was killed while engaged in the sport he loved. He was only 33 and leaves a lovely wife and two young sons behind.Below is an excerpt from CBS News about Dan:
Dan Wheldon loved to drive fast, from the time he first took the wheel of a go-kart when he was 4 years old, but the two-time Indianapolis 500 winner had begun to have concerns about the speeds cars were reaching on the IndyCar circuit.
He and other drivers had also expressed concern about the conditions for Sunday's IndyCar series final at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
It was crowded -- 34 cars -- and drivers were speeding, even by Indy standards, getting up to 225 mph. As ABC News' Josh Elliott noted, "Even the tiniest mistake can touch off wrecks like we see today."
Terribly sad.
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