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Horrendous Indy car crash in Vegas -- Update: RIP Dan Wheldon

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by westcoastvol, Oct 16, 2011.

  1. HanSenSE

    HanSenSE Well-Known Member

    Nothing yet during the game, but they did run the score of last night's game. Well, duh.
     
  2. Clerk Typist

    Clerk Typist Guest

    Big as in a two-time winner of the biggest race in the series, the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and one of the Big Four in world racing (along with Daytona 500, Grand Prix of Monaco and the 24 Hours of LeMans).
     
  3. Clerk Typist

    Clerk Typist Guest

    That finish from Marty Reid justified all the, quite frankly, blah commentary from him over the years. Absolutely appropriate.
     
  4. Highway 101

    Highway 101 Active Member

    This is a "Gamer" that I never want to write.

    I'm not sure I could do it on a hard deadline.

    A couple years ago, my hands could barely hit the keys because they were shaking so much when a college basketball player collapsed (and thankfully survived) in the SoCon tournament.

    Coaches, trainers, doctors, EMTs all rushing to him on the spot after his foul that sparked the Under-8 timeout.

    The thoughts that ran through my head that night are ones that I don't want to experience again.

    My heart goes out, not only to the Wheldon family, but those who have to detail his death.

    Hwy
     
  5. Double Down

    Double Down Well-Known Member

    Ok, but you need to understand that means very little to me. I'm hoping someone can help me put this into perspective (and I'm asking this respectfully) by comparing to a sport I might follow. Is this like losing Lionel Messi? Is it like LeBron James died? He was obviously a huge deal in the sport. Was he the best driver in the entire thing? Was he one of the three or four best? This obviously is different than losing Dale Earnhardt, which people said was like Michael Jordan. He was only 33. I imagine he had plenty of brilliant racing ahead of him. That's why I offered up Aaron Rodgers. Bad comparison? Good?
     
  6. PCLoadLetter

    PCLoadLetter Well-Known Member

    That's a tough one to answer, just because it's very tough to draw an analogy to another sport that really works.

    He was certainly a top 5 driver in IndyCar, I'd say, both in talent and recognizability. He didn't have a full-time ride in the series this year, but that says volumes about the sad economic state of IndyCar and very little about Wheldon himself.

    IndyCar is not as big as Formula One, which is the top international open-wheel series; losing Lewis Hamilton or Fernando Alonso would be comparable to Messi. IndyCar has a few overseas races, but is still primarily a North American series.

    Aaron Rodgers is similar in ways -- one of the top names in a sport centered very much in North America. The key differences are that Rodgers is one of hundreds of NFL players while Wheldon was one of a few dozen IndyCar drivers; and also that IndyCar is much more of a niche sport, operating in NASCAR's shadow.

    And yeah, 33 is still fairly young in IndyCar terms. He had a lot of years left.
     
  7. crimsonace

    crimsonace Well-Known Member

    It sounded like Mike King and the IMS Network radio broadcast was simulcast over the track PA.

    If that's the case, then that might explain the talking over the 5-lap tribute. 10 minutes of dead air is one thing.

    I've never felt physically ill after watching a sporting event until today. Had several interactions with Wheldon over the years at Indy, and have always enjoyed his personality, his candor and his enjoyment of racing. He was always great with the scribes who covered the sport. He was the guy who won the most improbable Indy 500 finish ever, the guy who finally got Michael Andretti to Victory Lane at Indy, a guy who talked about "changing diapers in the morning" after winning Indy. I sat and hugged my young son as we watched the events unfold today -- and thought of his two young boys who will grow up without a father.

    Nobody in the modern era got around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as well as he did. Dario Franchitti is probably the best all-around driver in the series, but Dan Wheldon was the king of Indy.

    This is much like Greg Moore, Scott Brayton to OW followers. Dan Wheldon wasn't Dale Earnhardt, but he was in the upper echelon of fan favorites among IndyCar followers.

    Lots of unanswered questions that we can -- and should -- hash out tomorrow. But tonight is for mourning a champion.
     
  8. crimsonace

    crimsonace Well-Known Member

    Marty Reid has been criticized a lot (and a lot of it justifiably) for his work, but he and Cheever/Goodyear handled today's events beautifully. ABC's producers missed a big one (and I can understand why -- everything was happening very quickly) by not getting the live feed of Bernard announcing the death up until he had already announced it -- thereby forcing Reid to do so -- but he handled it very well.

    Did not get a chance to hear Mike King's signoff on radio. He and Wheldon were very close. The gold standard is Sid Collins' eulogy of Eddie Sachs. But Reid hit it out of the park. Simple, understated, and perfect for the moment.
     
  9. franticscribe

    franticscribe Well-Known Member

    I think it's hard to make a direct comparison to another sport. In my opinion, Wheldon was one of the top four or five talents currently active in IndyCar -- one of three multiple Indy 500 winners -- but he was without a ride for the full series this year. He only had a ride for three races, Indy, Kentucky & Vegas. He was also a fan favorite, but not the most popular. He was well into his career, but not at the end yet either. He wasn't the sport's LeBron James, but more like a slightly younger Tim Duncan. Someone everyone seemed to like and who had accomplished a lot, but wasn't done either.
     
  10. franticscribe

    franticscribe Well-Known Member

    I can't remember a field of more than 20 at RIR.
     
  11. PCLoadLetter

    PCLoadLetter Well-Known Member

    After giving it some more thought, I'll go with a 33-year old version of Phil Mickelson. Won a few majors, always one of the tops names while never totally dominant, sort of a niche individual sport, competing primarily in North America.
     
  12. franticscribe

    franticscribe Well-Known Member

    I think that's a pretty good comparison.
     
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