A Sad Day For Sports

 
Now I am not much of a motor head, but I do enjoy the occasional car
race, especially the open wheel variety.  Like many others I was
saddened but the terrible accident in Vegas and the untimely death of
Dan Wheldon. It seems he is one of those guys everyone speaks highly of
and I am sure will be missed by many.

I caught a TV interview with him when he was at the Edmonton Indy.  I
was struck by how he truly seemed to know he was living the dream.

RIP  Dan.

In an interesting twist of irony, it was back in 99 when Greg Moore died
in an Indy car accident.  Well I heard on the radio today Greg's dad had
not attended a single Indy event after Greg's death, until this weekend
in Vegas. I can't imagine what was going through his mind.

There are a few in this group who are members of the racing fraternity.
  Be careful guys and take nothing for granted.  You are the top
fraction of a percent of riders. We all ride with you, at least in
spirit, when you are on the track.  I can only imagine the thrill.

--
Disclaimer
Do not believe a thing I have said, unless you already know it to be
true, or can independently verify it from another source.

Reeky Ride To The Rockies
http://actualriders.ca/reekyrockies.htm

 wrote:

Not to diminish the sadness felt by race fans, but I didn't even know
who Dan Wheldon was.

That's how far Indy car racing has dropped below the radar since Tony
George
broke away from CART and started the IRL.

15~20 years ago, I wouldn't have missed watching a CART race on TV.

But IRL?

Might as well watch NASCAR.

 
I don't think there is any comparison aside from both race four
wheeled vehicles.

  > > Might as well watch NASCAR.

I remember the old exciting days when Al Unser, Michael Andretti,
Emerson Fittipaldi and Ari Luyendyk were racing champ cars which were
"second to none" in terms of technology.

But when the IRL decided to level the playing field with just a few
chasses and everybody had to use the same engines, I quit watching.

I haven't bothered to tune in on the Indy 500 in years, but previous
to the IRL I wouldn't miss Indy.

 
Depends on what you watch for I suppose. For bikes, I tend to lean
with you.  I love to watch the little Italian mfg kick mega-corp Jap
ass except when they don't.  In cars, it doesn't really matter since I
have no ties to any of it. Making them all run the same engine just
means the driver means that much more to the outcome.  Driving around
in circles is a rather bland form of racing to me, but when cars are
doing it and drifting at 220+mph, I brings a whole new perspective to
it.