Dan Wheldon, father of two, died of injuries sustained in the 2011 IZOD IndyCar World Championship after a fatal crash that involved 15 cars lead to many people questioning the safety of the track.
This shocking news has brought the World of Motor racing to a complete stand still and has also highlighted the many dangers of the Indy Car organisation. Many drivers, including Indy Champion Wheldon, voiced their concerns at the problems that this track would throw at the drivers days before the race took part. They claimed that the narrow width of the track (60% shorter than the Las Vegas track used for Indy-33) would not be able to withstand the fierce competition and aggressive driving of 34 cars and that the circuit would become cramped, resulting in a crash. Wheldon's fellow driver spoke after the race was abandoned about the ruthlessness of the drivers, "I could see within five laps people were starting to do crazy stuff".
However, there is a huge story hiding inside this gut wrenching news. Dan Wheldon had accepted a challenge before the race, knowing full well that the track was unpredictable and also discovering problems within his car, that would have seen him pocket a massive $5 million. All he had to do was start at the back of the grid (34th place) and finish in first place after racing the treturous 300-mile race. The protagonist and main area that I am trying to portray is the amount of pressure these professionals find themselves in. Even though Dan knew his car had problems he still released a blog earlier that week promising pure entertainment.
It was a combination of many things that killed Dan Wheldon. It was his own conscious of wanting to provide that thrilling entrainment for his fans in order to secure the luxurious prize at the end, it was his desire for wanting to be known as one of the best drivers ever to grace the sport of Motor Racing, and it was the despicable organisation that lead to a narrow circuit being over crowded by 34 cars that where willing to break the 225MPH mark. Is it fair how much pressure we put athletes under? With mouth watering insentives from money deals, sponsorship deals and our thrive, as the spectators, for pure sporting entertainment.
It has been clear how much of an inspiration and close friend Mr Wheldon has been to such successful drivers as Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello. It is also a joy to see that the social networking website, Twitter, being put to good use with some amazing messages for Dan and his family.
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