Wind Tunnel - the Dan Wheldon Crash

[@danielscully3952]

Everyone ripping on Bob, and while I agree with Robin that he didn't know what he was talking about... I have to wonder if he was going through denial, the first stage of grief. The man wasn't cold-hearted, he was clearly holding back tears on the phone. I wonder if he just didn't want to believe that this was a result of the type of racing that was happening that day, that it was just a freak accident.

[@AlonsoRules]

The incident was inevitable with the way that Vegas race was set up - 34 cars, easy wide open track, massive draft, can't get away, rookies, no practice with a group of cars. The fact they lasted 12 laps was a miracle in itself.

[@dietdrkelp123]

Miss SpeedTV and RIP to Dan Wheldon and Robin Miller.

[@mulletsrule3388]

Robin and Dan are together today

[@Boy10Dio]

someone dying on that oval was an inevitability with each crash. seems the drivers knew that better than bob.

[@SamnissArandeen]

It's almost like modern ovals are designed for stock cars and other full bodied machines; "racing" in the style of a NASCAR plate track is horrendously dangerous and non-competitive; and open wheeled cars are more designed for low speed circuits such as road courses.

[@loganmayo1431]

8:25 It's sad to see that Dave was right in this case. Oval racing as we know it in IndyCar is gone. Texas is neutered and more and more ovals are taken off the schedule every year. I know driver safety is paramount, but close-quarters oval racing is why I fell in love with IndyCar. Road courses are fine but nothing beats 26 cars going around old Texas or Michigan at 220 MPH

[@villy27]

It's not even racing. It's just going flat out and serving sensatiomalism. Pack racing with these speeds and these cars has the potential for even worse outcome. Yes, Dan Wheldon died, but IndyCar was lucky not having two, three or more fatalities. You can't market a potential massacre to a greater audience.

[@SilentDanDisney]

They never should’ve had 34 cars on that track. At that speed. 33 works at Indy because cars can spread out. At The Vegas they couldn’t do that they couldn’t get away from each other.

[@butterlord-nq3ei]

​@@villy27 That's what I thought when I knew about the crash yes losing Dan is sad and tragic but honestly it was the best outcome someone was going to die at that track we are just lucky it wasn’t more than one

[@gregsalisbury9783]

@@SilentDanDisney But it was more to do with the aero package than anything else. That track imo is one of the finest 1.5 mile ovals they’ve ever been 2. I think having 4 lanes to race on is quite incredible. They shouldn’t have been able to get along side each other and stay there for that long. At the end of the day, it was driver error which caused the accident, and the chassis that made the cars fly into the air. I think a lot of these tracks they haven’t been to in years could yield amazing races with a different aero package and chassis.

[@MrMiD.Life.Crisis]

Michigan, yes. Vegas, never. I still have Randy's words in my head about what "we're going to see". Rip Danny boy. God bless.

[@johnvandeventer8668]

Dan was so talented

[@kennethterry8196]

RIP DAN WHELDON AND ROBIN MILLER!!!

[@SUPEREEVEEMASTER]

Bob from Milwaukee should had educated himself about racing and what drivers go through before calling into this show. He could had at least given his thoughts of prayers to the Wheldon family.

[@timyo6288]

Bob from Milwaukee should put things up his ass

[@mattb2382]

"Thoughts and prayers" does nothing for anybody.

[@MrJohansen]

@@mattb2382 you responded to a 5 year old comment just to fail at being edgy and cool. Congratulations.

[@jdm757]

@@MrJohansen His real name is probably Bob

[@justanotherbob69]

@@jdm757 whats wrong with being named bob :/

[@FlashoftheBlades]

8:50 Spot-on, Robin. Bring back the Hanford Device! Those races that CART ran with it were awesome! You could do slingshot passes, just like NASCAR at Daytona and Talladega before restrictor plates ruined it. The cars weren’t bunched up in a pack like IRL racing on such tracks at the time, and passing was possible. What happened that day in Las Vegas was the result of a shitty aerodynamic package that didn’t place enough emphasis on the mechanical grip provided by the suspension in addition to the fact that there was too many cars for a track that size. Limit the field size, fix the aero package, and the outcome that day could’ve been very different.

[@NawnyaBusinaz]

Don't be a Bob.

[@MattDaugherty-jd7my]

That bob was a asshole and a doushebag

[@florianwolf9380]

The track was not designed for that amount of cars travelling at 354 mph / 220 mph, and sadly Dan Wheldon paid the ultimate price. IndyCar needs to improve safety for the drivers and the public - just imagine one of these cars going through or over the fence. RIP Dan, and heartfelt condolences to your family!

[@AlonsoRules]

@@igoris_batonas6922 The Tony Renna crash has been covered up. Closest thing to what it might have been like is Mike Conway.

[@EvilInfernoWolf]

Bob from Milwaukee doesnt give a u know what about Weldon I would have sent my condolences first and for most

[@Indianaisafootballschool]

As a Bob I do not approve of what that Bob said

[@mrbungle3310]

Bob was shooked still

[@MattDaugherty-jd7my]

Bob was a ignorant prick

[@kreggkittredge253]

I miss Dan … I miss speed tv

[@IanHowes_nashuacc2015]

Las Vegas Motor Speedway is intended for NASCAR; it was never meant be an IRL track. NASCAR 2001: The EarnhardtSr crash was at the end...but RCR (the team dale raced for...kept going)

[@epaddon]

The Speedway was built for Indycar in 1996 and they ran there for five years when the track was lower banked. In its original configuration it was exactly the kind of track IndyCars should have been racing at.

[@blacktoothfox677]

Quite a few things wrong with this utterly pedestrian post. Know before you post

[@cbj4sc1]

@@epaddon time changes. F1 used to race at the Nurburgring and Watkins Glen. Hockenheim Ring, Spa, Indianapolis, Red Bull Ring, LeMans, Fuji, Monza, Norisring and even Monaco have all had MAJOR changes that removed many of the special things that made those tracks unique because they were simply too dangerous. It isn't the end of the world.

[@FlashoftheBlades]

@@epaddonExactly. I remember that configuration. It was good for Indycar racing, not so good for stock cars. The Roval layout that they had was alright, but the raised banking ruined it. I’m surprised that GT World Challenge America used it for their season finale in 2019.

[@AlonsoRules]

The lower banked LVMS was perfect for open wheel, it was not pack racing but still raceable. The new one should have been a no go zone.

[@2themoon863]

I remember a race at Chicago once, the only time I watched a race and was, honestly, scared: Almost the entire race except for pit stops and yellows was run with the first 21 cars (of 24 or 25, I think) running three wide and seven rows deep; first to 21st was about 0.6-0.7 seconds. As that race got further towards the end I was about holding my breath on every lap, wondering what happens if someone’s tire blows, or two cars next to each other get sucked in by aerodynamics, or a blown engine happened. Thankfully nothing did; as I said the first 21 finished three wide and seven deep….

[@carfan3649]

In which year did that race happen?

[@klk1900]

What I always hated was fans and news people getting involved with what we love to do. They try and put their cowardly personality onto us. I raced from 4-25yrs old and 7-25yrs old under sponsorship. I absolutely loved speedways and super speedways. I raced in 6 different series dirt and asphalt both. In 1999 I had a skull fracture and a ton of organs damaged lacerated from hitting the wall at 152mph it was 132g & 129g just two milliseconds later. I was in a induced coma 29days. I returned in 2000 and couldn’t wait to go back. I had to wear a Hans on return because I wouldn’t survive another hit like that. But I never was scared or didn’t even have fear because I whole heartedly believed I wouldn’t crash again. And the fear was gone because I realized after my bad crash. If I kill myself I won’t know it anyways.

[@mrbungle3310]

I mean lets be honest unnecessary stupidity like that race is avoidable,24-26 cars wouldn't be that bad lets say

[@brandynhenry7107]

Society in general is too safe to accept death in racing anymore other than on a rare basis. It's ultimately the overall negativity of society showing itself in the form of valuing safety over achievement

[@cbj4sc1]

Maybe I just don't wanna see drivers I like die. It's not all about you, you have a family, you have friends. You're not a big strong man just because you hit a wall at 150 MPH, you're strong because you learned, swallowed your pride protected yourself. Being scared is fucking okay it's a normal human reaction. Cowards hide from that, cowards are worried that being scared makes you less of a man. I never think of any one less for being scared.

[@robertherzog6204]

bob the knob

[@christycove]

I think Robin and Bob were both right in their own way. The track wasn't designed for Indycar it had Stock Cars in mind. But back in the day they waited until the end to announce a driver's death. As Bob was basically saying if you don't have the balls to do it then don't. If you look at the 60s and 70s Indianapolis cars, they were so much more dangerous. Just search the videos. It may have been as they said the drivers come to a consensus of not continuing the race. And the few that kept going would look like morons. Either way I think this will be the norm when a death happens just stopping the race completely. It's horrific what happened to Dan. But it is a race and when signing up they knew the dangers. They could have easily protested or pulled out before the race.

[@indyracin1]

Has nothing to do with the track itself. I have no idea why on earth they would have 34 cars on the track. Way too many cars. They never did that before.

[@countryfan3709]

In reality a driver can be killed at any track so as bad as it sounds that’s racing

[@TMJ32]

True but the series shouldn't be doing things that make a serious crash inevitable instead of just possible. They stuck 34 cars on a 220mph 1.5 mile track with unlimited racing grooves. Not only that, they offered a guy $2.5M to try and go from last to first. Just watching the first 3 laps of this race it was absolutely clear that something really bad was going to happen. This track is not suitable for open wheel cars.

[@gagemcpherson4454]

I think if there had only been 22 or 24 cars I think they may have been ok but fatal crashes or serious injury type crashes can happen at any track at anytime what are they gonna do if we lose a driver during the Indy 500 God Forbid it happens but I really think they would overeact and make the 500 on the road course

[@matildaharden1064]

All it takes is one hit at the right angle and amount of deceleration to kill a driver. You can make racing SAFER but you’ll never make it death proof. Death will happen again in NASCAR and IRL. Death is one thing you can not ever rule out.

[@kylepiccoli4762]

1:33 isn’t that a fitting metaphor...

[@joevald3]

This record in of many others can be fixed easily . All Dan Wilms's head caught the fence . Because why . The rollbar isn't enough to protect him . So the six they did was to put side curtains on the cars which will keep them. Supposedly from getting airborne . But if we had a double rollbar like a funny car. This driver would sit down low and would never have to worry about this either . You wonder sometimes what are the car owners not due to a simple thing like this ... They have to have eyes in their heads..

[@marycornett3165]

J

[@FloridaManRacer]

Disclaimer, this one is LONG. You might not have the patience to read it. Don't reply to me if you don't read the WHOLE THING. The thing I'm reminded of when I watch this is NOT the loss of Dan. Which sounds horrible, but let me explain. I'm reminded of being ANGRY. Angry that we did lose Dan, but more than that, Anger at every single person in IndyCar at the time. This isn't some hindsight is 20/20 statement, I knew this was GOING to happen, before it happened. These were supposedly educated, intelligent racing people. The drivers of course knew the risks and as racers were ALWAYS going to climb into those cockpits and do their jobs, but a responsible series and responsible owners would NEVER have even ENTERTAINED the thought of sticking 34 open wheel cars on a high banked intermediate track to race like cup cars at Talladega. Randy Bernard didn't have a 'bloodlust' but the race he created left us with nothing but the sheer inevitability that someone that day was GOING to die. You can only fuck with fate so much before it rears it's ugly head and says "Okay, if you want to play this game, I'll oblige." I'm not a smart man. I have a G.E.D. but I was smart enough to know in the weeks leading up to this event that it was 100% going to be someone's last day on this earth. I had zero doubt in my mind. Why? Because I started watching auto racing in general in 1987. I was born in 1984. Racing is the one thing I understand better than anything else in this life because I've known nothing more intensely and intimately than I've known Auto Racing in all it's forms for my entire life. 34 out of my 37 years alive have been spent watching NASCAR, Formula One, NHRA, IMSA, Dirt Track Racing, Short track asphalt racing, and much more. I've seen shit that flat out is universal across all forms of racing regardless of what type of car they drive or the track they drive on. Physics are Physics. I knew when you add that many bad odds up together at one time, it's a recipe for disaster. A disaster is EXACTLY what we got that day. And I didn't need to be an educated, intelligent person to know that before the first hauler pulled into the infield for that race weekend. It was pure stupidity to even allow that event to be THOUGHT OF, let alone organized and run. And I remember watching the race with my father that day, telling him, "I hope I'm wrong, I really do, but expect a driver to die today." My father looked at me and said, "After Dale Earnhardt, I don't think anyone would run a race with that much risk involved." I simply told him this. "No driver thinks they'll be the one to die on a race track, Earnhardt certainly never did and this isn't NASCAR. IndyCar isn't thinking about the fact it could happen, they're thinking about ratings, dollar signs and a 'spectacle.' They aren't considering how horrible this will be if things go wrong." Well, they went totally wrong, and I saw it coming from 10 miles away. Sadly, none of these so called intelligent people were smart enough to raise enough hell to stop this race from happening, or choosing to just not participate. Instead they all dove in head first to the shallow end of the kiddie pool... and we all lost Dan Wheldon because of it. I for one, even with the aeroscreen, hope to God himself we never allow that kind of racing to return to this sport again. It's unnecessary for the success of the sport and in 2021 and beyond, I should hope people want nothing to do with the kind of 'entertainment' that could be directly linked to watching a Roman Gladiator being eaten alive by a lion in the middle of the Roman Colosseum. Because that's exactly what that Vegas race was. 'Entertainment' based around the very real possibility that someone wouldn't just be killed, but be maimed and torn limb from limb if things went wrong. Make no mistake about it, Randy Bernard, the Bull Riding guy, didn't actively decide to put drivers at greater risk, but Bull Riding is the modern equivalent to fighting a lion with a stick in Rome. He was desensitized to graphic physical harm and never once in his tiny pea brain thought of how much worse it would be at 225mph than at 6mph strapped to the back of a pissed off bull. I'm not trying to sound like I know everything about racing. I surely do not, but I can tell you this one thing. My G.E.D. level of intelligence was MORE than enough needed to know you don't fuck with fate and odds that are this stacked up against your favor. Apparently no one in IndyCar ever learned that before Las Vegas 2011. Hopefully, they never forget it after Las Vegas 2011, but time has a way of erasing memories. And if you want proof of that, look at how NASCAR has amplified the scenarios that cause major accidents in their form of the sport since the advent of HANS devices, SAFER Barriers and 'Safer cars.' The Next Gen car has people doubting its safety standard and we're about to reduce horsepower, increase downforce and then tell them to pack race at tracks like Atlanta in the same fashion they do at Talladega and Daytona. I fully expect to start seeing serious injuries in these bad crashes that, since the COT, have seen 99% of drivers get out and walk away unharmed (Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Aric Almirola being the only 3 drivers seriously injured in a crash, no fatalities) NASCAR is beginning to forget. IndyCar better not pull the same bullshit, because we WILL see this exact thing again if they do forget. And frankly, as a fan of Pocono it pains me to write this, but they had started to forget, until Robert Wickens... (and if you're wondering, no I didn't forget Justin Wilson, but his death was truly an utter fluke event. He didn't hit the wall, he didn't flip, a tire literally came down from the heavens above and he never knew what happened. That's literally one of the number one reasons why we have the Aeroscreen today.)

[@gregsalisbury9783]

I’m sorry, maybe my opinion is unpopular, but I hold the blame partially at the drivers because I would think if you aren’t making ground on someone in a corner you’d eventually back out a bit to get behind them. Pocono was a similar case where people were fighting for position very early in the race. Some of the drivers felt bad for Pocono because it was given a bad rap for incidents caused by driver error. It should’ve been at least someone evident that it would be hard to stick along side someone because if you watch some video of practice, you see them wiggle a bit just trying to keep it in a straight line. I think they were smart to hold a race in Las Vegas for the fan exposure, and it was a shame that it had to end like that.

[@FlashoftheBlades]

A shitty aerodynamic packed that made passing almost impossible played a part in Robert Wickens’ Pocono crash. Same with Felix Rosenqvist’s crash the following year. The aero package that Indycar had for the previous years made overtaking much easier. I don’t know why they changed it, but it wasn’t a bright call. They need to go back to that.

[@FloridaManRacer]

@@FlashoftheBlades the cars looked like lawn darts. I get that it made good racing, and I want good racing, but the fact is people don't care about ugly race cars... if they can mimic what that DW12 aero package did in something that doesn't look goofy, go for it...

[@FlashoftheBlades]

@@FloridaManRacer All modern open-wheel race cars 🏎 look like lawn darts 🎯, but I don’t think that anyone is bothered by that.

[@FloridaManRacer]

@@FlashoftheBlades I don't disagree with that, but the DW12 had such a goofy look to it that no one liked the styling. I get function over form, but there has to be a compromise better than that...

[@fighterck6241]

08:25 Why not race at Pocono?

[@jrfan07]

pocono wasn't on the schedule at the time

[@SilentSpades]

Indy, Pocono, Michigan, Auto Club are the only "safe" large tracks. Milwaukee, Phoenix, Loudon, Iowa, Richmond, Homestead are short tracks that work too. Kansas, Kentucky, Chicago, Texas, Atlanta, Vegas just dont work

[@gagemcpherson4454]

Nothing happened at Kansas or Kentucky they had just the right amount of cars and nothing happened I can understand if they don't ever go back to Vegas but there turning this almost into an all road course series look at Wickens crash that wasn't even a result of pack racing same with Dixon at Indy in 2017 what are we gonna do someday if we lose a driver during the 500 start making it be on the road course

[@SiVlog1989]

If anyone says a race track is 100% safe, they're lying to themselves. Motorsport is an extremely dangerous sport, and Pocono is no different. Case in point, the next driver to die in a race, Justin Wilson, who was struck on the head at high speed by the detached nose cone of Sage Karam's crashed car in the 2015 ABC Supply 500, at Pocono. All racing drivers know the risks they're exposed to, but sometimes, like what happened with Dan Wheldon, the drivers are crammed into situations where they're uncomfortable. Dario Franchitti said so as such when talking about Las Vegas Motor Speedway, "I said before we tested here, having driven the Stock Car here, that it's not a suitable track," in fact Dario Franchitti himself was forced to retire from racing owing to an injury sustained in an oval style crash on the last lap of the Shell-Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston, on the street course at Houston, TX

[@robtorres_racing]

@@SilentSpades Pocono is nowhere near safe

[@mrbungle3310]

I understand Bob he sounds shooked still so i dont think he was thinking with his best brain...but never in a lifetime you should stick 34 cars on a 1.5 mile track...never That looked dangerous and stupid,drivers will never back up unless something happens,and it happened ..organisers were wrong,in this day of age stupid decisions like that are avoidable,it could have easily been a 24 car race

[@hungrylion8703]

They didn't restart the race because if another accident had occurred then the widow of Dan Wheldon could have sued IndyCar. Also, they didn't want to upset the TV slot with a cancelation. And I assume the fans did not receive a refund. The whole waiting game wondering if Dan is dead was sordid. They all knew after the drivers went into the on site medical facility. Will Power said he was dead in the car. But no, we have to make good TV with "I wonder if Dan is going to make it" for 2 hours. Anyways, it looks like Al Unser Jr will be joining Dan soon. The guy looks like a car wreck himself. Car racing is going the way of the dodo. Its over folks.

[@shawnchristianson324]

What?

[@doughboy2448]

can we use bob as a test crash dummy, karma's a bitch

[@charliesmith5545]

IndyCar belongs on road course's and once at Indianapolis. Period.

[@alvaroverderamo]

@@Josh-zf4st stole my words mate

[@robtorres_racing]

Agreed

[@xSoccerxCorex]

yeeaaahhhh, no. as robin said in the vid, indycar should've tried to go back to the flat miles and cut the field size. the days of fontana/michigan and the 1.5 cookie cutters is over.

[@MrJohansen]

What an awful take. A series like that already exists, it's called formula 1, as well as literally every single other open wheel series on planet earth. I'm going to assume you dont follow this sport, because theres so much wrong with this comment that I don't even know where to start.

[@indyracin1]

You're just repeating what Robin said. Whata pussy.

[@freebird97hd]

Road courses are boring as hell. Please bring back more ovals. Wrecks are part of racing.