Commentary by Queers4Gears Radio Hour Host and veteran Short Track Announcer Troy Germain:
We were all reminded very brutally on Sunday that racing is in fact a dangerous sport. Although we were all upset, saddened, and hurt – no one who has been in the racing world for any length of time was surprised. Racing IS dangerous! It’s not just Indycar racing – ALL of it is! Whether you are driving a full-bodied NASCAR stock-car, a weekly hobby-stock, pro-stock, go-kart, 4-wheel drive off-roader, or a motorcycle – it’s ALL DANGEROUS. . . these drivers are putting their lives on the line EVERY time they tighten those belts, put on the helmet, and fire that engine. It’s a risk they take – gladly.
The day that we lost Dale Earnhardt is a day that I will never forget. I was watching in my family’s living room at their annual “Daytona 500” party. Dale was my mom’s favorite driver. We knew he was in trouble, but none of us dared say the words… it was DALE EARNHARDT! Dying wasn’t even a REMOTE possibility as he was the “Intimidator.” My mom called me later that night when it was announced… both sides of the phone were silent, and we cried together. We just couldn’t believe it. But again – we weren’t SURPRISED that a driver died – we were surprised of WHO it was.
Racing has claimed the lives of so many drivers over the years, fortunately it’s far less often now then it was even 10 years ago. The progress in driver (and fan) safety has improved SO much over the last decade, we all tend to forget that yes – this is dangerous!
I feel for the officials at IndyCar, and Las Vegas Motor Speedway, as everyone wants answers – why were there so many cars, why were they going so fast, why were they even RACING on such a dangerous track. The real question is why did Dan Wheldon die. I’m a firm believer in that when it’s YOUR TIME to go, no matter where you are, what you are doing, or WHO you are – it’s your time. Dan Wheldon was one of FIFTEEN drivers involved in a crash. Of the 15 drivers, TWO others– that’s right TWO – suffered minor injuries. That means that 12 others (two of which flew through the air in a similar fashion as Wheldon’s #77) escaped unscathed. The things that Wheldon’s car did was unimaginable and cannot be duplicated. It was an anomaly – it was his time.
Another racing legend was killed on Sunday. What? You didn’t hear about it? Veteran Off-Road racer Rick Huseman died? Oh – that’s because he died in a plane crash. We’ve lost many drivers to air crashes, 1992 NASCAR Champion Alan Kulwicki, and Davie Allison come to mind – and what did we all say? Wow… what a way to go, they risk their lives EVERY WEEK racing a car, and they die in a plane crash – we’d say “gosh it would be more understandable if they died while racing – doing what they LOVE.” Then when it DOES happen, everyone is in an uproar.
Racing is dangerous. . . it just sucks when we are reminded so. . .