Kurt Busch Attempts to Become Second Driver to Complete All 1,100 Miles of 'The Double'

In my opinion, one of the greatest and rarest feats in sports is to attempt “The Double,” racing in the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR’s longest race of the season the Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the same day.

“The Double” is an extremely rare thing because of the short amount of time between the end of the Indianapolis 500 and the beginning of the Coca Cola 600. It’s also incredibly difficult because few drivers actually have experience in both the open wheel racing world of IndyCar and the stock car world of NASCAR. Novice sports fans might think all motor racing is the same or at least similar, but there are numerous differences between the two.

In the 1960s and 1970s the Indianapolis 500 and Coca Cola 600 were run on different days and allowed drivers to compete in both events rather easier than it would be to do today. Still it wasn’t a frequent occurrence. Cale Yarborough was the first NASCAR driver to attempt both races in the same year in 1968 finishing 41^st at Charlotte on May 28 and 17^th at Indianapolis on May 30^th and 31^st, as the event was completed over two days due to rain.

Jerry Grant, Lee Roy Yarbrough and Donnie Allison would also compete in both races in the same year in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, with Allison having the best of luck winning the NASCAR race in 1970 and then finishing an incredible fourth in the Indy 500 six days later; To this date that’s the best combined finish of a NASCAR driver running both races.

In the mid-‘70s the races started being held on the same day, the Sunday before Memorial Day and drivers were forced to choose between the Coke 600 and Indy 500, with most NASCAR drivers tending to stick to their day job.

“The Double” started in 1994 when John Andretti, a former open wheel driver making his way in NASCAR, announced he would attempt both races on the same day. Andretti would go on to post a tenth place finish at Indy, but blew an engine at Charlotte and finished 36^th. Andretti would go on to run many more Coca Cola 600s and a few more Indy 500s, but never again on the same day.

In 1999, Tony Stewart started his first of what would be two ‘Double’ duties. He would find success finishing ninth at Indy and fourth at Charlotte in his rookie season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series becoming the first driver to post a top 10 in both races on the same day. However, Stewart wasn’t able to complete the 1,100 miles between the two races as he didn’t finish on the lead lap at Indy.

Stewart would later do “The Double” again in 2001 and would become the first and to this date only driver to complete all 1,100 miles in the duo races finishing sixth in the Indy 500 and third in the Coke 600. It remains the standard performance for drivers running both races and would be the last time Stewart would run “The Double.”

Robby Gordon tried the “The Double” more than anyone else competing in both races on the same day four different times (2000, 2002, 2003 & 2004). The closest Gordon would come to finishing all 1,100 miles was missing it by a single lap when he finished 16^th at Charlotte in 2002 one lap down. He ran eighth that year in the Indianapolis 500.

In the nine seasons since Gordon’s last attempt in 2004 there hasn’t been a driver attempt “The Double,” with many of those years the feat being impossible because of the start times for both races. However, this year 2004 NASCAR champion and current Stewart-Haas Racing driver Kurt Busch is going to run “The Double” attempting to complete all 1,100 miles by running an Andretti Autosport car in the Indianapolis 500 before flying to Charlotte for the Sprint Cup race.

Busch’s attempt at “The Double” may actually be the most impressive of the four drivers to attempt both races on the same day because unlike Andretti, Gordon and Stewart, who all got their start in open wheel racing, Busch has never had experience in open wheel cars or racing. Unlike Andretti, Gordon and Stewart, Busch has never even started an IndyCar race.

Busch has shown promise in Indy practice and qualified in the top half of the field. He’ll start Sunday’s race in 12^th position. However, he did wreck his car earlier this week in practice, but will retain that starting spot.

Busch has surprised many these last couple of weeks and could continue to do so on Sunday during the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. He’s already proven that his talent as a racecar driver surpasses his full-time career in stock car racing. Will he become just the second guy to complete the entire ‘Double’ by finishing all 1,100 miles in the same day? That’s to be seen. If I had to guess I’d say he likely won’t accomplish that feat having no prior experience in IndyCar racing. However, I know his attempt at all 1,100 miles on Sunday is going to be a blast to watch and something that the Indianapolis 500, open wheel racing and motorsports in general could really use to help infuse some new excitement into the sport.

Dario Franchitti Forced to Walk Away from Sport He Made Me Love

I’m saddened by the recent news that my favorite IndyCar driver Dario Franchitti, one of the all-time greats of the sport, will no longer be able to race due to injuries sustained in a horrific October crash at Houston. Doctors have told Franchitti that returning to racing action had too many risks and could be detrimental to his future. So, he made the wise and right decision to step aside.

A month and a half after the frightening accident, I’m still just thrilled that Franchitti, also one of the great all-around guys in sports, is still alive. But, his abrupt retirement on Thursday, Nov. 14, did come as a shock to me as I fully expected him back in a racecar by next season. It turns out that was a little too much wishful thinking, as none of us fully knew the extent the crash injuries had taken on him. As it turns out it’s not the severely fractured ankle or the multiple fractured vertebrae that’s mostly sidelining him, but the concussion sustained in the accident, which is the third or fourth concussion in his career. Franchitti is basically being forced to quit, because he’s suffered similar head trauma as numerous football players who suffer from debilitating head injuries after their playing careers.

The thing that’s the most shocking about all of this is that as he is my favorite driver I selfishly feel like I’ve been stripped of seeing the “Dario Franchitti Farewell Tour” and hate knowing that the last time I’d ever see Franchitti in a racecar will be the image of not knowing whether or not he was alive in a terribly mangled racecar sitting on the racetrack.

But, I know that won’t be the only image in my head from the legendary racing career of Dario Franchitti – I’ll just as easily remember the four championships and three Indianapolis 500 victories – the moments and things that made Franchitti a larger than life figure in the IndyCar Series.

Dario Franchitti plays a huge role in why I’m a fan of the IndyCar Series. I had long been a NASCAR fan and it was pretty much the only form of auto racing that I watched. But, I started to watch the Indianapolis 500 in 2005, the year the late Dan Wheldon won his first Indy 500, probably because I got caught up in the Danica Patrick mania. I continued to watch the 500 every year, watching Sam Hornish Jr. narrowly beat rookie Marco Andretti in 2006 in one of the closest and most exciting finishes ever. The next year I would watch as Dario Franchitti won his first Indy 500 in a rain-shortened event, he had won his first championship the year before. Something about Franchitti’s dominance on the racetrack, his likability off the racetrack and the sheer badassness of his entire look – the hair, the Scottish accent, the Hollywood wife, etc. made me like this guy, made him stand out to me from the rest.

The next year when Franchitti decided to leave IndyCar for NASCAR it made me like him even more. His NASCAR career was short and unsuccessful though, not even getting a half of a season under his belt before fracturing his ankle in a hard crash in a Nationwide Series race at Talladega. He would go back to IndyCar the next season and I couldn’t believe the transition was so easy for him. It looked as if Franchitti hadn’t missed a step and immediately dominated the series winning three championships in a row from 2009-2011 and winning two more Indy 500s in 2010 and 2012. Franchitti is one of only 10 drivers to win the most coveted trophy in motorsports three or more times. His 31 wins (21 in IndyCar and 10 in Champ Car) are eighth most all-time in American Open Wheel Racing. All of these numbers add up to Franchitti quite possibly being one of the 10 greatest drivers ever in his field.

He’s the biggest reason why I’ve become an IndyCar fan and I’ll always appreciate him as much for that, as for the greatness I witnessed from him on the track. He’s certainly going to be missed come March when engines are fired on the 2014 IndyCar season at St. Petersburg, but there’s no doubt he’s making the right decision to walk away from racing. It’s probably the hardest decision he’s ever had to make, but he’s done so like the true champion he is.       

Auto Racing Should Be An Olympic Sport (Just Imagine Jimmie Johnson, Dario Franchitti, Sebastien Vettel & Travis Pastrana All in One Race)

I know this is a pipe dream and something that will never happen, but I think auto racing should be an Olympic sport. 

Just imagine NASCAR champ Jimmie Johnson (left) & IndyCar champ Dario Franchitti (right) racing for gold.

Think about it, auto racing is something that is done everywhere in the world and has successful and world champion drivers from a large group of countries. I know that this certainly doesn’t mean a sport will be an Olympics sport, just look at baseball and golf (which will be an Olympic sport starting in 2016).

However, how cool would it be to see the best drivers from around the world, stars of NASCAR, IndyCar, Formula 1 and others, competing in one big race or tournament of races to crown the top driver in the world?

There actually used to be a series similar to that called the IROC (International Race of Champions) Series from 1974 to 2006 where champion drivers from a multitude of series would compete in a four race series to determine a champion. It was mostly dominated by NASCAR drivers on mostly NASCAR tracks, with NASCAR stars (like Dale Earnhardt, Mark Martin and Tony Stewart) winning every year from 1989 until the series folded in 2006, but other racing stars like Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt and Al Unser Jr. were crowned champions, as well. The series went out of business in 2007 due to financial problems.

While the IROC Series was mostly run on ovals, a potential Olympic event (again this is just a dream) would most likely have to be run on a road course or street circuit because most series around the world are exclusively run on those types of tracks.  

The series would also have to choose what type of car would be used in the event. My suggestion would be to use something like the Daytona Prototypes used in the Rolex Grand Am Series, because most drivers from around the world are already familiar with these cars from running in a race like the 24 Hours of Daytona (which often brings in big names from top series like NASCAR and IndyCar).

The format for auto racing in the Olympics is really something that I haven’t put a whole lot of thought into, but could easily be anything from just one big race with a qualifying process of either fastest laps or heat races or could be a series of races. The number of racers per race or the length of the race is also something that I haven’t put any thought into. As long as auto racing was involved in the Olympics I honestly wouldn’t care so much about many of the particulars.  

I have, however, compiled a list of 50 world class drivers from 19 different countries as proof of why auto racing in the Olympics would be such a great idea. Can you imagine some of these guys going up against each other for the gold?

1.       Fernando Alonso (Spain) – Formula 1 – 2x Formula 1 Champion, 30 wins

2.       Marcos Ambrose (Australia) – NASCAR - 1 Sprint Cup Series win, 2X V8 Supercar Champion

3.       Max Angelelli (Italy) – Grand Am – 1x Grand Am Champion, 17 wins

4.       Joao Barbosa (Portugal) – Grand Am – 2010 24 Hours of Daytona Champion, 3 Grand Am DP wins

5.       Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) – IndyCar – 11 Formula 1 wins, 1^st driver to have 300 starts in F1 history

6.       Sebastien Bourdais (France) – IndyCar – 4x Champ Car Champion, 31 Champ Car wins

7.       Ryan Briscoe (Australia) – IndyCar – 6 IndyCar wins, 3 American Le Mans Series wins

8.       Kyle Busch (United States) – NASCAR – 24 NASCAR Sprint Cup wins, 105 total NASCAR wins, 1x Nationwide Series champion

9.       Jenson Button (England) – Formula 1 – 1x Formula 1 champion, 13 Formula 1 wins

10.   Helio Castroneves (Brazil) – IndyCar – 3x Indianapolis 500 champion, 21 IndyCar wins

11.   Mike Conway (England) – IndyCar – 1 IndyCar win, 1x British F3 Champion

12.   Ryan Dalziel (Scotland) – Grand Am – 1X 24 Hours or Le Mans winner, 3 Grand Am wins

13.   Simona de Silvestro (Switzerland) – IndyCar – 5 Atlantic Championship wins

14.   Scott Dixon (New Zealand) – IndyCar – 2x IndyCar Champion, 29 IndyCar wins, 1x Indianapolis 500 winner

15.   Ron Fellows (Canada) – NASCAR – 3X 24 Hours of Le Mans class winner, 6 total NASCAR wins

16.   Dario Franchitti (Scotland) – IndyCar – 4X IndyCar Champion, 3X Indianapolis 500 winner, 20 IndyCar wins

17.   Jeff Gordon (United States) – NASCAR – 4X NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion, 86 Sprint Cup wins (3^rd all time)

18.   Lewis Hamilton (England) – Formula 1 – 1X Formula 1 Champion, 19 Formula 1 wins

19.   James Hinchcliffe (Canada) – IndyCar – 2011 IndyCar Rookie of the Year, 8 IndyCar Top 5s

20.   Ryan Hunter-Reay (United States) – IndyCar – 6 IndyCar wins, Currently 2^nd in IndyCar Points

21.   Jimmie Johnson (United States) – NASCAR – 5x NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion, 58 Sprint Cup wins

22.   Tony Kanaan (Brazil) – IndyCar – 1x IndyCar Champion, 14 IndyCar wins

23.   Matt Kenseth (United States) – NASCAR – 1X NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion, 22 Sprint Cup wins

24.   Steve Kinser (United States) – World of Outlaws – 20X World of Outlaws Champion, 555 World of Outlaw wins

25.   Tom Kristensen (Denmark) - Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters – 8x 24 Hours of Le Mans winner (most all-time)

26.   Andy Lally (United States) – Grand Am – 2x Grand Am class champion, 3X 24 Hours of Daytona class winner

27.   Sebastien Loeb (France) – World Rally – 8x World Rally Champion, 73 Rally wins

28.   Andre Lotterer (Germany) – FIA World Endurance – 2x 24 Hours of Le Mans winner

29.   Jan Magnussen (Denmark) – Le Mans – 4x 24 Hours of Le Mans winner

30.   Allan McNish (Scotland) - FIA World Endurance – 2x 24 Hours of Le Mans winner

31.   Juan Pablo Montoya (Colombia) – NASCAR – 1x Indianapolis 500 winners, 7 Formula 1 wins, 2 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins

32.   Simon Pagenaud (France) – IndyCar – 1x American Le Mans Series Champion, 5 IndyCar top 5s (this season as a rookie)

33.    Miguel Paludo (Brazil) – NASCAR – 2x Porsche GT3 Cup Brasil Champion, 10 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series top 10s

34.   Max Papis (Italy) – NASCAR – 3 Champ Car wins

35.   Travis Pastrana (United States) – Rally Car/NASCAR – 4x Rally America Champion, 10X X Games gold medalist

36.   Nelson Piquet Jr. (Brazil) – NASCAR – 1 NASCAR Nationwide Series win, 20 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Top 10s

37.   Will Power (Australia) – IndyCar – 16 IndyCar wins

38.   Scott Pruett (United States) – Grand Am – 3x Grand Am Champion, 4x 24 Hours of Daytona winner

39.   Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) – Formula 1 – 1x Formula 1 Champion, 18 Formula 1 wins

40.   Memo Rojas (Mexico) – Grand Am – 3X Grand Am Champion, 21 Grand Am wins

41.   Takuma Sato (Japan) – IndyCar – 6 Formula 1 top 5s, 5 IndyCar top 5s

42.   Michael Schumacher (Germany) – Formula 1 – 7x Formula 1 Champion, 91 Formula 1 wins

43.   Oriol Servia (Spain) – IndyCar – 1 Champ Car win, 17 IndyCar top 5s

44.   Tony Stewart (United States) – NASCAR – 3x NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion, 1x IndyCar Champion, 47 NASCAR Sprint Cup wins

45.   Alex Tagliani (Canada) – IndyCar – 1 Champ Car win, 6 IndyCar top 5s

46.   Paul Tracy (Canada) – Grand Am – 1x Champ Car Champion, 12 Champ Car wins

47.   Sebastien Vettel (Germany) – Formula 1 – 2x Formula 1 Champion, 22 Formula 1 wins

48.   E.J. Viso (Venezuela) – IndyCar – 3 IndyCar top 5s, 1x National Class British F3 Champion

49.   Mark Webber (Australia) – Formula 1 – 9 Formula 1 wins

50.   Justin Wilson (England) – IndyCar – 3 IndyCar wins, 4 Champ Car wins,

Double Duty at Indy, Charlotte Should Be Back in Play

Tony Stewart scored top 10s in both races in 1999.

This upcoming Sunday is my favorite sports day of the year with the Indianapolis 500 in the afternoon and the Coca Cola 600 (NASCAR’s longest race) in the evening. That’s 1,100 miles of great racing action in one day. 

It wasn’t all that long ago when drivers could attempt both races in the same day and the likes of Tony Stewart, Robby Gordon and John Andretti did. The most spectacular result was win Tony Stewart scored top 10 finishes in both races in 1999 (meaning he completed all 1,100 miles).   

However, a few years ago the Indy 500 pushed back its start time to where it would pretty much be impossible to run the Indy 500 in Indianapolis, Ind. and then get in a helicopter or plane and fly to Charlotte, N.C. in time for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race. 

Since then people have been talking about how great it would be to see drivers compete in both races on the same day again and how the Indy 500 should move ahead the race in order to entice drivers to do so. 

There are many drivers in both sports with seat time in both IndyCar and NASCAR: Stewart, Robby Gordon, Andretti, Juan Pablo Montoya, Danica Patrick, Sam Hornish Jr. and Dario Franchitti among the notables. Seeing one or more of those big names try the double duty would be well worth getting up a little bit earlier for the Indy 500. 

Hopefully sometime in the near future we’ll have the opportunity and pleasure of seeing the double duty at Indy and Charlotte completed again. 

The Race I Never Wanted to See

My passion for motorsports began 10 years ago – I can’t remember exactly why, but it probably had something to do with me being bored on Sundays or either that my best friend, Bobby, was a NASCAR fan.

I started out simply watching the Sprint Cup Series (then it was called the Winston Cup Series) each week and over the years my racing watching spread to the two others NASCAR touring series: Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series. A few years after that I started tuning into the open wheel racing world of the IndyCar series. Today I watch almost every single race of all four of those series (and a few here and there of other series) – that comes out to around 120 races a year.

I knew that racing was dangerous and potentially life-ending … who doesn’t? It’s rather obvious that someone driving a car at speeds around 200 MPH or higher could be killed in a crash – and they do crash, sometimes rather horrifically. I had never witnessed it though … I started watching NASCAR in the months following Dale Earnhardt’s fatal crash on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500.

After that crash NASCAR went all out on safety – mandating the HANS device that protects a driver’s neck, instituting SAFER barriers in the walls and making the cars themselves safer. Because of these inventions and additions to the sport I’ve seen many wrecks over the years that should have been worse, end up in driver after driver walking away without a scratch. One of these very wrecks happened on Saturday night (Oct. 15) when Jimmie Johnson’s number 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet got loose while running under Ryan Newman’s number 39 Stewart-Haas Chevrolet and snapped wickedly to the right and hard into the Charlotte Motor Speedway wall in the NASCAR Sprint Cup race. The impact was likely the hardest of the year and of Johnson’s career, but he climbed out without a scratch and though he definitely said he felt it he likely doesn’t feel any effects from it today.

I figured Johnson’s wreck would be the worst of the weekend … unfortunately I was way wrong.

I think because of seeing all of these drivers walk away from impacts like that I had become convinced that tragedy and motorsports wouldn’t be used in the same sentence very often anymore, and thankfully that may be the case for NASCAR.

Despite thinking the worst would never happen, I did get scared for the safety of drivers. The first time I can ever remember being scared for a driver was when Elliott Sadler took his M&Ms number 38 Robert Yates Ford for a wild ride in 2004 at Talladega Superspeedway. Over the years there probably hasn’t been a single driver (whether I rooted for them or not) where I haven’t felt at least momentarily frightened for. I’m not a fan of Jimmie Johnson, but I grimaced on Saturday night.

I always knew that Indy cars weren’t as safe as NASCAR cars, but I guess it was something I never really thought much about. I guess I took it for granted. Much like with NASCAR, I’ve seen some pretty bad IndyCar wrecks over the years. Just over a month ago Tony Kanaan had a pretty serious wreck at New Hampshire Motor Speedway where his number 82 KV Racing Technology – Lotus overturned. Kanaan climbed out safely.

Much like my NASCAR heroes, my heroes of the IndyCar series seemed larger than life and invincible – I think they have to feel that way too, if they didn’t I don’t think it’d be possible to do what they do.

I guess I’ve been naïve about motorsports and death over the years. Today more than ever it seems possible that a driver could begin a race full of life and never reach that checkered flag at the end.

Watching every race of the IndyCar series season is something that has come to me pretty recently, I can’t remember the exact season I started watching full time, but this season was the first in which I caught all 17 races. For years I’d just watch the bigger races, mainly the legendary Indianapolis 500 (which every sports fan should see yearly, whether they really like motorsports or not – it’s that kind of event).

The first Indianapolis 500 I remember seeing was in 2005. That year the Indy 500 was a bigger deal than usual as Danica Patrick was debuting at Indy and people held big hopes in her. She became the first woman to ever lead laps at the Indy 500 that year and ended up finishing a record fourth. Her fourth place finish garnered most of the news. The next day people probably could’ve told you where Danica placed, but wouldn’t have even known the winner’s name. That pissed me off, even then before I became the fan of IndyCar I am today. The winner was Dan Wheldon and he was dominant that year. The Indy 500 title was his fifth win of the season and he would go on to win the series championship that year, the only of his career.

The greatest Indy race I’ve ever seen was this year’s Indianapolis 500. It was one of those race endings that I’ll always remember – no matter how old and senile I get. It looked like rookie J.R. Hildebrand had things in the bag, but as sometimes happens the young 23-year old (good gracious these boys running out here are younger than me) made a rookie mistake and crashed coming to the yard of bricks that marks the Indy start-finish line. Hildebrand’s major gaffe was Wheldon’s incredible gain as he passed the kid’s damaged, but still moving forward car to win his second career Indianapolis 500, becoming just the 18^th driver to win the storied race multiple times. Even more incredible it was Wheldon’s only race of the year at that point, as he didn’t have a full time ride (despite being one of the sport’s greatest talents) due to lack of sponsorship.

Wheldon was a brash driver, but never in a way that made him seem full on arrogant or unlikable (in say the way it does NASCAR star Kyle Busch). It just meant he was confident and you’d be hard pressed to find a more confident racer than the British lad. In fact, Wheldon was one of the more likable drivers in the sport – among both fans and fellow drivers.

I think it was that confidence of Wheldon’s that led him to the season finale IndyCar race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday (Oct. 16). IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard had offered $5 million to any non-regular driver who could enter the Vegas race and win it. Half the $5 million would go to the driver and his team and the other half would go to a fan. The promotion was in hopes that a big star from another series (most likely NASCAR) would enter the race and be a huge spectacle for the sport that once was the motorsport in the country and now has sunk far behind NASCAR and become sort of a fringe sport in America. That didn’t happen. In fact, Wheldon (who at the time I didn’t think should be eligible for the award because of his stature in the series) was the only driver willing to take the chance.

I had been anticipating this race, the first IndyCar race in Vegas since 2000, for weeks. My personal favorite IndyCar driver Dario Franchitti held the points lead over Will Power, but his lead wasn’t comfortable. The race would not only be for the championship, but it would also be the final regular Indy race for the league’s most popular driver Danica Patrick before she goes full time to NASCAR in 2012. As a fan there couldn’t be any more excitement in the air.

The drivers, however, didn’t feel right – and we’d soon learn with good reason. Las Vegas Motor Speedway is just too fast for 34 cars to be running around in a large pack at over 200 MPH. If two cars make contact there is the potential for a massive melee. It’s the same thing that happens with pack racing at the NASCAR restrictor plate races at Daytona and Talledega, but IndyCar cars aren’t as equipped for big pileups. The race was a potential disaster waiting to happen, and it didn’t take long.

On just the 11^th lap of the 200 lap race the car of rookie Wade Cunningham got out of control and the car of Hildebrand ran into him ramping off of him and into the air. There was nothing that could stop what would happen next. At 200-plus MPH in a large two-by-two pack there is absolutely nothing you can do but hold on and hope for the best. Fifteen cars were involved in the wreck, multiple cars got airborne and overturned, others caught fire and the track literally looked like a war zone with all the debris strewn about. Fourteen of the drivers involved came out of it in the best situation, including Will Power who we can only chalk up to being lucky when we see how far his car flew through the air after ramping off of another. Wheldon, the man who just minutes before strapped into his car in hopes of winning the $5 million prize, didn’t come out. His car, like Hildebrand’s and Power’s, ramped off another competitor’s (Paul Tracy’s) became airborne, flew an incredible amount of distance and crashed into the catchfence with the cockpit side making impact.

Two hours later IndyCar officials announced that Wheldon died of “unsurvivable injuries.” The race was canceled, upon the insistence of the drivers and the remaining 19 cars not involved in the wreck formed a three-wide formation and drove around the track in a five lap salute to Wheldon as the track PA played a bagpipes version of “Amazing Grace.” Before, during and after the tribute drivers, friends of Wheldon’s, were visibly upset and in tears.

Dan Wheldon was a great champion of the sport, but the cruel hand of racing death shows no prejudice, Dale Earnhardt taught us all that.

Dan Wheldon didn’t take the checker flag at Las Vegas on Sunday, but instead became the fastest to life’s checkered flag. A racer’s death was one of the few firsts I’ve never seen in my years as a sports fan and it was the one first that I always hoped I’d never see. I don’t think I’ll ever watch a race the same way again (in any motorsport) and I’ll probably flinch a little more when I see a bad wreck knowing what the possible outcome might be … I take no comfort in that this week as NASCAR’s top series goes to Talladega (the sport’s most scary and probably dangerous track, where the most horrifying wrecks generally take place). I doubt I’ll ever see another IndyCar race where I don’t think about Dan Wheldon, that may hurt a little bit today, but in the future I’m sure I’ll see that Dan Wheldon won the race before everyone else, he just did it a little bit faster, after all that’s how he lived.

Stupid IndyCar Draw Could Ruin Franchitti's Season

For the first time in 30 years last Saturday night the IndyCar Series held two races on one night. The first race at Texas Motor Speedway was set by the normal qualifying session and three-time Indy champ Dario Franchitti went on to win the race. That’s when the stupidity and big problem set in. You see the starting order would for the second race of the night would be selected by a random draw, meaning the drivers could be lucky enough to select the pole position and could be just as unlucky and draw the 30^th and final position. Franchitti drew position 28. Current points leader Will Power, who is in a tight championship battle with Franchitti drew the third starting spot. Power’s spot, 25 positions ahead of Franchitti, allowed him to cruise to an easy win in the second race and even more importantly allowed him to open up a bigger lead in the championship standings. Thus, something as asinine as a random draw could wind up affecting the entire season and ruin Franchitti’s chances at a third consecutive and fourth overall championship. If the IndyCar Series decides to do another double race night next season they had better figure out a more fair way to set the field for the second race.