ESPN link - I was getting ready for the IRL season opener and learned about this terrible accident.

That was nasty. The sound, the views, wow.

Yeah, it's a tragedy. I don't know the circumstances of course, but I can't understand why he would still be at near full speed if the caution lights had been on for 6 seconds, and they said the radio communication was working?

I wondered the same thing myself...the only thing I would think of was that lifting could be dangerous depending on where on the track they were (in a turn?), resulting in another out of control situation for the people coming up on the scene. Six seconds seems like a long period of time, however, the folks behind the crash are reacting to a lot of things, the evasive maneuvers of the people in front of them, slowing down their own car as fast as possible, etc. Crashes are investigated thoroughly at this level of racing and if there is anything that can make the situation safer I'm sure all parties will do it post haste.

ouch... he's my age, same bday as my best friend... and life cut him short.
That was a nasty hit...
Prayers to friends and family.

It did seem the other cars on the course were able to slow down though, so it does make you wonder what was happening there.

The news report I saw said he just wasn't paying attention . . .

They did say he was a rookie (to IRL at least). Maybe he had his hands full. I think he'd just passed a car as well, so maybe he was trying to avoid causing a multi car accident (gathering up that other car as well). It's hard to say what happened, at that speed, it happens quickly.

He's the same age as my wife and has the same birthday (exact same age). It's just unreal to lose another young racer. My heart goes out to the Dana family and Mrs. Dana. I heard that he had a wife, I'm not sure about kids.

Terrible tragedy.

With Team Rahal being a hometown team here in Columbus, we've gotten a lot of coverage - quite a shame that it had to happen. At least he went doing what he loved - we should all be so lucky.....

Got me thinking about the Alex Zanardi crash in Germany, and a similar accident that happened to Jacques Villeneuve at Phoenix in the 90's. No one died in those crashes (although Alex got about as close as it gets), and the speeds were probably similar. Dumb luck, better car design? - who knows.

Accidents and death are inherent in any form of racing. I used to race Karts, and had a friend almost killed at Mid Ohio. All we can do is prepare our equipment to be as safe as possible, and the rest is in God's hands.

God Bless Paul and his family.

I agree with your thoughts Bubba...as a racer I think we all feel it when a fellow racer gets badly hurt or dies. I remember once at Thunderhill Park I got tangled up with another car and ended up at a dead stop on the other side of a blind hill, directly sideways, with a stalled car. Fortunately my passenger side was the side exposed to oncoming traffic. I'll never forget nervously cranking the motor and breathing a sigh of relief as oncoming cars saw the flagger and avoided me while I was doing this. Watching the flags is so very important. I was able to get the car fired and did not finish last! I hope none of you guys end up in that situation, it is one of the worst in racing.

Yeah I saw the video last night. That was a nasty crash. reading through his biography it sounds like he really was on the fast track I mean about 10 years since his first race at Bridgestone Racing School Mechanics Championship. Not to say that he didn't race before but it does seem quick. I know some of the Nextel Cup Rookies are 20 or so years old, and they have been racing since 8 years old or so. But it seems that at least Nascar's safety requirement since Dale are paying off well considering the frequency of crashes. Who knows I'm sure they can analyze the telemetry data and at least determined if in the 6 second span was any attemt to slow down the car. On the video he did seem to be sailing along while other cars were baking. Regardless my thoughts and prayers go out to his wife and family. He is 4 months younger than I am, so it is hard to see a life cut short like that. But we do understand the risk when we put the gloves and helmet on and He was doing what he loved so if there is ever a way to go I think that is it. I do hope that when I go I'm doing God's work or racing, preferably the former.

That's the thing I've noticed when I work the tower or pit out, the lower run groups tend to not be as aware of the flaggers.



It's a shame that so many people don't make safety a higher importance (even some on here).

My understanding of the IRL cars is that they had a light on the dashboard, that is tied into the track system. When the yellow comes out, the light in the cockpit comes on. The reason I know this is that's how they "stole" a win from Paul Tracy in the Indy 500 (how dare a CART driver be allowed to win the 500 again.... )

I wonder if they still have that system, and if it was working properly at the time.

They do still have it. And from what I heard in the news it was working. They showed video from one of the drivers that did slowed down and it showed the light turning on in his instruments. Whether Dana's did light up I'm not sure they know if the car's video source was not been recorded.

Paul Tracey did get robbed that year.

That was a nasty crash. I flinched when I saw it happen and stuff like that usually dosent bother me.