Paul, give us an update when time permits..

tjung0831 · Post by **tjung0831** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 3:39 pm

Tragic stuff today in Homestead. What in the hell happened here?

RIP Paul Dana

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 6:35 pm

I wasn't there. Neck was. But this is neither the time nor place to discuss.

Boys, please spare a few moments and prayers for Paul, the Dana family and everyone who knew him.

Thanks,
PK

JackDiggity · Post by **JackDiggity** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 7:33 pm

pk500 wrote:I wasn't there. Neck was. But this is neither the time nor place to discuss.

Boys, please spare a few moments and prayers for Paul, the Dana family and everyone who knew him.

Thanks,
PK

I know this is a tough one for you PK,but this is where we all come to discuss these type of events. God knows we covered the tragic and premature deaths of other athletes. Take a deep breath and step away from this thread. We understand.

Paul Dana and his family is in my prayers.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 8:17 pm

I guess I should clarify. I'm not trying to quell discussion among DSPers in this or any thread. I'm just not going to participate in this one.

Sorry for the confusion.

Take care,
PK

JackDiggity · Post by **JackDiggity** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 8:38 pm

Hang in there brother. Again, we all understand.

JackDiggity · Post by **JackDiggity** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 8:52 pm

That was a great race today. If anything it shows just what kind of athlete it takes to compete in motorsports. To block out a loss of a fellow driver and friend on race day and then go out and perform the way they all did today. Wow! Talk about guts and pure concentration.

Is there an unwritten rule in racing that the show must go on? I found it hard to believe they didn't postpone this race a day or so. I have never seen that before.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 9:08 pm

JackDiggity wrote:Is there an unwritten rule in racing that the show must go on? I found it hard to believe they didn't postpone this race a day or so. I have never seen that before.

Pretty much. Just get through it and move on. The only time I can remember a race stopping due to a fatality was at an IRL race in Charlotte when debris went into the stands.

Incredibly tough day. Dan Wheldon's victory lane actions were one of the most appropriate tributes of the day for Paul Dana and his family and friends.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 9:33 pm

JackDiggity wrote:Hang in there brother. Again, we all understand.

Ah, extend a hell of a lot more thoughts to Neck than me. I'm just bummed in general -- I didn't know Paul. Arni is bummed in general and in specific -- he knew and worked with Paul.

If you're going to spare a thought for someone at DSP about this, spare it for Neck.

Take care,
PK

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 9:40 pm

pk500 wrote:If you're going to spare a thought for someone at DSP about this, spare it for Neck.

Neck, my thoughts are definitely with you. This is the ugly side of the sport. I only knew Tony Renna a little bit and when he had his crash, it hit me very hard. I can only imagine what you and the rest of the IndyCar family are going through tonight.

sfz_T-car · Post by **sfz_T-car** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 10:36 pm

I'm sure it'll be a long flight back to Indy for Arni. I don't know how well he knew Dana but I'd imagine their journalism backgrounds could have been a common bond between them.

Dana's death is a reminder that no matter how much safety technology and precautions, racing is inherently a very dangerous sport.

I'm glad I messed up the start time on my VCR today.

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 11:45 am

what a shame......such a young guy. every driver knows the risks inhereted with this sport, but you never get used to stuff like this happening. lets hope the IRL makes some changes so this event serves some good. I didn't see what happened exactly, but I hope his family/friends can somehow get past this terrible tragedy

edit; just read that is was in warmups and he hit another car that had spun out and was sitting in the middle of the track. Apparantly, Dana wasn't aware of the yellow, as he continued at full speed. Maybe the IRL can come up with a more obvious way of letting all cars immediately know of the yellows???

Classy move by his fellow teamates not racing yesterday.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 12:07 pm

Jack:

I'm not really sure what else can be done to alert the drivers to a yellow. The following procedures all are done in any caution period, including Carpenter's spin and wreck yesterday:

1. Race control overrides all drivers' radios to alert them to a caution.

2. Driver's spotter then alerts driver to accident and offers advice on avoiding wreck.

3. Yellow lights illuminate around racetrack on catch fence.

4. A yellow light flashes brightly on the steering wheel of every car.

5. Flagger waves yellow flag in flag stand.

All of these things happen nearly simultaneously.

I'm not sure what else can be done during caution periods.

Take care,
PK

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 12:08 pm

Is it true that they went ahead with the race after this tragedy?

Disgraceful if true.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 12:14 pm

sportdan30 wrote:Is it true that they went ahead with the race after this tragedy?

Disgraceful if true.

Dan, it is just the way it is. Always has been, always will be.

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 12:25 pm

Dave wrote:
sportdan30 wrote:Is it true that they went ahead with the race after this tragedy?

Disgraceful if true.
Dan, it is just the way it is. Always has been, always will be.

Either way, it's a shame.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 12:29 pm

This probably won't come across right, but are you a racing fan at all? And if so, for how long?

Safety has improved so much over the past 20-30 years to help prevent tragedies like this. But if they had cancelled every race after a driver was killed up through the 60s and 70s, there would have been a ton of races cancelled.

So it is just the way it is.

tjung0831 · Post by **tjung0831** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 12:37 pm

sportdan30 wrote:Is it true that they went ahead with the race after this tragedy?

Disgraceful if true.

Paul Dana and every other driver knows that this could happen every time they get behind the wheel. I didn't know Paul Dana, but i'm pretty sure that he would have wanted the race to go on.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 12:44 pm

sportdan30 wrote:Is it true that they went ahead with the race after this tragedy?

Disgraceful if true.

Why? Racers race. That's what they do. The ethos of racing is "We race, then we mourn." That's the way it has been and the way it always will be.

Sounds like a cliche, but every fallen racer would have it no other way. Every single one of them.

Take care,
PK

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 12:45 pm

No, I'm not a racing fan. A wife lost her husband. Parent's lost a son. Friends lost a dear friend. So, I'm sorry but I don't understand why a meaningless race in the whole grand scheme of things couldn't have been postponed to reflect on a thirty year old's life that ended too soon.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 12:45 pm

Dave wrote:This probably won't come across right, but are you a racing fan at all? And if so, for how long?

Safety has improved so much over the past 20-30 years to help prevent tragedies like this. But if they had cancelled every race after a driver was killed up through the 60s and 70s, there would have been a ton of races cancelled.

So it is just the way it is.

Dave is spot-on. Jackie Stewart used to pack a suit in his luggage for every Grand Prix because the odds were so high in the 60s that he would have to attend a funeral the following week for a driver.

That's the God's honest truth. I've read it and heard Stewart say it, and it's one of the reasons that Stewart worked so damn hard to promote safety in F1 in the 60s and early 70s.

Take care,
PK

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 12:48 pm

sportdan30 wrote:No, I'm not a racing fan. A wife lost her husband. Parent's lost a son. Friends lost a dear friend. So, I'm sorry but I don't understand why a meaningless race in the whole grand scheme of things couldn't have been postponed to reflect on a thirty year old's life that ended too soon.

The best reflection of Paul Dana's life came in the spellbinding final 25 laps of yesterday's race. Incredible, side-by-side racing, inches apart, no injuries, with a finish decided by a foot after 300 miles of balls-out racing among drivers who worked, struggled and achieved to reach the top level of open-wheel oval racing.

That was Paul Dana's dream, and his dream lived on in the reality of an incredible finish. No doubt in my mind that he was grinning from ear to ear above after seeing that finish.

Take care,
PK

sfz_T-car · Post by **sfz_T-car** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 1:25 pm

The Carpenter-Dana accident was just that, an accident. As long as there wasn't any recurring problem with the equipment or track that would make another incident more likely, I think racing on with heavy hearts was the right call.

tjung0831 · Post by **tjung0831** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 1:26 pm

sportdan30 wrote:No, I'm not a racing fan. A wife lost her husband. Parent's lost a son. Friends lost a dear friend. So, I'm sorry but I don't understand why a meaningless race in the whole grand scheme of things couldn't have been postponed to reflect on a thirty year old's life that ended too soon.

Dan,

If you died today in your office, work at your company would go on as usual. it's a harsh fact of life, but the old statement rings true. "the show must go on"

Tim

Sudz · Post by **Sudz** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 1:39 pm

that was a horrible wreck...i saw the initial crash..and said, "wow, that is all it took..." then saw the other hit! wow.

so sad.

Zlax45 · Post by **Zlax45** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 1:50 pm

Sudz wrote:that was a horrible wreck...i saw the initial crash..and said, "wow, that is all it took..." then saw the other hit! wow.

so sad.

I thought Carpenter was the one killed the first few times I saw the tape then figured out that Dana was in the other car. Very nasty crash.