Motor racing does not equal death. I refuse to watch a sport if death is at all likely (note: I say likely, not possible..death is nearly always possible). Oval racing with open cockpit cars is always going to be more immediately dangerous than on a race circuit, street track or "road course". Yes, the type of oval for Wheldon contributed greatly along with several other factors. But even so, similar factors affect all oval racing - the fact that cars generally come back across the traffic after crashing has always been my main concern. On a race circuit, making a mistake in a corner leads to a gravel trap or a run-off area. And at a street circuit the speeds are usually quite low that even if the cars come back across the track, the accidents are much less likely to be fatal (though places like Macau can be a little crazy) as well as giving more time for drivers to react.
There are a number of other factors in oval racing that I don't like with open cockpit cars but basically its the much higher potential for a nasty accident. It is that that dissuades me, just as it does with MotoGP. As I said, Wheldon's accident has only pushed me into actually deciding not to watch anymore, before that I was on the fence.
There is no reason why I should choose to accept death as part of the sport or a possiblity of the sport. I don't tune in to watch the drivers/riders almost risk death or defy death. I tune in to watch some good racing action, at the limit of their cars but with adequate safety.
I'm not sure I can ever really trust oval racing to be safe enough for Indycars. Maybe I'll come back to it in a few years.
For now I will probably stick to watching the road courses, fortunately the calendar is full of them this year.
I agree with you
Racing to me is not about the danger or risk of injury or death. Crashes and accidents to me are fine because they show how close the drivers are to the edge, and crashing is a punishment for crossing the edge. I wouldnt want race courses to have 1000 feet of pavement around every turn so you can make huge mistakes and get away with it.
At the same time these crashes do not have to be terrifying nor should they risk a driver's life or health.
Think of the high speed American ovals as Monaco. Monaco wouldnt likely be allowed on the Formula 1 circuit today because of safety issues. Likewise, Indianapolis would never be created again today because of safety and speed concerns. Daytona or Talladega would not be designed and built today. As Mark Martin said, the cars have simply outgrown the enormous ovals.
30 years ago NASCAR stock cars were running 220 mph at Daytona. Almost 20 years ago Indycars were running 240mph laps at Indianapolis.
The cars have been slowed down from those speeds, but with modern advancements in downforce and tires cornering speeds have increased and so has the ability to race closer and side by side.
As has been mentioned many times before, the problem with Indycars on ovals is the the type of ovals and the cars themselves. In an attempt to gain NASCAR fans Indycars began running on high banked NASCAR ovals that produced wheel to wheel NASCAR style racing. The only problem is that is extremely dangerous in openwheel cars.
Dan Wheldon's crash wasn't bad luck. It wasnt the case of wrong place at the wrong time. It wasn't a "perfect storm".
It was playing with fire until you got burnt.
Indycar has taken the first step as they have gotten rid of the highbanked NASCAR ovals from the schedule. Well, except for Texas. Texas is an example of putting $ above driver, marshall, and fan safety.
The next step is to produce a car that cannot take ovals flat out, that requires alot of lifting.
Formula 1 is criticized alot for cars that have trouble racing close to each other. But in reality that is big in terms of increasing safety.
The indycars should be able to get close and pass, but lap after lap of side by side racing or nose to tail should be impossible.
Basically that means the cars need more horsepower, and less downforce.
Oval racing, even openwheel oval racing, can be safe to the point where you dont have to constantly worry about airborne cars and other horrendous accidents. Just follow what CART did in the 90s
It was Indycar going after NASCAR's fans and popularity that sparked these high speed airborne crashes. If you think about it CART never had anywhere near the amount of spectacular crashes Indycar has had. Just copy thier Formula
