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Wait, do we even know how the new cars are going to race on a high-banked oval?

There's a slight difference in the two situations. CART cancelled the race on the advice of doctors who said drivers' bodies could not tolerate sustained loads of more than 4.5G (drivers were being subjected to 5G for between 14-18 seconds of the 23 seconds lap). Patrick Carpentier was suffering vertigo-like symptons and couldn't walk in a straight line for 4 minutes after getting out of the car.

Las Vegas' main safety concern was the pack running due to the aerodyamics of the cars and relative lack of power. This meant that any driver error would wipe out half the field, but was not affecting the drivers by subjecting them to high G forces for prolonged periods of time.

It is crazy for anyone to compare the Las Vegas situation with any other. What happened before, during and after Las Vegas was totally unique. And the call to halt / cancel the race was the right one.

Let's remember that the Las Vegas race had been heavily promoted for countless months on the run up. It was title showdown. It was the big money winner takes all event. It was, outside the 500, the showpiece event of the season as well as the final bow of the old Dallara chassis.

The publicity that was generated by this event and the hype surrounding not only the money on offer for a non-series regular winning the event plus mega-popular Indy 500 winner Wheldon being on the grid was immense. Then add in the fact that many people had voiced concerns about the safety of the race, the venue and having non-series regulars on the grid.

When the accident occured it was a sense of "I told you so" and to lose a driver who was a friend to most in the paddock, plus a fans favourite was a real kick in balls. Plus the race was barely a few laps old.

Because of the attention focused upon this race, there was no alternative but to finish the event at that point.

Any suggestion to the opposite is not only callous was completely ignorant to the uniqueness of situation. It is not comparable to any other death during a race in the past.

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BTCC Pick Em's Champion 2010
Formula Fun Cup Champion 2013
http://www.the-fastlane.co.uk

You're absolutely spot on, kals.

Also, the organizers didn't really think that Vegas would be so much different compared to Texas, both being 1.5 mile high-banked ovals. The racing at Texas last year wasn't that much pack racing, it was quite dull event. They didn't think that cars could be flat in Vegas on multiple driving lines and keep on running in one big pack as long as they did.

It's easy to say with a hindsight that the only way the race could have ended was a big one. And unlike any other big ones in the series before, this just kept multiplying and getting bigger, it almost seemed to take forever and getting worse and worse. The crash started in T1 and some cars ended up in T3. Nearly everyone behind the first two cars, that started the crash, were involved. It was clear indicator that continuing the race was not an option at all. Maybe Mario didn't see that crash or he didn't understand the physics behind it. Maybe he didn't realize that the track surface was damaged, as were the fencing and the safer barriers. Had the race been continued, the rest of the drivers would have went through the same all over again. That was not racing and saying that they should have raced after the crash was a stupid request. There was not racing in the first place.

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"Indy doesn't give you a second chance. You have to earn it."

Another huge contributing factor that allowed the race to be called was the championship. Will Power was in the crash, and Dario wasn't so the title showdown was worthless. Even if the race went on, Dario won.

That's totally irrelevant.

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BTCC Pick Em's Champion 2010
Formula Fun Cup Champion 2013
http://www.the-fastlane.co.uk

I pose this question to you guys. You're obviously very passionate on your stance of Las Vegas. Rewind to the 2012 Indy 500. Mike Conway gets a little higher up on the fence, hits his head, dies. Do we cancel the Indianapolis 500, one which had been arguably the most competitive up to that point? This event has more history than Las Vegas for sure, but the hype before them both about what a great race and passing and big speeds we would see. Do we park the cars in the pits, fix the fence, have everyone sit around for the announcement both in the heat at the track and on tv watching and then send everyone home?

Agree with everything kals & Niko said. But as well as that, it was fortunate that we 'only' lost Wheldon in that race when you look at the enormity of it. Several more drivers could have died.

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Dan Wheldon | 1978 - 2011

I don't think it is, with a large amount of money on the line and contracts that are signed, sponsors, etc. There are many more requirements on professional racing, obligations to be met, than just you and i racing hobby stocks out of our garage and saying fuck it, lets go home. We don't have to answer to anyone.

Well Conway crashed at the end of the race, so they couldn't cancel it. However had it happened at the start of the race and his condition had been clear, then yes,, you do exactly the same as IndyCar did at Las Vegas.

No I mean 2012.. this year.. when he and Power crashed just before halfway.

As I said, yes. Had Conway died in that then yes, you call the end to the race.

It's not passion but common sense. The points you keep using to discuss your stance are irrelevant and despite multiple people pointing that out to you, you keep coming back with further irrelevant points.

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BTCC Pick Em's Champion 2010
Formula Fun Cup Champion 2013
http://www.the-fastlane.co.uk

If it was common sense, the race would have never ran in the first place.

The points i am trying to discuss are to show things that nobody things of or considers. Everyone seems to have a one track mind that, Dan died. Cancel the race, cancel the series, tear down las vegas, indycars on ovals aren't real racing. I do see your side of it as well, and obviously nothing can change what happened, people are just discussing what else could have happened and what precedences had been set. It doesn't matter who is right or wrong, Dan's dead and the race never restarted. It's history. I'm not trying to come back with anything irrelevant, just have an open minded debate with closed minded people. I won't comment on it any further. Thanks for discussing it with me though!

Seriously, where are you reading this?

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BTCC Pick Em's Champion 2010
Formula Fun Cup Champion 2013
http://www.the-fastlane.co.uk

He isn't. He's just on a rant and it doesn't make sense.

He's already decided that he's right and everyone else is completely and utterly wrong. Really no point in trying to continue with this.

The world may be a horrible place to live in and the people that walk on it may be some of the worst species in the history of life, but if there's one thing that we have improved in is respecting death, and motorsport has been taking large steps to do so.

Long gone are the times when someone died and the "keep stiff upper lip" attitude was normal. Money isn't everything.

I cannot believe we are actually having a debate wether or on Vegas should have been canceled. Seriously DW, you'll get the same reply over and over again from all the members here, so let's discuss something more relevant about IndyCar or about the owners turning into a lynch mob.

It actually stemmed from the lynch mob as one of the sticking points was Mario wanting to continue the race and because they didn't he dislikes Randy and is part of the overthrow attempts.

Speaking of.. now I know what it feels like to be Randy Bernard!:D I know I will, thats why i said it's over! On to Detroit!