Danger & Death... Risk of Racing isn’t New - Op Ed from Shawn Miller

(re-posted with permission from Shawn Miller's Hoseheads column)

Oak Grove, MO | Oct. 19, 2011 - When I was a youngster, I loved going to the races. I loved the smell, the sound and especially the sight – mostly of crashing cars. Drivers would lean on each other, rubber on rubber, and push the limits. Sometimes it’d work out and other times, it’d leave carnage. That was part of the attraction and entertainment.

As I grew older and became more involved in auto racing, I developed friendships with the drivers. Suddenly, there was a face behind the wheel and a family who had to rebuild the beat-up race cars during the weekdays. There became a point when my heart dropped every time a car driven by someone I knew tipped over.

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And then it just stopped. I’d seen so many crashes and witnessed friends defy the odds too many times. They aren’t going to get hurt. You can only watch people flip down the backstretch or smash into the wall headfirst, then hop out of the car like it was nothing, so many times before you become desensitized to the risk.

I know that I’m not alone. At every race, a driver will take a wild ride. As soon as it’s done, what are the crewmen doing? Are they waiting to see the driver get out of the car? Not always. Most of the time they are scrambling to get parts to fix the mangled wreck before the race restarts.

But every once in a while there is a reminder of the danger; proof of the risk. Last Sunday the racing world was jolted by one of those instances when IndyCar great Dan Wheldon died after one of the most horrific crashes I have ever seen. It was a somber moment that pushed the collective brakes on the racing community.

Wheldon was competing at more than 225 miles per hour on a paved oval. He was in an open cockpit with open wheels, which is seemingly a disaster waiting to happen. Yet countless IndyCar drivers have flipped, smashed their cars to pieces and walked away with nothing more than bruises before Wheldon’s crash. And many will after.

Sure, there will be some safety modifications and Wheldon’s death will likely lead to saved lives in the future. Just like Dale Earnhardt in NASCAR and Scott Kalitta in NHRA; the biggest vehicle for change is death.

Every year there are a couple of dirt track racers who die after a bad accident while racing. For the thousands of racers at the hundreds of tracks across the country, it is understandable. I think every driver knows the danger when he or she climbs into the race car and some pay the ultimate consequence.

This week has been one of those wake-up calls to the inherit danger that is auto racing. However, come this weekend, drivers will get back in their race cars, engines will fire up and crashes will continue to happen.

There will still be the spectators who show up hoping to see a wreck. And there will be a lot of people who ignore the risk, trying to not imagine the evil consequences.

Regardless of where you sit on the fence, whether you cheer for a crash or cringe when there is contact on the track, racing won’t change. It will get safer, but it will never be safe.

Therefore, I want to take advantage of this reminder of the risk of racing to express my gratitude for the drivers who continue to compete, for the crews who work hard to keep the cars on the track and for the sponsors who support our passion of fast cars and close calls. I pray for the safety of all competitors and I know I’ll pay closer attention the next time I see a car turn upside down.

I still love going to the races. I still love the smell and sound. Only now, there’s one thing I hope I don’t see.

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