SPORTS
Sadly, racing back in spotlight
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by Dave McGrath
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
There are so many things about March to love if you are a sports fan. This time of year is bustling with so much athletic activity it is enough to make a sports fan giddier than Barry Bonds at Rick Reilly's funeral.
There is so much to pay attention to right now in sports that if you blink you'll miss something big (with the exception of the University of Wisconsin men's hockey team's nearly five-hour marathon that was threatening to run on longer than Forrest Gump, in Forrest Gump).
You have George Mason shocking the world and becoming the top-(under)dog of the NCAA tournament going on at the same time as UW spring practices, forcing several reporters to cling to their cell phones as if they were life preservers, yelling out updates by the minute.
The World Baseball Classic was a resounding success and now makes way for the birth of the 2006 MLB season (Hoo-Ha!), while the NBA and NHL quickly wind down towards the end of their 2006 campaigns (Hoo-Ha Two Times Tuesday!).
And don't forget about Tiger and the Masters coming just around the bend, or the Badger women's hockey team winning the school's first national title.
But you know what might be the best part about the infinite sporting events circling around us right now? The fact that racing is more overshadowed than Cooper Manning at a Manning Family reunion.
That is until the death of IRL driver Paul Dana on Sunday.
Let me be very up front about the fact that I hate racing. NASCAR, Formula One, IRL, whatever, you can keep them all.
Let me also say that I don't understand people who do like it. So before you start writing that letter or message saying "you just don't get it," save yourself the effort, because I really just do not get it.
I don't understand how stock car racing has become the largest spectator sport in America, attracting sometimes over 200,000 people to watch brightly-colored blurs do their best imitation of electrons, circling around what looks like a high-end trailer park.
I don't understand why my girlfriend's sister and her boyfriend will pay big money to go watch a race in North Carolina, but a $20 ticket for the Frozen Tundra Classic is classified as being too expensive.
But what I really don't understand is racecar drivers.
Dana, a rookie on the IRL circuit, was set to start what was maybe going to be his breakout race, as he would be starting ninth at the Toyota Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. During pre-race warm-ups, Dana failed to notice a spun-out racer and rammed into the car at an estimated 175 miles an hour.
Tragically, the young racer's big break didn't even reach the green flag and even worse, he leaves behind his wife Tonya, to whom I send my utmost condolences and prayers.
I just don't get it.
Why would someone do this for a living? It doesn't seem that far-fetched to me that if you choose to make a profession out of driving vehicles at 200 miles per hour, four-plus days a week for up to 36 weeks a year, at some point, luck might catch up to you.
A football player is criticized for driving over 100 miles per hour, but going 200 miles per hour for hours at a time is not only sane and okay, but admirable?
These racers don't just get up one day and start racing on Daytona either. They spend years on the amateur circuit, with safety measures matching the low-profile of the circuits and venues. They all have scares.
Take Dana, who made news last year on the IRL wire when, during practice for the Indianapolis 500, he broke his back in an accident.
A severe back injury made Michael Irvin walk away, but not Dana.
Dana's death is the third in the IRL since 1996 and at least the tenth since 1994 in major motorsports.
I'm not advocating any kind of action, like slower speed limits or fewer cars or more safety apparel, or any of that. At some point people have to be responsible for themselves.
I just don't get it. Maybe it's the rush of adrenaline from zooming around at near supersonic speeds, or just a love affair with cars. I'll never know.
What I do know is that I am never happier than when I am completely oblivious to the world of motorsports, so hallelujah to this bountiful season of sporting bliss.
But right now, I couldn't be less happy that not only is auto racing in my face, but because it is of yet another tragedy that to me, will always be senseless.
Dave McGrath is a senior from South Florida, and naturally is majoring in driving slowly. Any questions, comments or chalktalk can be sent to dmcgrath@badgerherald.com
Anonymous (March 28, 2006 @ 1:11pm):
I am a race fan, if it has 4 wheels, goes fast and turns corners (either direction,)I will watch it. That said, I REALLY DO understand your point of view. I feel exactly the same way about Major League baseball. Different strokes for different folks I guess...
Anonymous (March 28, 2006 @ 2:46pm):
Please refrain from writing columns about something you don't understand--unless it's an editorial. It came across as rather condescending. No need to take Paul Dana's tragic death personally.
Chris Klinge (March 28, 2006 @ 5:15pm):
I would like to say that I am completely and utterly disgusted with the mockery that is this article. I cannot believe that this, or any, paper would allow such a disrespectful piece to be printed.
I realize that you may not like or understand racing, but that is completely beside the point. As I see it, you basically used the death of another human being to express your dislike of racing and create a scapegoat for why it is apparently "senseless." This is not only absurd, but completely unacceptable as far as any degree of human compassion is concerned. As an IRL driver, Paul Dana understood the risks and accepted them, which is something you fail to recognize.
I am also disgusted by your incredibly insensitive comment suggesting that Dana was incompetent for "failing to notice a spun out racer." If you were to watch the video, you would see that the car was literally impossible to avoid as it slid down the track in a mere instant. At 175mph, and following the direction of a spotter around a corner, no human could alter their path this quickly.
Beyond your obvious disrespect, this article was also full of unrelated and misinformed analogies. Firstly, a football player getting criticized for driving 100mph on city roads has no connection with race drivers participating in a controlled sport. In the same respect, I could be criticized for putting on a helmet and pads, and tackling another person on the street. Secondly, a small amount of research would show you that football players, and players of many other sports, return after major injuries as well. Finally, I fail to see the difference in a race driver making their way through the ranks to pro circuits from football players starting in high school and working toward the NFL. The safety features utilized in lower levels of racing are by no means lacking in comparison to any pro circuit, as you have apparently led to believe.
Again, I don't care if you like racing or not. If you are going to write in this manner I suggest that you allow similar future assignments to be written by someone who can display a higher degree of competence, respect, and compassion.
