Sincere condolences to the family, friends, and fans of Dan Wheldon, who died last Sunday in the season-ending Indycar race in Las Vegas.
There's already a lot of talk about how inappropriate a venue Las Vegas is for Indycars, and that may well be true. But maybe it's finally time to face up to the very real issue of open-wheel racing in general. I've read the articles and seen the footage of the crash, and I think an argument could be made that the crash might not have been so bad if the car had fenders.
Let's face facts; automotive engineers have known for 75 years that enclosing the wheels improves the aerodynamics of a car. Open-wheeled cars came about because fenders were heavy and easily removable, and tires were very skinny, and speeds were low enough that aerodynamics had not yet been noticed as a factor. To have open-wheeled racers is one of those ridiculous traditions that serve absolutely no purpose whatsoever.
It's time for the IRL and Formula One to accept the reality; a car with full bodywork is not only more practical, it's safer. Any Modified or Sprint Car driver can tell you what happens when exposed wheels touch anything, and that looks exactly like what happened to Wheldon.
Open wheels also force the builders of these cars to stick the front shock absorbers inside a very small piece of bodywork that aims the shock towers directly at the driver's head. Remember how Ayrton Senna died?
In the 1950's Mercedes-Benz put full bodywork on their F1 cars on the faster tracks. It made them faster. So the FIA outlawed them, and we've been stuck with this ridiculous, dangerous affectation ever since. Seeing as good a driver, and person, as Dan Wheldon die cannot help but raise the question; when is somebody going to speak out against open wheels?
