Dan Wheldon Crash: Driver's Death a Painful Reminder of Dangers of Racing

Dan Wheldon's tragic death on Sunday afternoon is another painful and clear reminder that auto racing is an incredibly dangerous sport.

Wheldon—a two-time Indy 500 winner and the 2005 IndyCar Series champ—was pronounced dead about two hours after a horrific, fiery crash on lap 13 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The 33-year-old Englishman is the fourth driver to die during an IndyCar Series event and the first since 2006. He's the highest profile driver to suffer a fatal crash since Dale Earnhardt was killed in 2001.

I think it's important that we don't overreact to his death by decrying racing. After all, Wheldon died doing what he loved and I doubt he would want major changes brought to the sport.

However, it's more than a little unnerving that drivers were concerned about their safety before the race. The Las Vegas Motor Speedway usually hosts NASCAR Sprint Cup races and drivers were worried the oval wouldn't be spacious enough for an IndyCar race.

Dario Franchitti, who won the race Sunday, said on Thursday that the high speeds and tight space could lead to some dangerous scenarios.

“The cars are going to be inches apart, both to the sides and behind and in front of you, at speeds of over 220 miles an hour,” Franchitti said.

Unfortunately, Franchitti's fears came to life as Wheldon's flaming car was sent flying into the wall.

Wheldon's death is a sad reminder that racing is by far the world's most dangerous sport. Tragic events like this are thankfully few and far between, but they do happen.

In the future, IndyCar races definitely should not be held on small tracks like Las Vegas. Racing is inherently dangerous, but it's an injustice to put drivers in a position where they won't have room to safely operate.