Dan Wheldon Crash Video: Will Wheldon's Death Prompt Veterans to Leave IndyCar?

As the nation still tries to catch its collective breath after Dan Wheldon's death on Sunday, there are questions about whether some veteran drivers will continue to race in IndyCar.

To some, Wheldon's death could have been prevented. Drivers had been complaining about the oval tracks long before the deadly 15-car crash at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. There were concerns that oval tracks led to a bunched-up field. Not to mention, Sunday's track had been re-banked two years ago.

Said Wheldon's teammate, Alex Tagliani, via FoxSports.com:

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"Racing is a very dangerous sport. It's a risky sport. We all know that and so do our family members, sponsors and teams. I think we are going to recover from it. It's going to be tough to forget. In this particular situation, what I hope it does is give the driver a bigger voice when some of us have concerns about the track."

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There are several veteran drivers who could retire soon, most notably Dario Franchitti, 38, Helio Castroneves, 36, and Tony Kanaan, 36.

Said former Champ Car World Series CEO Chris Pook:

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“We still don’t know what the fallout is going to be. How long is Franchitti going to continue to push himself? (Tony) Kanaan and (Helio) Castroneves as well? Those are the sorts of questions that go through the driver’s mind when they think about the decisions being made by the sanctioning body that they have zero control over. I think this would give them a lot of pause.”

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Franchitti in particular has been very vocal about the apparent disregard for drivers' safety this year. In fact, after the wreck, Franchitti told ESPN, "I said before this is not a suitable track. You can't get away from anybody. One small mistake and you have a massive wreck."

It's not so much that drivers like Franchitti are getting older, it's that they are constantly battling IRL officials, and it had already gotten to the point where they were feeling ignored long before Sunday's crash.

Some drivers feel the most tragic part of Wheldon's death was that it should have never gotten to that point, one of the series' most popular racers dead at 33 years old.

The cars drivers were racing with on Sunday won't be seen in March as they get set for a safer chassis, but the damage has already been done. In the world of high-octane racing, every minute you linger can be the difference between safety and tragedy.

Drivers weren't just sad on Sunday, you can bet they were angry as well. Until the stars of the sport are listened to more closely, there will be more wrecks and drivers' departures from IndyCar won't be far off.