mikemodeler Posted October 17, 2011 Posted October 17, 2011 Much like a fireman or policeman, a racecar driver chooses his profession and understands the risks involved. In most cases it is through no fault of their own that they die doing their job. Getting behind the wheel of an Indycar or a passenger car, the driver understands that they have a responsibility to drive in a safe manner or else risk their life. As I said, I have sympathy for the two young children (2 years old and a 7 month old) that have lost their father and the wife who lost her husband.
highway Posted October 17, 2011 Posted October 17, 2011 Alright Harry, in my opinion you're just digging a deeper hole for yourself. Yes, police officers and firefighters do a dangerous job to, as you said, protect the public, but just because a race car isn't doing that doesn't make it any different in my book. All three professions, and yes I see driving a race car as a profession, put their lives on the line everyday they put on the uniform, and even the police officer and firefighter have to have the same passion for their jobs as a racing driver does. Maybe racing isn't your game, but I would say that if you didn't have the passion to do the job in the first place, you wouldn't put on the driving suit. If you would be a police officer or firefighter, wouldn't you have to have the same passion for the job before you'd put on the uniform and put life on the line?? I know if it were me, and if I were more physically fit I would be in law enforcement, I would have the passion for the job and not think twice about what could happen because I would love the job. If you don't love the job, you aren't going to risk death for nothing, right?? Anyway, RIP Dan, and may you and all the fallen drivers before you have fun at the races! Oh, and just one other thing Harry, I cried when Dale Earnhardt died, and I still get teary eyed even today when I see some of the old footage, and I never met the man but I have always felt like I lost a dear friend.
bandit1 Posted October 17, 2011 Posted October 17, 2011 Oh, and just one other thing Harry, I cried when Dale Earnhardt died, and I still get teary eyed even today when I see some of the old footage, and I never met the man but I have always felt like I lost a dear friend. your not the only one!
mikemodeler Posted October 17, 2011 Posted October 17, 2011 your not the only one! add me to that list.
sjordan2 Posted October 17, 2011 Posted October 17, 2011 Want to know about heartless jerks? I'd been watching the race all afternoon, when at 6 pm the local ABC station (WATE-TV, Knoxville, Tennessee) cut away from the network in mid-sentence of the announcer, when everything was still up in the air, to run local station promos and the local evening news, without ever returning to race coverage. No explanation given. I had to go to ESPN.com to find out what happened, and I still don't know what happened with the race past the 5-lap show of honor given by the other drivers.
highway Posted October 17, 2011 Posted October 17, 2011 ....and I still don't know what happened with the race past the 5-lap show of honor given by the other drivers. That was it Skip, the remaining 19 cars went out for the 5 laps and the season ended with that. The race was over at the time of the accident.
Darin Bastedo Posted October 17, 2011 Posted October 17, 2011 Well, let's see if I can explain myself. First of all, cops and firemen are different from face car drivers. Cops and firemen risk their lives every day in order to protect the rest of us. Race car drivers, and others who do dangerous stuff like skydiving, take a risk not to benefit me or society in general... they take risks for their own personal excitement, or to feed their own personal need for thrills. Now, I'm not saying that a race car driver is a bad guy. I'm not saying he doesn't have every right to put his life on the line, if that's what he wants to do, because he does have that right. If he's willing to risk death in exchange for getting his kicks, more power to him. Who am I to say that he's wrong? And I'm not saying that he "got what he deserved," or anything like that. Obviously, his death is not a good thing in any way. But I can't really get too shook up about a guy who died because he chose to live a risky lifestyle for nothing more than his own personal satisfaction. He knew the risks, he did it anyway, and he paid the price. Sure it's sad, sure it was a terrible tragedy. Just don't ask me to cry for him. I don't know if that makes any sense, but it's just how I feel. Harry, I'm sorry but I have to call fowl on this one. To say that someone is not deserving of sympathy because he decided to engage in risky activities is in my book tastless and ill-informed. First, anyone cut down in the a sudden and tragic way is reason to mourn whether you know that person or not. A young life was snuffed out today, and just because you see his contribution to the world as meaningless, does not make it so. Even if his only contribution was the entertainment of others, that is a worthwhile contibution to sociaty. As far as his "risky behavior", he like all of us took calculated risks. Last night On the way home from the store I was forced off the road by a jerk in a pick-up truck and had I not reacted as quicky as I had, I would have hit a tree at 60mph. Though we don't see it as such everyday we are sometimes seconds from disaster, and we just don't know it. His risks are more obvious, but had I reacted a tenth of a second later last night I would have been just as dead. You could say driving on the streets is more inherently risky than racing. There are no medi-vac helicopters standing by, no ambulance waiting in the wings and no track workers standing by with fire extinguishers waiting to pull me from the burning wreck. Are you a heartless jerk? No probably not, but you were certainly lacking tact in this situation. I hope that nobody you care about dies suddenly doing something you consider risky. But perhaps then you will understand. I still remember vividly watching my friend Jim Shampine's fatal wreck. I still miss hanging out at his shop and him talking my ear off about all things automotive. He may have risked his life racing, but by god his life meant a lot to those who knew and loved him.
sportandmiah Posted October 17, 2011 Posted October 17, 2011 Let's keep his family in our thoughts gang.
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