At last, the verdict has arrived on the investigation of the fatal crash and death of Dan Wheldon at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on October 16th. The accident that took life of the IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon also resulted in a 15 car pileup. The much awaited verdict came after series of accident investigations, ahead of the 2012 series scheduling.
Investigations and IndyCar officials came up with this conclusion on Thursday, stating, "While several factors coincided to produce a 'perfect storm', none of them can be singled out as the sole cause of the accident. For this reason, it is impossible to determine with certainty that the result would have been any different if one or more of the factors did not exist."
IndyCar Series CEO Randy Bernard and President of Operations Brian Barnhart ruled out the possibility of human error, saying experience level of the racers was not the factor in the crash nor was the number of cars (34) plying on the track. Although, the study pointed at the dynamic nature of the track as the cause of the accident, allowing cars to move freely up and down.
IndyCar stated that the incident could have happened anywhere, but dynamics of the car and LVMS track geometry made it fatal. Dallara Indy car is in use in the motorsport league since 2003, having a very high downforce. With only Honda as an engine provider, the series opted to keep horsepower low. However, IndyCar officials hope that high banked oval tracks will be given a green signal for future IndyCar races.
Bernard added, “IndyCar's commitment to safety was enhanced by Dan Wheldon's testing throughout 2011 of the new car to be used by IndyCar in 2012. The 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series season ushers in an era of a new race car and the opportunity for continued safety advancements.”
