HOMESTEAD, Fla. — The Indy Racing League started off its 2006 schedule Sunday morning in a way no series wants to start the season. Rookie driver Paul Dana was killed during practice at Homestead-Miami Speedway in a terrifying two-car crash.
Dana, 30, was pronounced dead at Jackson Memorial Hospital shortly before noon about two hours after he rear-ended Ed Carpenter's car at approximately 200 mph. Carpenter — the stepson of IRL founder Tony George, who also is Carpenter's team owner — did not sustain major injuries but remained hospitalized in stable condition Sunday night.
The season-opening Toyota Indy 300 took place as scheduled, although it did not include Dana's Rahal Letterman Racing teammates Danica Patrick and Buddy Rice.
Bobby Rahal said he withdrew the cars piloted by Patrick, the IRL's 2005 Rookie of the Year, and Rice, the 2004 Indy 500 champion, from the race in honor of Dana. A visibly shaken Patrick left the track without comment.
People are also reading…
"It was very difficult to race under circumstances like this," said defending series champion Dan Wheldon, who edged Helio Castroneves by a nose to win Sunday's race. "This is a job that can be pretty vicious at times with a lot of highs mixed in."
The fatal crash took place just minutes into the final practice session. Carpenter's car spun and hit the wall off Turn 2 and drifted down the racetrack. Several cars avoided Carpenter before Dana slammed into the stalled car at nearly full speed.
Dana's car went airborne and nearly flipped over before landing.
It took emergency crews around 15 minutes to extricate both drivers from their cars. Dana and Carpenter were airlifted to the hospital.
IRL officials said Dana's wife, Tonya, was informed of her husband's death while attending a church service at home in Indianapolis.
"It's a very black day for us," Rahal said. "This is a great tragedy."
Questions arose after the crash concerning why Dana did not slow down as he approached Carpenter's disabled car. The accident occurred several seconds — eight seconds according to one published report — after Carpenter's car initially made contact with the wall. Yellow caution lights, which signal trouble on the track, were immediately visible around the 1.5-mile speedway, but Dana did not brake.
Buddy Lazier had slowed for Carpenter's crash when Dana passed him.
"He carried way too much speed in and wasn't aware of what was going on around him," Lazier told The Associated Press.
Rahal said there was "no problem in communication" between his team's spotter and Dana. A spotter's duties include alerting drivers of problems on the track.
"The spotter made clear (there was an) incident," Rahal said. "From what I can see, there was a car on the outside that Paul was just passing or had passed. But I think it would just be conjecture and probably be very irresponsible of me to try to dissect as to why what happened, happened."
Dana, who earned a journalism degree at Northwestern and was a freelance writer for several magazines including Sports Illustrated, ran three IRL races last year. His season was cut short when he broke his back in a crash leading up to the Indianapolis 500.
Dana joined Rahal Letterman Racing's three-car team after driving last season for owner Ron Hemelgarn.
Dana was the third driver killed at Homestead since the track opened in 1995. John Nemechek, brother of Nextel Cup driver Joe Nemechek, died in a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race in February 1997 when he slammed into the wall coming off Turn 1. Jeff Clinton, a driver in the Grand American sportscar series, was killed during practice in March 2002.
Dana, a native of St. Louis, was the first IRL driver killed since Tony Renna died after a crash in October 2003 while testing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
"All the drivers know the risks and the dangers, but we're here because we love what we do," Castroneves said. "It's not the first time it's happened and, unfortunately, it probably won't be the last time."
