A tragic Sunday at the speedway

One of the first articles I read after the tragic passing of Dan Wheldon seemed to indicate that Las Vegas Motor Speedway was inappropriate for Indy cars from the very beginning. That is not my recollection.

We had the Indy Racing League in Las Vegas from 1996-2000, and Champ Cars in 2004-2005. And while there were accidents, I don’t recall anyone questioning the relative safety of the track. We had great racing, with exciting drives by Arie Luyendyk, Al Unser Jr., Sebastian Bourdais and Tony Stewart, just to name a few. If anything, the old, flat track was criticized for being boring, especially after NASCAR started racing here.

I know that not a few stock-car drivers loved the track back then, though we did have races with very few caution flags and no wrecks. If you set your car up right for the 12-degree banking, you could drive away. That was great for drivers such as Jeff Burton, Matt Kenseth or Jimmie Johnson, but apparently not for the majority of fans, who wanted more action.

In 2006, the banking in the turns was increased to 20 degrees, and while it arguably increased the excitement level for NASCAR, it may have made the track too fast, too wide, and too smooth for Indy cars. I was dismayed to hear after the fact that many drivers had expressed concern, if not outright fear, of what might happen in “the big one.” On Sunday, it took a horribly short time to find out, and now our hometown track is officially a killer.

I’m sad to say that I was also at Fontana in 1999 when Greg Moore was killed. That tragic loss taught us that grass is a very bad thing to have near a racetrack, and showed the deadly potential of infield walls. I’m afraid that the lessons we are learning from Dan Wheldon’s death may mean an end to Indy cars racing on highly-banked ovals. I will miss the thrill of seeing open-wheel cars flying around Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but I never again want to feel like I felt last Sunday afternoon.

RIP, Dan.

John Henry Melancon

Las Vegas

Horrific crash

To the editor:

On Friday, Margie and I flew to Las Vegas for what was to be an exciting weekend of NASCAR and Indy car races. This is something I have wanted to do for quite some time. The weather was great and the Saturday NASCAR race was exciting.

On Sunday, only 10 minutes into the Indy race, we witnessed the 13-car crash. This can only be described as horrific. We watched as cars flipped, broke apart and burst into flames. When the smoke cleared, the crowd of 50,000 people was quiet. We watched and waited for word and they announced that driver Dan Wheldon of car 77 was being airlifted to hospital. The crowd waved and saluted as the helicopter left the infield.

A couple of hours later it was announced the Mr. Wheldon had died.

It will be a long time before what we witnessed fades from my memory. We know that athletes do what they do for the thrill and the money, but ultimately they do it to entertain us (the fans) and sometimes it costs them their lives.

Our thoughts and prayers have been with Mr. Wheldon’s family and the motorsport community. It certainly is a weekend we will not forget.

Dave Hadley

Marg Hadley

Calgary, Alberta

Plea deals

To the editor:

I just had to write to comment on your Wednesday article “Arberry takes plea deal.” I think I can speak on the behalf of all your readers when I say that we are tired of reading about plea deals. It is really frustrating and sends a bad message about our legal system. When we read these plea deal bargains, we all wonder, “What if this were me?” I think we all know the answer to that.

It is really despicable to read about politicians and entertainers getting away with outright crimes with just a slap on the hand. These people who are in the public eye and/or politicians should get double the fines and sentences. This might help put a stop to these criminal acts.

TOM A. CARIGAN

LAS VEGAS

Money grabbers

To the editor:

As I see it, the Wall Street protestors are simply confused capitalists. They love money, too, and want to get ahead. That is a universal human urge and the driving force behind capitalism.

Take Michael Moore and Susan Sarandon, for example. With their millions in the bank, who are they to call others “capitalist pigs” ?Ah! Confusion reigneth supreme.

GLEN B. DUNNING

LAS VEGAS

Tax plan

To the editor:

I find the criticism of Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 plan for tax reform from both the Republican and Democrats to be hypocritical. Mr. Cain offers a direct and simple plan. Right or wrong, at least he puts forward a simple and understandable solution to an out-of-control tax system that favors large corporations and wealthy individuals.

It is obvious to the masses that the current group of political candidates want the status quo in the tax system because they know who butters their toast. They are not representing anyone but the large corporations and wealthy. That includes the Democrats and President Obama.

Maybe that’s why we’re starting to see the Wall Street protests and middle-class unrest.

STEVEN GINTHER

MESQUITE

Free to protest

To the editor:

In response to Forrest A. Henry’s Tuesday letter:

I agree with him that the 99ers near Wall Street are not a mirror image of the tea party. The 99ers, as many have observed, don’t seem to have a cohesive point of view. They don’t seem to have specific goals. They don’t seem to have a plan of action. And as far as I can see, they don’t seem to have a leader.

But thank God we live in a country where the 99ers can express their displeasure at the current state of affairs without being shot in the street.

Mr. Henry also writes if “liberals followed Keynesian economics, we would’ve put money away during our flush times so we could afford to spend during the down times.” Now I don’t profess to know anything about Keynesian economics, but I seem to remember President Bill Clinton leaving a huge surplus in the government bank, so to speak. And then President George W. Bush spent a ton of money on two undeclared wars that weren’t paid for. Is that all in that Keynesian economics book, too?

John Bauman

Las Vegas