If you haven’t heard it yet, you’re going to hear it in
racing all weekend. The unthinkable happened. Wednesday night, Nationwide driver
Jason Leffler was killed in a heat race for the Sprint Car 410. I’m still in
shock. It all hasn’t quite sunk in yet, but does a little more so every hour.
This is the first time ever, since I have been watching NASCAR, that I have
experienced losing a driver. It hurts. I’m sure if I had seen it unfold, it
would have hurt more, but it still hurts. When this all happened, I was in the
middle of writing a review for Michael Waltrip’s book In the Blink of an Eye.
After I heard the news about Jason, I thought of it and realized, “Wow, things can change in the blink of an eye”.
I remember when Dan Wheldon passed in 2011. The only time I
had watched him race was when he won the Indy 500 that year. When I started hearing
the news on Twitter, I knew the name sounded familiar. I looked him up, and saw
it was indeed the driver I had seen win that day. I felt sad, even though I
hardly knew about him. Knowing more about Jason Leffler and watching him race
several times, it hits at home more.
We watch our drivers race almost every week. We understand
it is a dangerous sport, but I think we forget how dangerous it is sometimes. Safety
innovations had given us that privilege. The safety measurements that we have
today are probably the best innovation racing has ever had, but that still isn’t
a guarantee. Sadly, sometimes things just happen.
One death that really stunned me was one that didn’t involve
racing. Most people wouldn’t know about it, unless you watch XGames. Back in
January, I was watching something I had never seen before: Snowmobile Best Trick.
One by one, riders would go through the course, jump off each ramp, and perform
the best tricks they could. Caleb Moore jumped off the ramp and performed a trick
they said he had done many times before. He under rotated a flip though, sending
both he and his snowmobile tumbling in the snow. At first, his injuries sounded
minor, but they proved to be much more severe. He passed away later that week.
It really affected me
for a few days, but in the end I realized something: These people are wired
this way. They absolutely love doing what they do. They accept the risk that is
in front them and would rather spend 25 years doing what they love, than a
regular lifetime doing something else. The same goes for race car drivers. They
accept that risk, and love doing what they do.
That’s what I am reminding myself of now. At the same time,
I am remembering what Michael talks about in his book, relying on your faith. When
Dale Sr. passed, he had to rely on his faith more than ever. In any hard time,
that’s what you have to do. It is what will carry you through.
So Jason, we will miss you…Say "Hi" to Dale for us.
