Despite broken back, Power says he’s committed to IndyCar

After getting about 20 feet in the air that's Power hitting the wall with the bottom of his car. To the left is Dan Wheldon's car with the flames bursting out going headfirst into the catch fence. This photo was taken a split second after Wheldon's head likely hit the pole, so he was probably already dead. The pole also sheered off the rollover hoop behind his head. But given the direction of the car his head probably hit the pole first, then the roll hoop. A canopy over the cockpit probably would have saved him.

Despite breaking his back in the big Las Vegas accident Will Power said Wednesday he's committed to IndyCar and believes the series will become much safer from the investigation into Dan Wheldon's fatal accident.

There were reports from Australia that Power was reconsidering whether IndyCar was too unsafe to compete in, which he said is not the case.

"I am committed, I am staying in IndyCar, simple as that," Power said.

Power suffered a broken vertebra in the accident, his second serious back injury.

But as one of the drivers who went airborne in the accident (see photo), he recognizes how quickly you can be killed driving an IndyCar on high speed ovals. "I remember thinking 'Oh, I'm going to the catch fence; that's not good.'"

It was Wheldon, though, who hit the catch fence (see photo), and Power who was lucky to walk away. Wheldon never knew what hit him.

"I was happy the car had stopped, I felt fine, I knew I had done some damage to my back," Power said. "And I wasn't really thinking about anything. Then I was just concerned for who was in the car in front of me, I then knew it was Dan and thought 'This is bad.' I could see the concern from the medical guys.

"So, I eventually got out of the car. I went away. I walked off."

"It was so hard, comprehending everything that happened, really, that someone had actually been killed," he said. "It's weird, it's hard and it's tough. It's such a tight-knit community, motorsport, and that's worldwide, and it was honestly a bit of disbelief for a couple days.

"You just can't believe it happened, you just can't believe Dan Wheldon was killed. And then after reality, it sets in, and then it becomes common to you."