Doomed racer

This Oakland Tribune article about Bob Sweikert and all the open wheel drivers that were killed in the 1950's is a good read. It was a dangerous sport back then and drivers were 'sacrificial lambs,' being severely injured or killed almost every week. We thought we were reliving history in the early days of the IRL when injured or crippled drivers was pretty much a weekly occurrence. Things have been a bit better lately. When the CART teams went in and took over the IRL they brought in better driving talent and better prepared equipment. Despite Paul Dana's tragic death at Homestead last March, 2006 was the IRL's safest year on record.