Sadly, we have lost one of our racing brethren. On lap 12 of the IndyCar race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, there was a horrendous crash that involved 15 of the 34 starters. Several cars became airborne and total demolition occurred. Dan Wheldon, only 33; ended up flying into the catch fence and landed on top of the SAFER barrier. The accident took his life. My condolences to his family in this tragedy, RIP Mr. Wheldon.

In the Sprint Cup race Saturday night, I was relieved to see Jimmy Johnson walk away from the major hit he took into the outside wall. Many thanks are due to NASCAR and the developers of all the safety equipment used and required at the top levels of the sport. Without them the results may have been much worse. We sometimes forget just how dangerous the sport we love really is.

The Chase for the Sprint Cup continues to stay very interesting, with six of the drivers still in contention with five races remaining. The next two races, Talladega and Martinsville; are major wild cards in determining who will win the title. Carl Edwards still holds a small five point advantage in his quest for his first Sprint Cup championship.

Another interesting title hunt is the one going on in the Camping World Truck Series. Both of the two leading point’s contenders had their difficulties, and it has pulled five drivers to within 19 points with only a few races left. Watch out for Ron Hornaday, who won the race Saturday for his series leading 51st victory. He has made up nearly 30 points in two or three races and is looking like a serious contender, even from fifth in the points. Hard to believe he doesn’t have a ride yet for 2012.

Sunday I went to Hickory Motor Speedway for the Dwight Huffman Memorial/ Fall Brawl event. On tap was a 100 lap Limited Late Model race and the main event, the Dwight Huffman Memorial 177 lap Late Model Stock race. Both races were quite eventful with the main event being decided with lots of bumping and rubbing in the final laps. Even then the excitement wasn’t over as a fight erupted in the pits between what I’m guessing were two of the front runners. It was quickly broken up by law enforcement, but of course drew a large crowd.

Congratulations to Ronnie Bassett Jr. (Late Model Stock) and Tyler Church (Limited Late Model) on their wins.

Well that’s all for this sad day, once again my heart goes out to all of the competitors on the IndyCar circuit.

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