By April 7, 2006
Just two Sundays ago, as the sports world was immersed in March Madness, the Indy Racing League was about to dust off the checkered flag for its season-opening race in Homestead, Fla., the Toyota Indy 300.
On this day, rookie driver Paul Dana was to make his debut in the No. 17 car for the Rahal Letterman Racing team. It was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream for the 30-year-old. Before racing Dana put his journalism degree from Northwestern to use, as he wrote about racing for AutoWeek magazine and even Sports Illustrated. But it was on the track where Dana always wanted to be. After competing in three Indy races a season ago, Dana finally got his chance to be a full-time driver after signing with Rahal Letterman before this season.
Though a newcomer to the scene, Dana wasted no time putting his stamp on Indy racing, as he was very instrumental in bringing ethanol, a cleaner-burning fuel than what is currently used, into the sport. His persistence worked out in more ways than one, as he was able to secure a sponsorship from Ethanol Hemelgarn Racing, while his lobbying also led to the entire Indy circuit exclusively using the energy source in its races beginning in 2007.
Yet, despite being a fresh face on the scene and an interesting story, Dana was, for the most part, brushed aside – mostly because his teammates were Danica Patrick and last year’s Indy 500 winner Buddy Rice. But he didn’t care. Dana was reportedly extremely jovial in the days leading up to the race, shaking hands and signing autographs for the few people who actually knew who he was.
Then, during a pre-race practice, Dana’s name became known for all the wrong reasons. It was at that time that his No.17 Honda-powered Panoz barreled into Ed Carpenter’s car going an estimated 175 miles per hour, catapulting the chassis into the air in a scene reminiscent of an Evil Knievel stunt gone bad. It was one of the most horrific accidents in racing history.
Two hours after the accident, Dana was pronounced dead at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. His wife, Tonya, was notified of the crash while she was attending church services back in Indianapolis, where the couple calls home. Dana did not leave any children.
Of course the story made headlines – even David Letterman, co-owner of Dana’s racing team paid respects to his driver on the Late Show – but the crash could hardly be considered front-page news.
And to be honest, it didn’t even seem to be that big of a deal to the IRL, as the race went on as previously scheduled – save the absence of Patrick and Rice, who decided to sit the race out – just hours after Dana’s passing.
In fact, some people even blamed Dana for the accident, saying that he had made a crucial rookie mistake by not noticing the yellow caution lights that had gone on to signal that Carpenter’s car had spun into a barrier on turn two.
Sure, the accident could have been an error on the inexperienced Dana’s part, but why is that even an issue? A man died – and that should be the only issue discussed.
I do realize that dealing with death in the media is a tricky situation. There is a responsibility to report the whole story of what happened no matter who the athlete, but come on, does it really matter now that he made a mistake? Carpenter managed to survive the incident relatively unscathed. So why couldn’t we focus on the life of Dana, rather than the mistake which cost him his life?
Also, I understand Dana wasn’t exactly a household name. Kirby Puckett’s recent death received more publicity than Dana’s because he was a Hall of Fame player – Dana was just a rookie. But then why didn’t the media say that Puckett’s obesity played a role in his stroke, as they said Dana’s inexperience did in his crash? Not only that, I had to listen to all the stories of how Puckett was a hero to the people of Minnesota, but I heard a lot less about the fact that he allegedly sexual assaulted a woman. Dana was a married man who was best known for trying to introduce clean fuel to racing. It just doesn’t add up.
Yet it wasn’t just the media jumping on Dana’s error – even his colleagues threw him under a bus. Buddy Lazier told the Associated Press, “It looked like he never even lifted [off the gas] at the scene. He carried way too much speed in and wasn’t aware of what was going on around him.”
No mention of what kind of person Dana was, Buddy?
I realize that some people are making such a big deal out of the apparent error so that Indy will be more careful in allowing novices to race. But come on, Buddy, how about showing some loyalty for a person who had the same hopes and dreams that you did?
And how about the audacity of IRL to go ahead with the race? This pathetic organization should be ashamed of itself. Having this race was purely a monetary decision, as the fans would have to reimbursed for their tickets and because the race was supposed to be televised by ABC.
But I’m glad that I did more research about what Paul Dana was like as a man, because every person on this planet makes mistakes. The difference is that most don’t end with the person dying.
Chris Mascaro is a Sun Senior Writer. He May Be Tall will appear every other Friday this semester.
By April 7, 2006
Tomorrow, the women’s lacrosse team will put its 10-game home winning streak on the line as No. 16 Dartmouth (6-3, 2-1 Ivy) comes to town. No. 12 Cornell (6-2, 2-1 Ivy) is currently in a three-way tie for second place in the Ivy League, and the Red and the Green will be battling for positioning in the conference.
Dartmouth, who has won the Ivy League championship seven times since 1997, holds a 22-4 all-time record versus Cornell. The Green boasts four Tewaaraton Trophy candidates on its roster – senior midfielder Kristen Zimmer, senior defender Lizzy Cuneo, senior goaltender Devon Wills, and junior attack Whitney Douthett.
“It’s always a big game when we play a top team. Dartmouth was a Final Four team last season,” said head coach Jenny Graap ’86. “We are coming off a frustrating loss to Princeton, so we are using this game as an opportunity to demonstrate how badly we want this.”
Last Saturday, Cornell dropped a 10-6 decision to then-No. 8 Princeton. Despite holding an advantage in shots and turnovers and jumping out to an early 4-1 lead, the Red could not hold on and fell to the Tigers’ hounding defense and efficient shooting.
Dartmouth, meanwhile, is riding a three-game winning streak and is coming off an 11-9 overtime victory at Brown. The Green scored twice in the final two minutes of regulation to force the extra period and then scored twice more in overtime to secure the victory.
The Green is paced offensively by Douthett, who leads the team in points (29) and assists (15). Junior Jen Pittman leads the team in goals with 23 and is one of five players in the lineup with at least 15 tallies on the season. On defense, Zimmer leads the nation in caused turnovers, averaging 3.44 a game, and was named an Ivy League defensive player of the week earlier this season. In goal, Wills has posted a 7.65 goals against average and a .507 save percentage.
“They have a number of women capable of scoring and have a very talented senior goalkeeper,” Graap said. “But, for [tomorrow’s] game, we are going to need to pay attention to ourselves and our team effort.”
The young Cornell squad, which has received 94 percent of its total offensive production from non-seniors, is led in scoring by sophomore Courtney Farrell with 19 goals and eight assists. Junior tri-captain and Tewaaraton Trophy candidate Margaux Viola leads the team in goals (22) and draw controls (21). In goal, senior Maggie Fava is among the nation’s leaders in with a 7.00 goals against average and a .513 save percentage.
Against Dartmouth, the Red will look to get back to the basics, continue to play tough defense and go at the Green with a multidimensional attack. According to Graap, the team has lofty goals for the year and is determined to prove themselves against Dartmouth.
“We want a unified team effort. We have high expectations for the season and that’s what it will take the rest of the way,” Graap said.