Last Modified: Tuesday, October 25, 2011 10:06 AM

BY JIM GAZZOLO / AMERICAN PRESS

When word of Dan Wheldon’s death circulated several days ago, it was like a bad dream being relived.
Wheldon was young, just 33, and only beginning to make a real name for himself in the sport he loved.
His future was bright.
But on that fateful day in Las Vegas two Sundays ago, Wheldon died doing what he loved best.
He was killed in a fiery crash and left behind a family, friends and a future that was full of hope and promise.
Now, we hear talk that Wheldon’s death will not go silently into the history books of racing. We hear that it could, and even should, lead to changes in the racing world. We hear the sport will do everything it can to make its drivers safer.
Sorry to say, we have heard all that before.
Back in the fall of 1999, on a very similar track that was carved out of the desert as well, an eerily familiar tragedy took place.
It too was the last race of the season on an open-wheel circuit, and a fatal crash out of Turn 2 put an end to any thoughts of a championship party.
Drivers and fans cried at the loss of a young man just entering his prime of life.
On that day in Fontana, California, Greg Moore lost control of his race car and bolted front-first into the wall. His car began to come apart as it was launched into the air by the power of the impact.
Moore never regained consciousness and was later pronounced dead at a local hospital after being airlifted from the track.
Moore was just 24 years old.
I will never forget covering the events of that day.
Wheldon’s death was very much the same type of incident.
The problem is this — back in 1999 the well-meaning folks who watch over these races were saying the same things they are today. They wanted to learn from Moore’s death and wanted to make the racing world a better place, a safer place for drivers and fans alike.
They never wanted to have their fun and games interrupted by death if they could help it.
Fact is, they can’t help it.
One thing I took from Moore’s death was that you can’t make racing at over 200 miles an hour safe. You can protect those involved as best you can, you can put in all the safety devices and flame-proof equipment you want, but in the end cars are going to wreck and bad things are going to happen to those inside of them.
The racing world has changed since Moore’s death. The circuit he drove on, CART, doesn’t exist anymore.
It can be argued it too was a victim of the wreck that day at the California Speedway.
That really doesn’t matter much.
Open-wheel racing is not the only arena to have lost drivers.
Not even 16 months later, NASCAR, the biggest name in all of racing, lost its biggest star when Dale Earnhardt was killed.
To its credit, NASCAR made several safety advancements to lower the risk for drivers. But in open-wheel, it’s a tough process.
The only thing you can do when the head is exposed outside the shell of the car is to slow down the racers. That’s not likely to happen. The nature of the beast is speed.
It is something the drivers have come to terms with. Same can be said for the family members who watch them with white knuckles and chewed-off finger nails.
Fact is, the name of the game is speed ... and speed, unfortunately at times, kills.
It’s a lesson I learned the hard way once again last week.
Jim Gazzolo is assistant sports editor. Email him at jgazzolo@americanpress.com