LAS VEGAS – As a driver, Sam Schmidt understood the inherent danger of driving a car at more than 200 mph. Even after a practice crash left him in a wheelchair, he accepted the this-is-part-of-it perils that go along with racing.
After watching Dan Wheldon’s death punctuate an emotionally draining month, Schmidt may have had enough.
Speaking Monday from his go-kart facility not far from the Las Vegas Strip, Schmidt acknowledged that Dan Wheldon’s death at Las Vegas Motor Speedway had left him shaken — maybe even enough to leave the sport he loves.
“I’d by lying if I said I wasn’t — you’ve got to think about it,” Schmidt said. “It’s one thing to take the risk yourself and my situation, it’s something I was doing since I was 5 years old and I’m still here to watch my kids grow up. It’s an amazing parallel between Dan’s age and my age when I got hurt and the ages of his kids.
“I just don’t know if I can be this tightly associated with something like that in the future.”
Schmidt knows a bit about adversity.
A rising star in the IndyCar series, he became a quadriplegic following a 2001 practice-session wreck near Orlando, Fla.
Read More from the Article Source: Full Article
