A Belated Farewell to Lionheart

Before I begin,I'd like to apologize for not posting for so long.Truth be told I was lacking real inspiration.Nothing in comics had really caught my eye lately so I refrained from writing about just anything.Then I thought about commenting on the recent broadcast end of legendary daytime drama "All My Children",but the show had dropped in quality so badly,it's not the soap I grew up with nor the one I enjoyed as an adult(plus I didn't want to bore readers ranting with my dislike for alleged actor Cameron Mathison).

So regretfully I must write about the passing of a one of a kind personality in the sport of auto racing.Dan Wheldon lost his life in a multi-car incident at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Indycar season finale.There were few drivers as nice or as talented as the man known as Lionheart.On the track he was as fierce a competitor as anyone.Off the track he always made time for fans and media.Combining a bright personality,a great sense of humor and what I can only call a unique love of fashionable shoes made him stand out in the Indycar Series.This was not an easy task in this era when open-wheel was on a downward slide and most of the press was concentrated on Danica-mania.His first Indy 500 win was overshadowed by Danica Patrick's 4th place rookie of the year effort,but he took it in stride and won the season championship.His second 500 win this year was once again overshadowed somewhat by rookie JR Hildebrand's last lap crash in the wall and his own status as a part-time driver.That was supposed to change next year as he was set to rejoin Andretti Autosport to take over the seat abandoned by NASCAR bound Danica,whom he since had become friends with.

I think ESPN's Jeremy Schaap said it best when he said in the past Dan would have been as big a name as any in sports as a 2 time Indy 500 winner.He probably could have used his oval racing skills in NASCAR and made more money and fame.He probably could have had a journeyman's ride in Formula 1 and lived comfortably.He chose to make US open-wheel racing his life.It's a shame open-wheel also took his life.



Farewell Lionheart.