Throughout the How To Drive Fast series, I’ve offered opinions based on the experience I’ve amassed during my 17-years behind the wheel. The whole basis of this column is to help you drive faster, and learn the tricks and techniques utilized in the quest for victory. But for this piece, I turned to my friends for help: …

You know what question I get asked most as a racecar driver? No, not, "Do you get scared?" and, amazingly, not even, "How fast does your car go?" The most commonly asked question is, "Why do you have to be fit to drive a racecar? All you do is sit down and turn a wheel?"

Poor, poor Dan Wheldon. The IndyCar driver died in a miserable, fiery wreck yesterday, leaving behind a wife and two young sons. Awful stuff. And this was before we found out that he spent his last night alive in the company of a Maloof before getting some tattoos.

AP, via SI.com, reports "Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon died Sunday in a fiery 15-car wreck at Las Vegas Motor Speedway when his car flew over another on Lap 13 and smashed into the wall just outside turn 2. Wheldon was 33. Drivers were told of Wheldon's death in a meeting about two hours after the fiery, smoky…

Just a handful of laps into today's Las Vegas Indy 300, 15 of 34 cars that started the race were involved in a horrific crash that left driver Dan Wheldon seriously injured and airlifted to a hospital. ESPN reported that driver Will Power was also taken to a hospital because of "lower back pain." At least two cars…

Some background to driver Will Power's double-barreled message from today's Indy 225 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, courtesy of tipsters Dave and sassojr:

With six laps remaining in last night's 2011 Firestone Indy Lights Freedom 100, boom went Jorge Goncalvez's No. 4 after a bit of entanglement sent his ride into the wall. He was alright, but the race finished under a caution. Ripoff.

Click to view File under: #holyshit. In the 1981 Indianapolis 500, Rick Mears took a pitstop and his car was sprayed with fuel that ignited invisibly after making contact with the engine. Mears and several members of his crew were immediately (and invisibly) lit up.

Venezuelan Milka Duno has signed on to run a full IndyCar season. Danica really has been a trailblazer. If Duno does well, maybe she can fail in NASCAR too! [Indy Star]