Just before the Toyota Indy 300 got started this afternoon I found out about the tragedy this morning. Paul Dana, driver of the #17 Ethanol car for Rahal-Letterman Racing has died from injuries he suffered in a pre-race warmup crash. This is an absolute shock since I had just interviewed Paul yesterday afternoon. You can read the story on the Indy Racing League website here.

I will be speaking with Tom Slunecka, Executive Director of the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC)shortly and will post his statement. EPIC is a sponsor of the car that Paul Dana was driving.

Cindy and I offer our prayers for Paul, his family, the Rahal-Letterman team, EPIC and all the people affected by this tragedy. I had the honor to meet Paul and interview him several times over the last year. He is a hero in my eyes. You won’t find a better role model for what you can achieve if you work hard and stay focused. He was an untiring champion of ethanol and I can’t imagine at the moment what we’ll do without him.

I’ll have more information to post soon.