[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 4382]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        THE PASSING OF PAUL DANA

  (Ms. CARSON asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. CARSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to salute the life of Paul 
Dana. Paul Dana was a resident of my district, and he was down in 
Florida this past weekend and unfortunately met a very tragic, 
traumatic death in a race car exhibition in Miami.
  Paul Dana was the one that brought me to supporting ethanol for cars, 
and he also had worked successfully to get all of the race cars in the 
500-mile race to use ethanol in 2008, a tremendous victory for the hard 
work of a young 30-year-old man.
  I want to rise and give him a special salute because he was a friend 
of mine, a wonderful individual. And I was very pained to see how that 
car was traumatically destroyed in that race.
  Mr. Speaker, I would ask that the Members of the House join me in 
extending condolences and support to his family and to pray for them, 
because I know this is a very traumatic experience for them.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to salute the life of Paul Dana. Paul was a 
man who saw life as goals, not obstacles. After graduating from 
Northwestern with a Journalism degree, he quickly determined that he 
would be happiest behind the wheel of a racecar and not in the stands 
writing about them. He actively pursued his goal and sought out 
possible sponsors who would provide him with the chance to achieve his 
dreams.
  Paul Dana was passionate and dedicated to everything he committed 
himself to throughout his life. He worked on behalf of the cause of 
ethanol, an issue which we shared a deep interest in. He was dedicated 
to increasing the use of ethanol through his racing team sponsor. This 
new combination was the result of his hard work and successes on the 
track as well as his strong business and racing world skills.
  He was proud to be racing on the same team with Danica Patrick and 
Buddy Rice. They created an amazing team along with team owners Bobby 
Rahal and David Letterman, and were all excited about the prospect of a 
great year. In the past Paul had finished 10th in his debut Indy car 
race at Miami-Homestead and had been looking forward to returning this 
season after suffering a broken back during a practice run at the 
Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
  Paul Dana was an integral part of the community and served in many 
local organizations along side his wife Tonya Bergeson-Dana, a 
Researcher and Professor at IUPUI's Riley Hospital for Children. The 
relationship they had and the way they reached out to others have left 
imprints on many lives far beyond just racing.
  A devoted husband, racer and American, Paul Dana should always be 
remembered for enjoying the challenges that were between him and his 
goals, never failing to live life to the fullest and always sharing in 
the happiness that we should all enjoy everyday. He met his fate 
prematurely on the racetrack last Saturday afternoon in Florida but he 
died while doing what he loved. We should all be as blessed.

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