10) INDYCAR summarized its findings, which as most in the industry knew well in advance, was not attributable to any one factor. The series also bade farewell to Wheldon at the end of the report.

Overall Conclusions

The accident was significant due to the number of race cars damaged, but more importantly due to the non-survivable injuries to Dan Wheldon. While several factors coincided to produce a “perfect storm,” none of them can be singled out as the sole cause of the accident. For this reason, it is impossible to determine with certainty that the result would have been any different if one or more of the factors did not exist.

INDYCAR is committed to safety. This report is an interim step to INDYCAR's on-going efforts to improve motorsports safety. INDYCAR will continue its efforts to reduce the risks of racing to all.

The 2012 racing season ushers in an era of a new IndyCar Series race car and the opportunity for unprecedented safety advancements. Dan Wheldon was instrumental in the testing and development of this new car and the safety innovations that it represents.

The thoughts, prayers and deepest condolences of INDYCAR and the open wheel racing community go out to Dan’s family.

11) INDYCAR will continue to work with Dallara, its teams, its tracks and those involved with advancing safety in the wake of the Las Vegas crash, and of all the determinations that came from its investigation report, the lack of a single, hard fix is likely frustrating for some.

Some changes are a must: pack racing needs to be eliminated, the ability for cars to launch over each other must be greatly reduced, and the ability for a driver's head to contact a steel pole or hard object in a crash--at any track--must be reduced.

Beyond those measures, there's little else deemed as an immediate and actionable item at present.

Unless fans want to see Indy cars race on big ovals at speeds far lower than what Sprint Cup cars achieve, a call for a drop in cornering speeds, based on what launched numerous cars into the sky at Las Vegas, won't solve the problem.

More oval training for rookies could be worth exploring, but all of the drivers competing at Las Vegas met INDYCAR's criteria to compete. Whether that criteria needs to be modified going forward is worth contemplating, and the topic is known to be under discussion. This writer would be in favor of some of the less distinguished rookies being required to spend more time in a training series like Indy Lights before being allowed at a track like Indianapolis or Las Vegas.

Adding canopies would be a radical departure for open-wheel racing, although some drivers have expressed being in favor of such a thing. Adding some form of roll bar over the top of the drivers has also been mentioned, but driver ingress and egress would be compromised.

Improvements to INDYCAR's oval formula and overall driver safety should undoubtedly occur in the aftermath of Las Vegas, but it's clear that little could have been done to Wheldon's car to have prevented the accident's final outcome. Barring the addition of a steel cage surrounding Indy car drivers from head to toe, the risk of suffering significant injury will continue to exist when a car made from composite materials is hurled at an immovable object at anything more than a nominal rate of speed.

Without wholesale changes to the basics of Indy car construction materials and methods, drivers will face the same risks that converged and led to the loss of Wheldon's life.

The report encompassed what took place at Las Vegas in October 16th using Dallara IR07-Hondas, and did provide some guidance on possible policy changes for the future, but made no mention of possible or planned changes to the new Dallara DW12 based on the commission's findings. Whether the DW12, named in honor of Wheldon, will receive updates or alterations as a result of the Las Vegas investigation is unknown.

Another question that was not asked or answered in the 49-page document is whether the series should fundamentally alter its cars after the Las Vegas crash, or if the series should continue down the same open-cockpit path.

Wheldon’s crash and death were absolutely shocking, and the series clearly needs to push the boundaries on makings its racing safer in every capacity, but changing its identity as a result of the Las Vegas crash isn’t the solution.

Marshall Pruett is SPEED.com's Auto Racing Editor, covering IndyCar and sports cars. He also contributes to Road & Track and Racecar Engineering. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.