David Letterman ponders racing future after death of Justin Wilson

DAVID LETTERMAN is doing some soul-searching these days, but it's not due to his retirement from the "Late Show."

It's due to his racing team - Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. And it's due to the recent racing death of Justin Wilson.

In a phone interview with the Associated Press, the retired late-night comedian and IndyCar team co-owner rattled off a number of similar deaths - Dan Wheldon, Paul Dana, Dale Earnhardt, Ayrton Senna, sprint-car driver Kevin Ward Jr. - and wondered if "maybe we've reached diminishing returns at making this sport safer."

Letterman expressed his grief by phone from his Montana ranch. He spoke just two days after Wilson died from a head injury suffered Sunday when he was struck by a piece of debris at Pocono Raceway.

"It's just like, 'Whoa, is this really the sport that you can embrace entirely?' I don't know. It's a real self-examination," Letterman said.

"I talked to a lot of people about this: Racing is fun, but people are not supposed to get killed," Letterman said. "I am brokenhearted for his family, for his kids, and everybody says, 'Well, this is what the guy wanted to do.' And of course, that's the case.

"I've done quite a lot of thought, and statistically, I suppose people will tell us racing has never been safer, and maybe that's the case," Letterman said. "And it seems like always enough time goes by between episodes, tragedies like this, where you are lulled into thinking that, 'OK, well, that's not going to happen again.'

"And then it happens again. It just makes you sick to your stomach.

"When you see a race and you see people drive these cars with such precision, what they are able to achieve and what they are able to control, it's like watching ballet. What they are able to do with these high-horsepower automobiles, it's like watching the Blue Angels or something," Letterman said. "That's the thrill of it. So when you see a kid get killed doing this, it's a tap on the shoulder of, 'I don't know. I don't know if we are supposed to be enjoying this or not.' Not many people are getting killed in volleyball."

Tonight they're rocking Grand Forks, N.D., and Tuesday Def Leppard will be headlining with Styx and Tesla at the Allentown Fairgrounds.

After close to 40 years as a band, how does the band bring so much energy to "Pour Some Sugar on Me"? Tattle spoke with guitarist Vivian Campbell, on the phone from Dallas, and on the mend again from his most recent battle against lymphoma, to get some answers.

T: First, how are you feeling?

VC: I'm feeling very well, thanks. As I've frequently told people, it's not like I'm sick . . . I'm participating in a phase 2 drug trial and we hope it will be effective against lymphoma. I have to fly back to L.A. every few weeks to get an infusion, but I get to continue my work. As long as they keep me working, that keeps me happy.

But I will admit I am tired.

T: Is there a band of your status that's on the road as much?

VC: We're touring more this year because we have a new record coming out. The single goes to radio in September.

T: Can a classic rock band make money making new records?

VC: We won't recoup what it costs us to make this record. We live all over and record in Dublin. There's a lot of travel and expense, but that's not what it's about . . . We do it for those hardcore fans, and we do it for ourselves.

T: Will you play any new songs on tour?

VC: It's hard to fit new music into the live show. It's not like the old days - we live in a very fragmented world, very a la carte, people only tune into what they want. And the old hits are what most people want to hear.

T: After so many years, how do you still get along?

VC: It's not like we're the Monkees. We don't live in the same house and wear matching pajamas. We are, however, one of the few bands of our generation who still share a dressing room. But when we're not on the road we may not speak to each other for months. Styx and Tesla also generally get along with each other. When you're young, you can be more immature. At our age, we want drama-free.

For ticket info go to ticketmaster.com.

Spike Lee, Gena Rowlands and Debbie Reynolds are the season's first Oscar winners.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced yesterday that the filmmaker and two actresses will receive honorary Academy Awards Nov. 14 at its annual Governors Awards ceremony in Hollywood.

Lee and Rowlands will receive honorary Oscars for their career achievements. Reynolds will accept the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for more than 50 years of work promoting awareness and treatment of mental-health issues.

And for being in "Singing in the Rain," the best movie ever made.

- Daily News wire services contributed to this report.

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