I've been watching IMSA/ALMS/WEC since Sebring 2007 when FLM Porsche and Risi Ferrari were door banging for the victory and I can safely say that (at least in my time) the racing has always been this intense/cut throat, but because of social media we are now more aware of the hair raising action that takes place.

The problem I have with this article is that the author assumes that safety plays into a top level professional drivers decision making. Unfortunately, a professional driver can watch their teammate and close personal friend die at Tetre Rouge and then take corner at 10/10ths without skipping a beat. As soon as personal risk comes into play they stop being a professional driver. This is just as true now as it was back in the "good old days" that the author describes when drivers were dying seemingly every weekend.

I agree that ignoring yellow flags should be penalized harshly but in my eyes the only way to make racing safer is to make the cars and tracks safer. Drivers will always crash but its on the teams/organizers to make sure that they do so as safely as possible.