Dana was rushed to a hospital in downtown Miami

Dana, 30, slammed into a car driven by Ed Carpenter at about 200mph after Carpenter had spun, hit the wall and nearly come to a complete stop.

Both drivers were taken to hospital, where Dana died of massive trauma injuries. Carpenter had minor injuries.

Eventual race winner Dan Wheldon said it was "a very, very sad day".

Dana, a former motorsport journalist, was part of the team owned by TV talk show host David Letterman and Bobby Rahal.

This is a very black day for us. This is a great tragedy Dana's team boss Bobby Rahal

He was in his second year in the championship and had qualified in ninth position for Sunday's Toyota Indy 300 - the first race of the new season.

"Obviously, this is a very black day for us," Rahal said. "This is a great tragedy.

"On behalf of our team, our prayers and sympathies go out to Paul, his wife Tonya and the rest of his family."

Dana's American team-mates, Danica Patrick and 2004 Indianapolis 500 winner Buddy Rice, pulled out of the race.

Dana is the third IRL driver to be killed since the league began competition in 1996.

Scott Brayton was killed in a crash during practice for the 1996 Indianapolis 500 and Tony Renna died in a crash at Indianapolis during an October 2003 test session.

England's Wheldon, making his debut with new team Chip Ganassi Racing, added: "What's important today is that our thoughts and prayers are with the Dana family and the people at the Rahal Letterman team.

I'm still in shock about the whole thing Dario Franchitti

"Racing is what I love. It's my job to race and I love my job. It can be pretty vicious at times, but there are a lot of highs, too."

Helio Castroneves, who finished a close second to Wheldon, added: "Everybody knows the dangers in our sport. I know my mother gets very nervous when she comes to watch me race."

Sam Hornish was third with Scotsman Dario Franchitti in fourth for Wheldon's former team, Andretti Green.

"I'm still in shock about the whole thing," Franchitti said. "I didn't know Paul very well, but I've been through this before. I just feel for his family. It's such a tragedy."