Dan Wheldon, 33, who moved to the United States from his native England with hopes of winning the Indianapolis 500 and twice prevailed in his sport’s most famed race, died Sunday after he became ensnared in a fiery 15-car wreck at the Las Vegas Indy 300.
Wheldon, who won the Indy 500 for the second time this May, is probably the most well-known driver to die in a race in the United States since Dale Earnhardt died on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. He is the first reigning Indy 500 champion to die since Bill Vukovich, who won the race in 1953 and 1954, was killed while leading the 1955 race.
Dario Franchitti, who won the series championship Sunday, sobbed uncontrollably as he got back into his car for the tribute laps. Over speakers at the track, the song “Danny Boy” blared, followed by “Amazing Grace” as hundreds of crew workers from each team stood solemnly.
“We’re going to miss him,” said Chip Ganassi, Wheldon’s former car owner. “Everybody in IndyCar died a little today.” San Francisco Chronicle
Wheldon was trailing much of a record-setting 34-car pack when cars started spinning. He went to the safest part of the track — hugging the bottom lane — but couldn’t avoid the destruction that was building.
A Racing Life: Dan Wheldon in Pictures
Wheldon’s car, the same one Alex Tagliani used to win the 500 pole in May, launched over another and rolled through the air. Television cameras struggled to keep up with what followed.
Wheldon’s car appeared to slam the outside wall, where officials later found damage to the area designed to protect him. The fire and carnage that spread over the backstretch—from his car and others—was unspeakable in its volume.
In all, 15 cars were damaged, some as bad as in any accident in the sport’s history. Rescuers covered Wheldon’s crumpled machine with a yellow tarp.
IndyCar wept. Indianapolis Star
The 200-lap race to decide the series championship and rookie of the year was ruled incomplete by INDYCAR officials and championship points would include races through the Kentucky Indy 300 on Oct. 2. That gives the title to Dario Franchitti for the third consecutive year and the Sunoco Rookie of the Year title to James Hinchcliffe.
The INDYCAR Championship Celebration, scheduled for Oct. 17 at the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino, was canceled. Information regarding a public memorial for Wheldon will be released at a later date.
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A Racing Life: Dan Wheldon in Pictures
After drivers were informed of Wheldon’s passing, they voted to take the laps—probably the most difficult of their careers—to honor the two-time Indianapolis 500 winner and 2005 IZOD IndyCar Series champion.
Also involved were the cars driven by Will Power, Paul Tracy, Buddy Rice, Alex Lloyd, E.J. Viso, Charlie Kimball, Tomas Scheckter, Jay Howard, Wade Cunningham, Pippa Mann, JR Hildebrand, James Jakes and Vitor Meira.
Power, Mann and Hildebrand were transported to University Hospital via ground. Power was evaluated and released, while the other two were held overnight for further evaluation.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Team Penske’s Ryan Briscoe, who was well ahead of the crash. “The debris we all had to drive through the lap later, it looked like a war scene from ‘Terminator’ or something. So it was scary.” IndyCar.com
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