Dan Wheldon, who won the Indy 500 for the second time in the final straight this year, died in the final Indy Car event of the year. I did not see the crash, nor a replay at this point. The drivers elected to end the race that had only gone 11 laps, and did something I have never seen - a five lap formation salute to Dan.
Bummer.
CBSSports.com has a replay of the wreck, which involved a bunch of cars, but it doesn’t specifically show or focus on Wheldon, rather on other drivers. I’m guessing they intentionally ignored some things in the immediate aftermath.
One thing the clip makes clear is just how tiny those cars are when you take the wheels off of them.
Dan always seemed like an awesome guy in interviews, so sad this happened today. Tony Kannaan was just shattered while waiting to get back into the car for the memorial laps. As fans we all know this can happen at any moment, but that doesn’t make it any easier to deal with when it does. RIP Dan.
Damn, that’s horrible. I haven’t been watching much Indy Car in recent years but he always seem like a great competitor.
I didn’t like him personally (dude was hitting on my GF while I was standing right next to them both, lol) , but it’s still very tragic that he has lost his life. That was a horrific wreck.
He was really a spectacular driver :(
I caught most of the Indy Car races this year, but missed today’s race. Wheldon was a fantastic driver whom I always enjoyed watching. RIP Dan.
I know of few drivers in IndyCar, but he was My Guy in the races I watched. Loved the way he drove, and always seemed like one of the best and most-respected fellows in the sport.
Dan’s car hit the catch fence cockpit first. I think they really need to rethink their safety features in Indy cars. That little roll bar behind their head clearly isn’t enough to protect the drivers.
He was a tough competitor. RIP Dan Wheldon.
I think this makes professional car racing the most dangerous sport in America, unless there are some fatalities in bull riding or some other sport I do not know about.
That’s been the case for some time AFAIK.
I was at the race today and saw the crash happen live. Pretty crazy. I’m not really an Indy fan (am here on business) but I really felt the shock and sadness in the crowd.
I had just seen Dan speak yesterday at a Q&A panel and today was looking at a picture of his wife and kids. Pretty sad.
It’s a pretty major blow to the IRL as well. There is already finger-pointing going on that many of the drivers felt Vegas was not a good track for their particular type of racing. Then you have the loss of a popular and successful driver in Wheldon right before they are also going to lose Danica Patrick (who if nothing else brought them attention) to NASCAR. Even NASCAR faced some hard questions after Earnhardt’s death, and that was when that sport was much more popular then IRL has ever been.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sn08nh7zoto
Skip to the 3:30 mark to see the crash from Will Power’s car cam. Insane. He had to go to the hospital too, although with only minor injuries apparently.
Woah, view of the crash from Dan Wheldon’s car is at 3:40. I don’t watch auto racing but I feel for this guy’s family and fans of the sport right now.
That’s still Will Power’s car actually. Multiple cars went airborne and/or caught fire. It’s kind of amazing no one else was killed.
You can see Danicka Patrick’s cam right after (the godaddy car). She avoided the crash completely by basically making a lucky guess and staying inside instead of trying to turn. They only have a split second to decide where to go.
The Tampa Tribune’s site (TBO.com) has a picture of Dan, his wife Susie, and his two sons Sebastian (age 2) and Oliver (age 7 months), on the front page. My heart goes out to his family.
That was the last race of her career, too. Horrible way to have it end.
Last Indy Car race, not the last race of her career.
He hit the fence in pretty much the only way that the car wouldn’t be able to do anything at all to protect him. That really sucks. Reminds me of the Formula 1 guy who died when the fire extinguisher from the safety guy hit him in the face. It’s like a pinpoint strike at the weakness of the safety systems.