Dan Wheldon dies in 15-car IndyCar crash

LAS VEGAS — Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon died Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after his car became ensnared in a fiery 15-car pileup, flew over another vehicle and landed in a catch fence just outside turn 2.

The 33-year-old racer was a two-time Indy winner, including this year's race.

Three other drivers, including championship contender Will Power, were hurt in the pileup during Lap 11.

Wheldon was airlifted from the track to University Medical Center; about two hours later, his colleagues were told of his death by IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard, who said Wheldon's injuries were "unsurvivable."

"One minute you're joking around at driver intros. The next, Dan's gone," said Dario Franchitti, whose wife, actress Ashley Judd, had to bring him a box of tissues. "I lost, we lost, a good friend. Everybody in the IndyCar series considered him a friend. He was such a good guy. He was a charmer."

With the race cancelled, drivers, many sobbing openly, took part in a five-lap salute around the oval in honour of one of the sport's biggest stars.

The race was only minutes old when Wheldon, who started at the back of the 34-car field and was in position for a US $5-million payday if he had won, couldn't steer clear of a wreck that started when two cars touched tires.

Within seconds, several cars burst into flames and debris covered the track nearly halfway up the straightaway. Some points of impact were so devastating workers had to patch holes in the asphalt.

The deadly realities of racecar driving
Fellow drivers remember Dan Wheldon
Read Dan Wheldon's May, 2011, interview with CBS' Early Show

Video replays showed Wheldon's car turning over as it went airborne and sailed into what's called the catch fence, which sits over a barrier that's designed to give a bit when cars make contact. Rescue workers were at Wheldon's car quickly, some furiously waving for more help to get to the scene.

"When we came around after the caution (flag) was thrown, I can't even describe to you what the scene looked like on the race track from our point of view," rookie driver James Hinchcliffe of Toronto told ABC. "It was unlike anything I'd ever seen before in my life."

Added Ryan Briscoe: "I'll tell you, I've never seen anything like it. The debris we all had to drive through the lap later, it looked like a war scene from Terminator or something. I mean, there were just pieces of metal and car on fire in the middle of the track with no car attached to it and just debris everywhere. So it was scary, and your first thoughts are hoping that no one is hurt because there's just stuff everywhere. Crazy."

Wheldon, who came to the United States from England in 1999, won 16 times in his IndyCar career and was the series champion in 2005.

Despite winning this year's Indy 500, Wheldon couldn't put together a full-time ride this season. He was racing in Las Vegas on the same team as Alex Tagliani of Lachenaie, Que.

"It's a very sad day," Tagliani said on his Twitter account. "He was my little brother from another mother."

Driver Dan Wheldon is transported to a medical helicopter following a crash during the IndyCar Series' Las Vegas Indy 300 auto race Sunday, Oct. 16, 2011, in Las Vegas.

(Credit: AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)

Also injured in the crash were JR Hildebrand and Pippa Mann. Both will remain in the hospital overnight. IndyCar said Mann was being treated for a burn to her right pinkie finger and will be released Monday morning; Hildebrand was awake and alert but will be held overnight for further evaluation. Power was evaluated and released. An autopsy was planned Monday for Wheldon.

IndyCar has not had a fatality since Paul Dana was killed at Homestead in 2006, during a crash in a morning warmup.

The accident appeared to start when Wade Cunningham's car swerved on the track and Hildebrand drove over the left rear of Cunningham's car. Hildebrand appeared to go airborne, and Cunningham's car shot up into the wall, setting off a chain reaction among the cars behind him.

Some of those cars slowed, others didn't, and others spun in front of Wheldon and Power. There was so much chaos on the track it was hard to tell who was driving what car.

Power appeared to fly over Alex Lloyd's car, rolling into the catch fence and landing on its right side. His in-car camera showed one of the front tires coming toward him in the cockpit.

Wheldon then appeared to drive over a car driven by Toronto's Paul Tracy, who seemed to be slowing down. Wheldon, however, went airborne and spun into the fence.

The track was red-flagged following the accidents while crews worked on fences and removed smashed cars.

"It was like a movie scene which they try to make as gnarly as possible," said Danica Patrick, making her final IndyCar start. "It was debris everywhere across the whole track. You could smell the smoke. You could see the billowing smoke on the back straight from the car. There was a chunk of fire that we were driving around. You could see cars scattered."

Weldon landed in this race thanks to Bernard's promise of (Canadian) $5 million to any moonlighting driver who could win the IndyCar season finale at Vegas. Although there were no takers, Bernard didn't scrap the idea, and Wheldon was declared eligible for the prize.

Wheldon had been providing blog posts for USA Today in the days leading up to the Las Vegas race, and in one posted Saturday to the newspaper's website he spoke of how he expected Sunday to be "pure entertainment."

"This is going to be an amazing show," Wheldon wrote. "The two championship contenders, Dario Franchitti and Will Power, are starting right next to each other in the middle of the grid. Honestly, if I can be fast enough early in the race to be able to get up there and latch onto those two, it will be pure entertainment. It's going to be a pack race, and you never know how that's going to turn out."

Graham Rahal's car burns following a crash early in the IndyCar Series' Las Vegas Indy 300 auto race Sunday, Oct. 16, 2011, in Las Vegas.

(Credit: AP Photo)

Drivers had been concerned about the high speeds at the track, where they were hitting nearly 360 kilometres per hour during practice.

"We all had a bad feeling about this place in particular just because of the high banking and how easy it was to go flat. And if you give us the opportunity, we are drivers, and we try to go to the front. We race each other hard because that's what we do," driver Oriol Servia said. "We knew if could happen, but it's just really sad."

Cunningham echoed those remarks.

"Things happen in this kind of racing," he said. "It's so close. Not much room for error. I was near the front of what caused all this, so I'm not thrilled about it. At this point, whose fault it was is kind of immaterial."

Asked about speed after the crash, Wheldon's former boss Chip Ganassi said, "There'll be plenty of time in the off-season to talk about that. Now is not the time to talk about that."

And Franchitti said: "I agree. We'll discuss that and sort it out."

The accident spoiled what Bernard had hoped would be a showcase event for the struggling IndyCar Series.

The second-year CEO worked the entire season on turning the finale into a spectacle and said he'd offer his resignation to the IndyCar board of directors if ABC's broadcast didn't pull a .8 ranking. His goal was to improve upon last year's season finale's horrible television rating and give the series some momentum for what's hoped to be a strong season in 2013 with the introduction of a new car and new manufacturers.

So Bernard poured everything into Las Vegas, renting the speedway from owner Bruton Smith and agreeing to promote the event himself. He landed enough sponsorship to at least break even on the race, and the (Canadian) $5 million challenge bought him an enormous amount of publicity the entire year.

Bernard got the Las Vegas Strip to close to stage a parade of cars, hosted industry parties and a blackjack tournament all to boost interest in the race. He even got MGM Grand Resorts to offer a pair of tickets to anyone staying this weekend in one of the chain's 14 properties.

But what was hoped to be a day of celebration quickly turned sombre.

When drivers returned to the track for the tribute laps, Wheldon's No. 77 was the only one on the towering scoreboard. Franchitti sobbed uncontrollably as he got back into his car for the memorial ride. The sound of "Danny Boy" echoed around the track, followed by "Amazing Grace." Hundreds of crew workers from each team stood at attention in honour of Wheldon.

"What can you say? We're going to miss him," Ganassi said. "Everybody in IndyCar died a little today."

[dresia]

I'm so sorry for the lost of lives in this car race. Peace and many comforts be with the families of these loved ones.

[mattrick78]

What happened to the two second rule when following a vehicle?

[legalbutnotjust]

Auto racing has been around a long time, and it is much safer today than it was in the 1950's, when an average of three racers per year were killed on a major circuit.

This professional sport is a business, like all others. It has its highs, and all-time lows. Yesterday was an unprecedented one of those lows. But contrary to certain opinion, the sport is incredibly safe. However, it also has the potential for unusual dangers that are quite extraordinary, the kind of stuff you don't find in other, competitive, heart-pounding environments. It takes a huge amount of energy resource to put on a race, lots of fuel that is. It also takes an incredible amount of marketing strategy, global promotion, and funding to arrange for races to schedule and for venues to sucessfully host them.

It takes workers- lots of manpower and boots on the ground to hold a big race - more than it does in other major events such as the Superbowl or World Series. Whether or not you're talking popular athletic events, competition is competition, just like Champions are champions. Dan Wheldon was one such champion. And trust me also, it takes someone pretty athletic, and incredibly gifted overall, to do what these brave men and women sign up to do. It takes teamwork, coordination on so many levels, and lots of money. Without it all, autoracing can't survive.

Yet still, it takes the fans and everyday supporters in the racing community, for events like the one in Las Vegas to come to alive. These spectacular occasions, while to some perhaps an unjustified waste of resources and manpower, are an American symbol. They are an icon, just one of the many things that puts our country above the rest, when it comes to sports in racing. It's idolized. We stand on a global stage, and it's the Dan Wheldons of the world that make us stand apart, and why so many all across this nation revere this great sport and pay lots of money to enjoy it. Without the fan base, without the support, our place in the world, when it comes to our competitiveness and resolve, would be a little smaller, and less tenacious.

I'd like to send my sympathies to the Wheldon family, and let them know they are in my thoughts. Dan left behind a wife and two young sons and he did so doing what he loved and while chasing a true passion. He was a man of top rate class, and was admired by all he competed with and against. He had tremendous respect for this sport and for all other Indycar racers. He was very highly regarded by his contemporaries, as well. Nobody- no person, can take that away from him. For all the doubters out there, and the naysayers, know this: This sport will continue to innovate and to thrive, and Dan's passing will not be in vain. It poses a unique challenge, one this sport will capture.

He died doing what he loved to do. Dan was as fearless a competitor as any out there on this circuit. He, like all other drivers, wanted the event to go forward, and understood the inherent risks. Have no shame, be not afraid, 'cause this sport will go on and will endure.

Indycar series will now be a little more proud and prominent in the wake of this terrible tragedy. Because without greater risk, there would only be lesser in reward. People like Dan knew this, and it is his memory that will live on, regardless of what fate holds.

Supporters and non-supporters alike, will hopefully learn from this if they care to, and will understand that this is a sport that can't survive without the 'daredevil' mystique so many place upon it. It is the nature of the sport, the reason it has the huge spectatorship that it does, and one very reason why it is that these crashes can and do occur. There will always be that delicate balance between the need to show this sport to those who seek it, to please those fans and what they show up and tune-in for, and the need for greater safety.

Dan's death and the anatomy of this terrible wreck isn't because of speed, or the number of cars, or the size of the track. There would indeed be a way to make this sport safer than it now is, but the risk associated with such advancement would potentially drive it further underground. It would restrict the viewers and spectators on the ground from getting an 'up close and personal' experience with auto racing, which is what fans have always come to expect. Dan Wheldon knew that. The executives at Indycar know it too.

In the end, the fans give this sport its survivorship, even in the face of "unsurvivable injuries." As tragic as this is, it's occurrences like this crash that show the sport and all who come to watch it just how much these guys put on the line, how much they sacrifice. How much they put forth so races can be viewed, enjoyed, and you can be safe while doing so. You can hardly put a price on that.

Rest in peace, Dan. You might be gone, but will never be forgotten.

[GVJaneAz]

I saw the pictures on TV of the thousands there (while I was surfing for football). Well, I hope all of you got your wish...for a big crash...otherwise, what fool goes and sits for hours watching cars go around and around a track. I could see there was no room to pass, too many entrys, and total Las Vegas...over the top. RIP, sir, but you knew what the results could be...must have been big money to entice a name like you to come...was it worth it?

[legalbutnotjust]

@GVJaneAz

If I had a dime for every person who's been on Youtube or Vodpod, and forums like this, reading of this story and watching the vids, and who've made such ignorant, off-the-topic remarks, I'd have tens of thousands of dollars of worth in those dimes. The flippancy I've seen is simply appalling, and there are no excuses for it.

But if there is anything that can explain at all, all the rude and baseless remarks regarding Dan Wheldon and this tragedy, it must be that so many people obviously just don't understand, or care to understand, auto racing.

[Imthaid2]

I saw the video. The crash was GREAT! Keep them coming. And, let's get those cars going faster!

[legalbutnotjust]

@Imthaid2

-Grow up! And while you are doing so, keep your thoughtless, immature- and most of all gutless, comments to yourself.

[JBQ21]

The facts have to be sorted out eventually. The drivers don't want to discuss it. Maybe, there is more to this than meets the eye. Dan Wheldon was an addendum to the 33 cars in the field. He was moving up fast and had overtaken 10 cars after only 10 laps. If he won, he received 5 million (Canadian)dollars to split with a fan. It is very easy to believe that the drivers had him in their rear view mirrors and made an organized attempt to block his progress. From watching the race in its early stages, I believe that he was going to do the "impossible" and win the race. It appears very likely that a number of drivers conspired to keep that from happening only they did not think that he would die. If there was a conspiracy, then it was manslaughter.

[legalbutnotjust]

There was no conspiracy. Anybody is out of their mind to think otherwise. The notion is absurd; these racers have more to lose than not winning someone else's prize they are ineligible from winning anyway, so your commentary is ridiculous.

[debbie1120]

So sorry to hear about this. Prayers to his family

[lucidrain]

First I would like to say my heart goes out to Dan Wheldon's family for their lose Dan was a great driver and one of my favorites. Second the way CBS reported Dan's death this morning on the news in California was DESPICABLE and CRUDE showing his in car camera angle of the crash and showing all these pictures of this crash this man died from this crash. CBS you have no respect for this man's family, friends or co-worker. I have no respect for the journalists that reported this story this morning on T.V.... HAVE SOME CLASS!!!!!!!!

[djtejas]

So many ridiculous comments here...

Do you people not realize each time you leave your house and drive on our roadways you are at risk to be injured or die in a car crash.
Yet you do it to drive to work 5 days a week...not doing something you love or enjoy, but going to work...for a lot less than those drivers are making.

[djtejas]

They are actually more safe in their cars than we are...

How many people die on the roadways every day? And they are not doing what they love and getting paid for it.

[RealiteBites]

There's speed limits and gridlock on the way to work. These guys were driving something like 360km/hr! For 'entertainment' ...

[finkfurst4]

Americans just like to see people die (in movies, news reports, sports, wars, executions.... anything) it's REALLY that simple.

[Progress4USA]

Its not just limited to "Americans"...

[finkfurst4]

So why does the USA have by FAR the most violent TV and movies in the world? ...and why is it the ONLY country in the western world which still likes to execute people? ...and why does it have by FAR the largest gun ownership in the western world? ... and why does it have by FAR the highest murder rate in the western world? ...and why does it imprison by FAR the largest proportion of it's population in the western world?

If you think the USA is not a barbaric and primitive society then you are fooling yourself!