Some very sad news from the United States with word British driver Dan Wheldon was killed in a multi-car accident at this morning’s IndyCar race in Las Vegas. He was 33 years old and leaves behind a wife and two sons.
The incident happened on lap 11 of the 200 lap race and involved 15 drivers, including Australia’s Will Power. He along with Pippa Mann and JR Hildebrand were also taken to hospital for observation. The extent of their injuries is yet to be confirmed.
Wheldon won the Indy 500 earlier this year and was in line for a share in $5 million prizemoney if he won in Las Vegas. It all seems so trivial now.
A mood best captured by competitor and long time friend Dario Franchitti who said, “I could see within five laps people were starting to do crazy stuff. I love hard racing but that to me is not really what it’s about. One small mistake from somebody.
“Right now I’m numb and speechless. One minute you’re joking around in driver intros and the next he’s gone. He was 6 years old when I first met him. He was this little kid and the next thing you know he was my teammate.
“We put so much pressure on ourselves to win races and championships and today it doesn’t matter.”
The race was red flagged after the incident to allow marshalls to clear the track. A lengthy delay followed before news of Wheldon’s death was confirmed. The race was then cancelled and drivers voted to drive a five lap tribute for Wheldon. Footage of the tribute laps can be seen after the break.
Wheldon was scheduled to join forces with the James Courtney and the Holden Racing team at this weekend’s Gold Coast 600.
UPDATE: From the IndyCar twitter account: “Will Power has been evaluated and released from the hospital. Pippa Mann and JR Hildebrand are awake and alert, and will be held overnight for further evaluation.”
[Source: IndyCar | Pic: IndyCar]
5 replies on “Dan Wheldon 1978–2011”
200 laps at that constant rate is madness.
very sad.
RIP Dan Wheldon. Motor racing for all its beauty also has a dark side.
Thanks for posting that Liam. Remarkably poignant.
RIP Dan Wheldon.
Having seen the onboard footage from Will Power’s car I think we’re very lucky it wasn’t a double fatality.
[…] of the incident can be seen below and we only have to look back to the loss of Dan Wheldon to realise just how lucky young Daly was to survive this […]