RIP Dan Wheldon
Daniel Clive Wheldon
June 22 1978 – October 16 2011
The racing world is in shock today, with the passing of two-time Indianapolis 500 and one time IndyCar Series champion, father, son and husband, Dan Wheldon, of Emberton, England. He was thirty-three, had so much more to give, and was taken from us far too soon.
The lanky, affably cocky, smiling and perpetually happy Englishman was as fast behind the wheel as he was on the interview podium, and will forever be remembered for being the centrepiece of one of the greatest stories in the fabled history of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and it’s 500-mile race, entering the 2011 race with a team that hadn't run all year – and wouldn't run again until this fateful race – and coming up with an unbelievable victory after 200 laps. He will forever be remembered for that feat.
Wheldon was among fourteen cars caught up in a horrifying early-race crash at the IndyCar Series finale at the wickedly-fast Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and could not recover from the serious injuries he sustained as cars flew through the air and were shattered upon contact with the catch fence. Many veteran IndyCar observers decided it was the most carnage they had ever seen, the most violent crash they’d ever seen. Australia’s Will Power was involved in the same accident, and was transported to a local hospital for treatment on a sore back.
For Wheldon, this was to be the beginning of a new chapter. 2012 was to be the year of great possibility. After spending most of the season on the sidelines and working, with rave reviews, on the VERSUS television coverage, he was poised to return to his old team, owned by Michael Andretti, to replace the departing Danica Patrick. Now, for the entire IndyCar paddock, 2012 will be one of mourning for a talent departed too soon.
This should have been a weekend to celebrate the full-time return of one of the most popular drivers in the IndyCar Series. Instead, we are mourning Dan’s death, and recalling memories of similarly tragic days, the losses of Canadian sensation Greg Moore at California Speedway in 1999, also in a season-ending race, and of Tony Renna, the young American killed during off-season testing at Indianapolis and, most recently, Paul Dana in 2006.
Of course, motorsport is inherently dangerous, but that fact doesn't even come close to helping us come to terms with what’s happened today and what’s happened to other great drivers from this series and others. Wheldon’s death brings to an end an IndyCar Series season full of great racing and great moments, but will ultimately be remembered for one accident, in turn two of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway early on in the final race of the season that has robbed the sport of a great personality.
On a more important and personal level, those few horrifying seconds in the Nevada desert north of Las Vegas have robbed two young kids of a father, two parents of a son, and many people, inside the motorsport community and out, of a wonderful friend. And the IndyCar nation – all those who felt they knew Dan Wheldon, the driver who never took a backward step, without actually really knowing him – of a great driver and a great personality.
God bless and God speed, Danny. You were a great driver, a great ambassador for the IndyCar Series and you will be sorely missed for many years to come by all of us who love IndyCar racing. And please, tell Greg, Tony, Paul and all the rest that we said hello!
Rest in Peace.
The lanky, affably cocky, smiling and perpetually happy Englishman was as fast behind the wheel as he was on the interview podium, and will forever be remembered for being the centrepiece of one of the greatest stories in the fabled history of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and it’s 500-mile race, entering the 2011 race with a team that hadn't run all year – and wouldn't run again until this fateful race – and coming up with an unbelievable victory after 200 laps. He will forever be remembered for that feat.
Wheldon was among fourteen cars caught up in a horrifying early-race crash at the IndyCar Series finale at the wickedly-fast Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and could not recover from the serious injuries he sustained as cars flew through the air and were shattered upon contact with the catch fence. Many veteran IndyCar observers decided it was the most carnage they had ever seen, the most violent crash they’d ever seen. Australia’s Will Power was involved in the same accident, and was transported to a local hospital for treatment on a sore back.
For Wheldon, this was to be the beginning of a new chapter. 2012 was to be the year of great possibility. After spending most of the season on the sidelines and working, with rave reviews, on the VERSUS television coverage, he was poised to return to his old team, owned by Michael Andretti, to replace the departing Danica Patrick. Now, for the entire IndyCar paddock, 2012 will be one of mourning for a talent departed too soon.
This should have been a weekend to celebrate the full-time return of one of the most popular drivers in the IndyCar Series. Instead, we are mourning Dan’s death, and recalling memories of similarly tragic days, the losses of Canadian sensation Greg Moore at California Speedway in 1999, also in a season-ending race, and of Tony Renna, the young American killed during off-season testing at Indianapolis and, most recently, Paul Dana in 2006.
Of course, motorsport is inherently dangerous, but that fact doesn't even come close to helping us come to terms with what’s happened today and what’s happened to other great drivers from this series and others. Wheldon’s death brings to an end an IndyCar Series season full of great racing and great moments, but will ultimately be remembered for one accident, in turn two of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway early on in the final race of the season that has robbed the sport of a great personality.
On a more important and personal level, those few horrifying seconds in the Nevada desert north of Las Vegas have robbed two young kids of a father, two parents of a son, and many people, inside the motorsport community and out, of a wonderful friend. And the IndyCar nation – all those who felt they knew Dan Wheldon, the driver who never took a backward step, without actually really knowing him – of a great driver and a great personality.
God bless and God speed, Danny. You were a great driver, a great ambassador for the IndyCar Series and you will be sorely missed for many years to come by all of us who love IndyCar racing. And please, tell Greg, Tony, Paul and all the rest that we said hello!
Rest in Peace.
No comments:
Post a Comment