IZOD IndyCar World Championships presented by Honda at Las Vegas

Ladies and Gentleman...

Dan Wheldon... has passed away...

Indycar has decided to call the race and will do a 5-lap salute in honor of Dan...

RIP Dan, you will be truly missed. Godspeed.

I feel absolutely horrible, I haven't shed a tear in a while, but that has changed...

RIP Dan

R.I.P. Dan Wheldon. :'( One of my favourite IndyCar drivers is now gone. This is the part of auto racing that really sucks.

I... really don't know what to say other than...

Rest in peace, Dan Wheldon. You will be missed.

Rest in Peace, Dan Wheldon. Everybody will miss you.

I had said it before though, catch fences are good at deflecting debris (and even cars), but with those open wheelers, it was going to be a matter of time until those things would be virtural cheese graters.

R.I.P Daniel Clive Wheldon.

You will be missed Dan Wheldon.

I was hoping he would of won after starting last..... this is the saddest day I've had in 10 years....

I want to cry right now, but I can't. Dan Wheldon, you will be missed.

I was not a huge fan of him. But this was the first time a driver that, I saw do well and be a gentleman on the track, get killed. Either Scott Goodyear or Eddie Cheever said it right, we take advantage of the saftey of these cars. We excpect to see these drivers walk away from a wreck and well it didn't happen this time. Thoughts and prayers.

Nascarboy426 wrote:I want to cry right now, but I can't. Dan Wheldon, you will be missed.

^This.

They need to put closed roofs on those IndyCars, I don't care how ugly they are.

First time in a long time I've been in tears today. I'm finding it very hard to really carry on after just witnessing someone lose their life. I apoligize if I sound like a idiot for saying this, but I don't think I'll ever be able to watch another race again after seeing that. All the years I've watched racing, I had never witnessed someone lose their life until today.

R.I.P. Dan Wheldon. You will be greatly missed, on and off the track. Indycar won't be the same without you.

I've never cried so much in my life. I was soooooooo excited to watch this race, and to see the wreck live, and to see the announcement live just breaks my heart. I was too young to process what went on with Dale Earnhardt, but this just kinda hits home.

RIP Dan Wheldon. I cried a lot during the five lap salute. We lost a truly great driver today.

I didn't cry about Dan's death, but I was pretty damn close. Words cannot express how tragic the whole thing is.

RIP Dan Wheldon

RACECAR wrote:First time in a long time I've been in tears today. I'm finding it very hard to really carry on after just witnessing someone lose their life. I apoligize if I sound like a idiot for saying this, but I don't think I'll ever be able to watch another race again after seeing that. All the years I've watched racing, I had never witnessed someone lose their life until today.

Heroes cry. Even the strongest, toughest, and emotionally hollow people cry. No reason to think that you're an idiot for that.

DISREGARD.

I just saw a replay of the 5 tribute laps and I started to tear up.

Dan was probably the best IZOD driver there. His death means alot to most people who cared about the series like me. I just cried when I heard that Dan passed away do to the crash. The tribute laps were so dramatic that I had to turn the TV off from those tribute laps it got so emotional for me.

I feel for Dan's family and other drivers that knew him well like Kanaan, Castroneves, Patrick, and many others. RIP Dan Wheldon. You'll be missed a lot.

Now that we're back on topic, Wheldon was a highly respected driver, by many including me, and many of you on here, and he will be missed Dan, thanks for making IndyCar so exciting, and enjoy the streets of gold. We'll see you soon.

RIP Dan Wheldon. As others have stated, this wasn't supposed to happen anymore, no more deaths in racing. That was just terrible.

This is just huge. As I state in my signature, a decade after the death of one champion we lose another. Both Dale Earnhardt and Dan Wheldon were great people. I saw this a while ago and was shocked. R.I.P. Dan Wheldon.

RIP

Here is the video for any who haven't seen it.

This is the kind of car all open wheelers should be

I'm not a big fan of open wheel racing and haven't really watched a lot. But, Dan Wheldon was a spirited driver and a champion. Anybody who wins a championship and not one but 2 500's is special.

What happened today unfortunately was the right set of circumstances. Auto Racing will always be dangerous be it NASCAR, IndyCar, rally, NHRA, etc.

Dan knew these risks as did every driver, but that's what makes these guys better than anyone else at what they do.

Rest in Peace Mr. Wheldon, you will be missed.

He died doing what he loved to do.

I literally can not believe what happened. I kept the TV on for the entire 2 hours after it happened just to hear if he was OK. When they announced that he died, I was speechless. While I only started getting into IndyCar in 2008, I can tell that he was respected by his fans and his fellow drivers. To see him go like this is just heartbreaking.

RIP Dan Wheldon 1978-2011

I actually had to look this up and found this interesting. One of the last drivers killed in the Indy car series was Paul Dana at Homestead in 2006 in a practice session. Who won the race that weekend? Dan Wheldon.

The other irony is the fact his onboard was the last one shown before the crash happened.

day500champ1 wrote:I actually had to look this up and found this interesting. One of the last drivers killed in the Indy car series was Paul Dana at Homestead in 2006 in a practice session. Who won the race that weekend? Dan Wheldon.

The other irony is the fact his onboard was the last one shown before the crash happened.

I thought the exact same thing, dude.

conrail1990 wrote:I just saw a replay of the 5 tribute laps and I started to tear up.

I admittedly did once they played Amazing Grace.

I also noticed that they played his onboard literally right before the crash...

Cynon wrote:

conrail1990 wrote:I just saw a replay of the 5 tribute laps and I started to tear up.

I admittedly did once they played Amazing Grace.

I also noticed that they played his onboard literally right before the crash...

13 laps before that they were talking to him, he was the in race reporter.

Cynon wrote:

conrail1990 wrote:I just saw a replay of the 5 tribute laps and I started to tear up.

I admittedly did once they played Amazing Grace.

I also noticed that they played his onboard literally right before the crash...

I teared up a bit during the 5 lap tribute. A tragic end to a great season.

Alpineopossum wrote:

Cynon wrote:

conrail1990 wrote:I just saw a replay of the 5 tribute laps and I started to tear up.

I admittedly did once they played Amazing Grace.

I also noticed that they played his onboard literally right before the crash...

I teared up a bit during the 5 lap tribute. A tragic end to a great season.

I teared up from both the announcement and the 5 lap salute.

After having heard several details about the accident, I'm beginning to regret ever having made that last post.

I never thought I'd be saying "R.I.P. Dan Wheldon" at this age. I never thought I'd be interested long enough in motorsport to be there when a man died in the act. He was a promising young driver, and he very well could've had a long and healthy career ahead of him. Needless to say, he did not deserve death. Nobody does.

And on a less serious manner, special thanks to Cooper for stealing my profile picture on FaceBook. >:C

The first time I've seen a driver perish live. Not something I want to experience again. I knew right as he hit, it wasn't good.

Condolences to Dan's family, his wife and kids, Sam Schmidt Motorsports, and everyone in IndyCar for their loss.

What a horrendous day.

racingfreak1999 wrote:I literally can not believe what happened. I kept the TV on for the entire 2 hours after it happened just to hear if he was OK. When they announced that he died, I was speechless. While I only started getting into IndyCar in 2008, I can tell that he was respected by his fans and his fellow drivers. To see him go like this is just heartbreaking.

RIP Dan Wheldon 1978-2011

Same here. About an hour or so into the red flag, with how the commentators, drivers, crew, etc. were reacting, one could tell it was not a matter of if, but when the report of Wheldon passing was going to be announced.

It's incidents like this that make you realize how easily one mistake can cause a tragedy.

Dan Wheldon, you will never be forgotten.

i just can't believe this. i told myself "no, i wont watch the indy race today, i'm going to go to bed." and then I wake up to find this. it's just effing tragic in every sense of the word. RIP Dan, you deserved far more than this

Marty Reid put it very well at the end of the coverage.

"Many people ask me, why I always sign off 'til we meet again'? Because good-bye, is always so final. Good-bye Dan Wheldon." - Marty Reid

AntmanB wrote:Marty Reid put it very well at the end of the coverage.

"Many people ask me, why I always sign off 'til we meet again'? Because good-bye, is always so final. Good-bye Dan Wheldon." - Marty Reid

Whether or not you like Marty's commentary, that was a great way to sign off with everything that happened.

AntmanB wrote:Marty Reid put it very well at the end of the coverage.

"Many people ask me, why I always sign off 'til we meet again'? Because good-bye, is always so final. Good-bye Dan Wheldon." - Marty Reid

And with that, hats off to Marty Reid.

I wasn't able to watch this race today as I was gone all day, but I had a gut feeling this weekend was going to be chaos for IndyCar. I couldn't believe what I came home to. Dan Wheldon was not only one of the most talented drivers in the field, he was a great personality and a great friend to many in the series. Though I wasn't personally a fan of his, his life accomplishments in general speak for themselves. He's going to be missed by many, many people, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't one of them. Rest In Peace Dan Wheldon.

As much as I hate to bring this into the situation, this entire racing weekend should never have even occurred. The officials knew just as well as the drivers did how dangerous racing conditions were at this track, James Jakes practice crash should have been enough of a forewarning. Then again, the series is being run by Randy Bernard and Brian Barnhart. Of all people to run a professional motorsport, a guy who's never done anything but start a bull riding organization and his sidekick, the human donut. Together they've done nothing but screw up the IRL all season and their worthlessness concludes with the death of a respected veteran.

day500champ1 wrote:

AntmanB wrote:Marty Reid put it very well at the end of the coverage.

"Many people ask me, why I always sign off 'til we meet again'? Because good-bye, is always so final. Good-bye Dan Wheldon." - Marty Reid

Whether or not you like Marty's commentary, that was a great way to sign off with everything that happened.

I completely agree with this comment.

I'm still speechless hours after I've witnessed what happened...Wheldon was a great personality and a great driver with a decorated career. Thoughts go out to Wheldon and his family.

I just thought of something. If these dangerous crashes keep happening (Last week, David Besnard crashes at over 200km/h, with the car catching fire. This week, Dan Wheldon dies in a horrific crash) is racing becoming as dangerous as it was between the 50's & 60's. Anyways, this is a real tragedy, and it something that happens. Thoughts go out to his friends and family. I'm only 5 moths older than Kensethfan but I've seen fatal crashes before (If you remember Porter's fatal crash happened RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME). Seems like, the most popular drivers, or the most hated drivers, are the ones that get killed in racing accidents. Dan Wheldon, Dale Earnhardt Sr., Peter Brock, Ayrton Senna. It's just tragic

Racing isn't nearly as deadly or destructive as it was even 20 years ago let alone 50. People rarely ever die in racing accidents these days and if they do, it's something like this. With racing in general, but probably more so even with open-cockpit cars, you're always faced with the possibility that something could go seriously wrong, and in this case it did. Kanaan put it best when he said Wheldon went out doing what he loved and that he'd have it the same way. It could have been Mike Conway or Ryan Hunter-Reay last season had Jimmie Johnson's golden horseshoe not been following them. This is definitely going to take some getting used to, there's always going to be that piece missing from now on in IndyCar.

My god.

The only race I watched in Indycar till the end was Dan Wheldon winning the Indy 500(I was in the US at the time).Maybe this race happened like about 2 a.m Singapore time,so I went on my computer,went to Yahoo to chack my mail,and then stopped dead in my tracks.

I felt the same feeling like I was when Henry Surtees died(I was watching that race live).I was speechless.

R.I.P Dan Wheldon 1978-2011

F1V1 wrote:As much as I hate to bring this into the situation, this entire racing weekend should never have even occurred. The officials knew just as well as the drivers did how dangerous racing conditions were at this track, James Jakes practice crash should have been enough of a forewarning. Then again, the series is being run by Randy Bernard and Brian Barnhart. Of all people to run a professional motorsport, a guy who's never done anything but start a bull riding organization and his sidekick, the human donut. Together they've done nothing but screw up the IRL all season and their worthlessness concludes with the death of a respected veteran.

With all due respect, the IRL ran races here with the old CART equipment, which already showed could result in fatalities when the exact same cars on a faster track killed Scott Brayton. But what was the big change from the norm that turned this race deadly?

The number of starters.

Don't get me wrong, I didn't think too many of the drivers would cause problems, but the major difference between Las Vegas and Indianapolis is that everyone knows you can't go three wide into turn 1 at Indy and everything tends to string out. 33 cars at Indy has resulted in first lap crashes when you have too many cars in too small a space.

A track like Kentucky allows you to go two wide and make it work, and theoretically you can do that at Vegas as well. You can go two wide at Vegas, which has a narrower racing line. Going back to my earlier point about too many cars in too small a space, I don't think this crash would have happened with 26 cars on the grid, or at least, there would have been multiple small crashes and the race would have been a failfest.

Stick 34 cars that are much more affected by momentum than stock cars on a track with a narrow racing line. It doesn't matter who caused the pileup (even though Hinchcliffe hinted that it was caused by Rahal and Hunter-Reay not paying attention), or who makes the first mistake. If someone in the midfield makes an error, the number of cars that become swept up in the crash increases if you have 34 cars on the grid. It doesn't help when your options are extremely limited because of a fairly narrow racing line and the fact that the cars in front are effectively ramps for the cars behind... something that had been seen with this same car 4 years ago (but interestingly, something that was NOT present with the 2006 Lola car that Champ Car had...).

Let's also consider that the IRL doesn't normally run sprint races with a 34 car grid. Pretend we don't know about the crash yet, and let's wind back the clock and assume we're back in Saturday planning our race strategy. 34 cars haven't been run since 1997 (and I'd argue that wasn't a real 35 car grid because three cars were gone on the pace lap), and normally, you are used to only around 2/3 the number of starters, many of which are only in the race to win the race.