Dan Wheldon dies following crash. We’re deviating from snark for this. IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon was killed in a fiery crash at the Las Vegas Speedway. Below is the feed from his car camera. The car went airborne. The last you clearly see is a tire heading right for him. Our prayers go out for Dan and his family and others injured this afternoon. This changed from injured to died while we were typing this. So sad.
Edit: The feed is from Will Power’s car, not Dan Wheldon’s, which now has us wondering how Will Power fared.
This post was last modified on October 16, 2011
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Very thoughtful and respectful comments here; unlike all the motor racing sites, where the self proclaimed "experts" are finger pointing and gossiping. IHTM readers are a classy bunch.
Shortly after he won his 2nd Indy 500, Wheldon made the rounds doing interviews, he did Sirius/XM's "Opie & Anthony Show", & it is a very good interview. They replayed it the day after his death. However, when the subject of safety comes up, what becomes creepy in hindsight is that Anthony Cumia basically describes the very accident that would eventually kill Wheldon. In the clip, that starts at about 12 minutes. It was in the context of what we have seen, & how drivers seem to walk away more often then not. Wheldon adressed it like a man, & he did'nt pull punches. He did very well in 1 of the crazier radio environments out there, showed that he was funny, could take the hits, & gave it back. Here is that interview, & it is UNCENCORED RADIO, there is profane language, so you've been warned, & it is 51 minutes long...
http://www.youtube.com?v=QXxQ-5osF6o
...hearing it again makes me sad.
The strange thing about motorsports & those who have died on the track, is that it really does'nt matter how good you are as a driver. Whelden was a star, someone even casual race fans knew, you did'nt need to be a hardcore Indy Car fan to recognize his name. Same thing with names like NASCAR's Dale Earnhardt in 2001 & Fourmula 1's Aryton Senna in 1994, the very best of the best can have their lives cut short. These guys knew the risks, they all do, & despite all of the increadable safety advancements, racers still die.
Maybe the the real disturbing thing now is that everything is on TV, being filmed from the stands, & posted online forever. That will be the trick for Whelden's widow going forward, & how to handle this with he 2 boys.
Will Power was also transported to the hospital but he had the now more common injury of the back from the car impacting back onto the track.
I think the last official announcement was he was complaining of back pains.
The cars have gotten rather safe, but the top is open and it seems poor Dan went head first into the catch fence. Also, the nascar biased 1.5 mile highbanks are a bit too much of jet fighters in a gymnasium when you are in an Indycar.
Dan was a nice guy and a damned good racer. It's sad to see him gone.
I saw a photo of them wheeling Wheldon out on a gurney. They had most of his head covered. I'm assuming it was major head trauma. Hopefully it was quick and he didn't know what hit him.
Living in Indianapolis, these drivers become part of our community every May. They pop in and out of town frequently to do testing at the track through out the warmer months, as well. When this happens, we all feel like we lose a neighbor. This kid was a gem and he will be missed greatly.
It really is something how far these things have come from the early days and even compared to ten or fifteen years ago. Nobody would have come out of this sort of thing then.
This fellow is the age of my son, who rides a crotch rocket to and from USF about 20 miles each way, every day. The intersections of the Tampa bay area are littered, seemingly perpetually, with parts left over from collisions. It is a bit unnerving.
Rest in peace, Dan.
Dan Wheldon died doing what he loved to do race and race fast. Rest in Peace Dan. The pipes they will always be playing for you. You died way to early. It appears that God wanted another member for his race team.
Sad end to the season. Will pray for his family.
He leaves a wife & 2 young boys, definately pray for them.
CRAP. That video had my heart in my throat. RIP.
After seeing the video it's amazing Will Power walked away - "While the Australian appeared okay after the crash he was eventually taken to the nearby University Medical Centre complaining of lower-back pain."
This is truly sad day for racing. The in car camera above is from the #12 car of Will Power, not from the #77 of Wheldon. Just wanted to keep the information going around as correct as possible. RIP Dan.
I'll edit it. The writing on YouTube said it was Wheldon's, the announcer said it was Wil Power's.