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From: http://joesaward.wor...in-vegas-crash/
Quote
British driver Dan Wheldon has died of injuries after an accident in the championship showdown of the IndyCar Series in Las Vegas. He was 33. Although he never made it to Formula 1, Wheldon had many friends in the business, having grown up in British national karting in the same generation as Jenson Button, Anthony Davidson and Gary Paffett, with whom he raced from cadet level. He was also managed by Julian Jakobi, who was Ayrton Senna’s manager and is still involved in the activities of the Senna Foundation.
He switched from karts to cars in 1996 and two years later finished third behind Jenson Button and Derek Hayes in the British Formula Ford championship, ahead of his team-mate Marcos Ambrose and was runner-up to Button in the Formula Ford Festival
Unable to find funding to move to Formula 3 he went to America where he dominated the F2000 series. He was runner-up to Buddy Rice in Atlantics in 2000 and runner-up (to Townsend Bell) and rookie of the year in Indy Lights in 2001. In 2002 he was given a chance to race IndyCars, joining Panther Racing as team-mate to Sam Hornish Jr. The following year he moved to Andretti Green Racing and as named Rookie of the Year.
He won his first IRL race at Motegi in 2004 and finished runner-up to teammate Tony Kanaan in the championship that year. In 2005 he won the Indianapolis 500 and the IndyCar title, becomimg the first British winner at Indianapolis since Graham Hill in 1966. He then moved to Chip Ganassi Racing, beginning his career with the by winning the Daytona 24 Hours with Scott Dixon and Casey Mears. In 2006 he finished equal on points in the IndyCar title to Hornish but lost the title because the American had scored more victories. Wheldon left Ganassi at the end of 2008 and returned to Panther with which he finished second at Indianapolis in 2009. He finished second again in 2010 and was replaced at Panther last year by JR Hildebrand. He found a drive for this year’s race with Bryan Herta Autosport and, ironically, won the 500 when Hildebrand crashed at the final corner. Wheldon spent the year testing the new 2012 IndyCar chassis and announced just before the race in Las Vegas that he would be joining Andretti Autosport next year. In the race he was tasked with starting at the back and trying to drive through the field to win a $5 million prize, half of which would go to a fan, who had won the chance in a sweepstake.
The accident occurred after only a dozen laps when two cars touched in Turn 2. Will Power and Wheldon arrived at high-speed and neither was able to avoid impact with the cars ahead. Both cars flew through the air and hit the wall on the outside, Wheldon’s snagging the debris fencing and thus suffering much greater damage. A number of cars involved caught fire, but rescue crews quickly dealt with these. Wheldon was airlifted to hospital. Three other drivers, including Power, were hurt in the pile-up, which was one of the biggest in the history of IndyCar.
Dario Franchitti escaped the crash and won a third consecutive as a result of the race being stopped, although there was no celebration.
“IndyCar is very sad to announce that Dan Wheldon has passed away from unsurvivable injuries,” IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family today. IndyCar, its drivers and owners, have decided to end the race. In honor of Dan Wheldon, the drivers have decided to do a five-lap salute to in his honor.”
When the news began to filter into The F1 in the middle of the night in Korea, there was soon reaction.<BR style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px">“This is an extremely sad day,” said Lewis Hamilton. “Dan was a racer I’d followed throughout my career, as I often followed in his footsteps as we climbed the motorsport ladder in the UK. He was an extremely talented driver. As a British guy, who not only went over to the States but who twice won the Indy 500, he was an inspirational guy, and someone that every racing driver looked up to with respect and admiration. This is a tragic loss at such a young age. My heart goes out to his family and friends during this extremely difficult time.”
Wheldon leaves a widow, Susie, whom he married in 2008, and two sons: two-year-old Sebastian and Oliver, who was born in March.
He switched from karts to cars in 1996 and two years later finished third behind Jenson Button and Derek Hayes in the British Formula Ford championship, ahead of his team-mate Marcos Ambrose and was runner-up to Button in the Formula Ford Festival
Unable to find funding to move to Formula 3 he went to America where he dominated the F2000 series. He was runner-up to Buddy Rice in Atlantics in 2000 and runner-up (to Townsend Bell) and rookie of the year in Indy Lights in 2001. In 2002 he was given a chance to race IndyCars, joining Panther Racing as team-mate to Sam Hornish Jr. The following year he moved to Andretti Green Racing and as named Rookie of the Year.
He won his first IRL race at Motegi in 2004 and finished runner-up to teammate Tony Kanaan in the championship that year. In 2005 he won the Indianapolis 500 and the IndyCar title, becomimg the first British winner at Indianapolis since Graham Hill in 1966. He then moved to Chip Ganassi Racing, beginning his career with the by winning the Daytona 24 Hours with Scott Dixon and Casey Mears. In 2006 he finished equal on points in the IndyCar title to Hornish but lost the title because the American had scored more victories. Wheldon left Ganassi at the end of 2008 and returned to Panther with which he finished second at Indianapolis in 2009. He finished second again in 2010 and was replaced at Panther last year by JR Hildebrand. He found a drive for this year’s race with Bryan Herta Autosport and, ironically, won the 500 when Hildebrand crashed at the final corner. Wheldon spent the year testing the new 2012 IndyCar chassis and announced just before the race in Las Vegas that he would be joining Andretti Autosport next year. In the race he was tasked with starting at the back and trying to drive through the field to win a $5 million prize, half of which would go to a fan, who had won the chance in a sweepstake.
The accident occurred after only a dozen laps when two cars touched in Turn 2. Will Power and Wheldon arrived at high-speed and neither was able to avoid impact with the cars ahead. Both cars flew through the air and hit the wall on the outside, Wheldon’s snagging the debris fencing and thus suffering much greater damage. A number of cars involved caught fire, but rescue crews quickly dealt with these. Wheldon was airlifted to hospital. Three other drivers, including Power, were hurt in the pile-up, which was one of the biggest in the history of IndyCar.
Dario Franchitti escaped the crash and won a third consecutive as a result of the race being stopped, although there was no celebration.
“IndyCar is very sad to announce that Dan Wheldon has passed away from unsurvivable injuries,” IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family today. IndyCar, its drivers and owners, have decided to end the race. In honor of Dan Wheldon, the drivers have decided to do a five-lap salute to in his honor.”
When the news began to filter into The F1 in the middle of the night in Korea, there was soon reaction.<BR style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px">“This is an extremely sad day,” said Lewis Hamilton. “Dan was a racer I’d followed throughout my career, as I often followed in his footsteps as we climbed the motorsport ladder in the UK. He was an extremely talented driver. As a British guy, who not only went over to the States but who twice won the Indy 500, he was an inspirational guy, and someone that every racing driver looked up to with respect and admiration. This is a tragic loss at such a young age. My heart goes out to his family and friends during this extremely difficult time.”
Wheldon leaves a widow, Susie, whom he married in 2008, and two sons: two-year-old Sebastian and Oliver, who was born in March.
RIP
