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Father-of-two, 33, pushed himself to win as only competitor to take up a $5million challengeClive
Wheldon, 59, says his son was 'born to be a racer' who 'left us doing what he loved'
'I could see within five laps people were starting to do crazy stuff,' says fellow racer Dario
FranchittiDriver was 'frustrated' with car problems in the days before the race but promised 'pure
entertainment'
Voiced concerns about the speeds cars were reaching and crowded 1.5-mile long track
Shocked Lewis Hamilton says Wheldon was an 'inspirational guy and talented driver'Former racing
driver Mark Blundell brands Las Vegas track as a 'recipe for disaster'Coroner says Wheldon died of
fatal head injuries
ByDaily Mail Reporter
Updated: 06:06 GMT, 18 October 2011
Family, friends and leading figures from the world of motorsport paid tribute today to Dan Wheldon,
who suffered horrendous injuries after his car hit another vehicle at breakneck speeds in the Las
Vegas Indy 300.
The father-of-two was catapulted helplessly into the air in a 225mph smash before landing on a
barrier and suffering fatal head injuries.
Fighting back tears, Clive Wheldon, 59, came out of the family home in Buckinghamshire around
5pm and said his son died in a sport he was born to
do.
Scroll down for video
Tragedy: Dan Wheldon's number 77 car (left) launches into the air after clipping a competitor in
front of it. Moments later Wheldon smashed into the fencing to his right
Devastated: Clive Wheldon, accompanied by sons Austin, 26, and Ashley, 30, makes a statement
yesterday following the death of his son
He said: 'The family would like to thank everybody for their overwhelming sympathy in such a
difficult time. Daniel was born to be a racer and yesterday he left us doing what he loved, he was
Mr Wheldon's blue and white car takes off in the air. It appears to have hit the back of the green
vehicle in front, which acted like a ramp and launched the British driver upwards
Out of control: A close up of the moment of impact shows the rear left wheel of the green car pushed
up by Mr Wheldon's vehicle, which reaches a steep angle
Milliseconds after the initial impact, Mr Wheldon's car has spun upside down as it hurtles towards
the fencing. Will Power's car, right, is just beginning to take off
Will Power's car is flung into the air as a large number of vehicles collide in the pile-up and sparks
fly. Mr Wheldon's vehicle has gone ahead of them and can no longer be seen in this shot
Will Power's number 12 car is seen flying through the air. The vehicle was not crushed against the
fencing in the same manner as Mr Wheldon's and he survived the accident
Will Power's car lands close to the barrier facing backwards without suffering the severe damage
inflicted on Mr Wheldon's vehicle, which is further down the track
Smashed to pieces: Wheldon's car, only identifiable by the B & W logo, is shown in the far left of the
picture. The car is upside down and the driver's head has clearly been in contact with the barrier
The severe extent of the damage to the number 77 car, left, can be seen. Wires and shards of metal
are hanging loose from it as flames engulf the tale
Fire: Mr Wheldon's car is momentarily lost in a ball of flames as it hits the barrier. Wheels and parts
of the body of the vehicle are flung onto the track
Flames: Mr Wheldon's car skids across the asphalt on its nose having lost both front wheels and the
rear spoiler in the crash. Will Power's vehicle is seen behind him against the fence
'Unsurvivable injuries: Mr Wheldon's head is flung to the left as his 77 car, now without any wheels,
spins away from the fence towards the centre of the track
Medics rush to Mr Wheldon's damaged car as it becomes clear that he is severely injured. Some
workers are seen waving, frantically trying to get more assistance
The race to save his life: Dan Wheldon is loaded into a medical helicopter and airlifted to hospital
THE QUESTIONS THAT NEED TO BE ANSWERED
Why was Wheldon offered $5m to win from the back of the grid?
The organisers of Las Vegas Indy 300 - together with sponsors GoDaddy (a website domain and
hosting company) - had offered the $5m challenge to several drivers from another racing series to
add drama to the end-of-season race.
However, they later changed the format to accommodate Wheldon, was has previous IndyCar
experience but was without a full-time deal.
Forced to start from the back of the 34-strong grid, Wheldon would have 200 laps to get to the front.
If hed won, the Briton would have split the $5m prize with a competition winner, whod been flown
out to Las Vegas specifically for the race.
Why was it so dangerous?
Former F1 and IndyCar driver Mark Blundell has since described the Las Vegas track as a recipe for
disaster and called the pile-up inevitable.
It is a short circuit at just 1.5 miles, with an average lap-time of only 20 seconds. It means there is
virtually no spread in the field, ensuring one mistake inevitably triggers a domino effect as seen in
Sundays tragic pile-up.
Was anything wrong with the track itself?
It was the first IndyCar race in Las Vegas since 2000. The track features progressive banking, which
means the angle of the gradient increases towards the top. Its design is to encourage side-by-side
racing.
An average lap at the Las Vegas track is done at over 220mph. In comparison, the average speed of
a lap in Sundays Korean Grand Prix is around 127mph.
Sundays race had already attracted criticism for the size of the field. While only 33 drivers are
allowed to compete at the world-famous Indianapolis 500, 34 drivers had started this race - even
though the Las Vegas track is one mile shorter than that at Indianapolis.
Is IndyCar more dangerous than F1?
While there hasnt been a fatality in F1 since Ayrton Sennas crash in 1994, Wheldons death comes
just five years after Paul Dana was killed in IndyCar. Four IndyCar drivers have died since 1996.
Although F1 has suggested some controversial ideas in its time - for example, the idea of creating
rain to add excitement to races - it is highly unlikely such a plan as the $5m challenge would ever
pass through the tight regulations set by the FIA.
'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.'
Jenson Button wrote on Twitter: 'Just woken up to the most horrific news. Dan Weldon RIP. I have so
many good memories of racing with Dan in the early 90s, a true fighter. We've lost a legend in our
sport but also a great guy.'
Former Formula One world champion Jody Scheckter wants his son to quit IndyCar racing following
the death of Briton Dan Wheldon.
Scheckter was a spectator at Sundays Las Vegas Indy 300 and had an anxious wait before
discovering son Tomas had escaped unharmed from the 15-car crash.
'Ive wanted him to give up for a while,' said Scheckter. 'Hopefully this will knock some sense into
him and realise there is more to life. It really isnt worth it.'
Questions were also being asked about the safety of the course amid speculation that Mr Wheldon
was pushing himself too hard after a difficult season. He had started in last position but with offer of
a $5million bonus for drivers who win from the back of the gird, had already weaved his way
through ten cars before going into the back of another vehicle.
Trails of sparks could be seen across the asphalt before Mr Wheldon's car was flung into the air and
struck part of the 'catch fence' outside the bend.
Debris from the cars was strewn across the track as they spun into each other and careered into the
fencing. Flames then engulfed Mr Wheldon's shattered vehicle which skidded on its nose across the
tarmac.
Three other drivers, including championship contender Will Power, were hurt in the pile-up.
Rescue workers were at Mr Wheldon's car quickly, some furiously waving for more help to get to the
scene. A helicopter descended onto the track moments later and airlifted Mr Wheldon's body to the
University Hospital in Las Vegas.
The former champion's injuries were so bad that there was little that the medics could do to save
him. He was pronounced dead a short while later and officials were informed two hours after the
initial crash.
Mr Wheldon's wife Susie, and two sons, Sebastian, two, and six-month-old Oliver, are understood to
have been at his bedside when he died, as well as his two brothers and a sister.
Outside the Wheldon family home in Emberton, Buckinghamshire, today, a family friend was seen
coming to the door to receive flowers and condolences from neighbours.
The friend - who did not wish to be named - said Dan's mum and dad Susan and Clive were at the
family home but were too upset to comment.
He said: 'They are in no fit state to speak to anyone at the moment, they are resting after a very
difficult night. They will not be giving a statement right now.'
The Wheldon family - whose son Dan was privately educated at the nearby Bedford School - own a
Proud family man: Wheldon poses with wife Susie, who is holding baby son Oliver, and older son
Sebastian on the day after he won Indianapolis 500 in May of this year. With them is the BorgWarner trophy
Champion: Mr Wheldon poses with a trophy and his young son Sebastian after winning the IZOD
IndyCar Series Indianapolis 500 Mile Race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May this year.
Right, celebrating on the track after the race
Proud father: Mr Wheldon holds his son Sebastian, when he was just eight weeks old, at his Snell
Isle home in St. Petersburg in 2009
Teenagers: Mr Wheldon, left, and Jenson Button, right, chat during the Formula Ford Festival and
World Cup, at Brands Hatch in 1998
Happy times: Dan Wheldon, middle of the second row, enjoying himself during his childhood
Early success: Mr Wheldon, who started racing aged four, is pictured third from the right, on the
front row, during the Championship Cadet Series in Shenington near Banbury in 1988
Despite his previous success, he had struggled with financial backing this season and had topped up
his income with commentary work.
The race was abandoned after the tragedy and as news of Mr Wheldon's death spread there were
emotional scenes track side.
Some of his colleagues and friends broke down in tears while others looked on in a stunned silence,
still coming to terms with the news that the vibrant driver had gone.
IndyCar chief executive Randy Bernard confirmed Mr Wheldons death at a press conference.
Devastated: Team mates Jenson Button, left, and Lewis Hamilton, right, have both paid tribute to
Wheldon who they have called 'inspirational'
Support: A neighbour delivers flowers to the home of racing driver Dan Wheldon's parents in
Emberton, Buckinghamshire, today
Two young fans look at the memorial, as right, Bob Herring and his wife Cindy embrace at the gate
to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
TRIBUTES FROM RACING WORLD
IndyCar driver Danica Patrick: 'There are no words for today. Myself and so many others are
devastated. I pray for Suzi and the kids that God will give them strength.'
IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe: 'It's a black day for the sport. We came in here hoping for a good
season finale and ended up losing a close friend and a very good racing driver.'
Dario Franchitti, former teammate: 'Everybody in IndyCar considered Dan a friend. You saw what
the reaction was. Dan was one of those special, special people.'
Chip Ganassi, owner of Wheldon's former team: 'We're all going to miss him. A little bit of everybody
in IndyCar racing died today.'
Oriol Servia, IndyCar driver: 'Dan was always a very happy guy; he was always smiling. He was a
funny, great person that touched a lot of people. He will be missed.'
Racer Tommy Kendall: Struggling for words. A very bright light was extinguished today. As alive as
a person can be one minute and gone the next.'
Jamie Little, ESPN motorsport reporter: 'Great memories. Great friend. Amazing talent. Thank you
for your constant smile and endearing spirit. We lost a great one today.'
Sam Schmidt, owner of Wheldon's No. 77 Indy-car: 'Dan was a tremendous competitor, a great racer
and an even better person. It was an honour to have him be a part of our team.'
Kansas Speedway president Patrick Warren: 'Dan exemplified the definition of a champion, both on
and off the track.'
He said: IndyCar is very sad to announce that Dan Wheldon has passed away from unsurvivable
injuries. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family today.
Fellow driver Dario Franchitti, Wheldons former teammate and friend since the age of six, said: 'Im
numb and speechless. One minute youre joking around in driver intros and the next Dans gone.'
Franchitti claimed there had been warning signs of potential danger due to the number of cars in
close confinement at such high speeds.
He added: '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...
'We put so much pressure on ourselves to win races and championships, and its what we love to do.
Days like today it doesnt matter.
'I think everybody in the IndyCar series considered Dan a friend. He was one of those special,
special people.
'He was six years old when I first met him. He was this little kid and the next thing you know he was
my team-mate. '
Moments before the start of the race, popular Wheldon, a two-time winner of the famously tough
Indy 500, sent his last Twitter message. It was just one word - 'Green!!!' - the colour on the lights
that signals the start of the race.
Although officials had decided to end the race, after learning of his death, 19 of Mr Wheldons fellow
drivers went on to perform a five-lap salute in his honour.
Many of them were visibly shaken and almost all of them covering their eyes with dark sunglasses
Tributes: The gate to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway where fans have been leaving touching
Patriotic: Drew Boyd places a checkered flag as a tribute to Dan Wheldon underneath a British flag
placed in honour of the driver
It's actually been a very difficult weekend for us so far. But I've been watching these guys work their
tails off trying to fix this problem, and I believe they'll turn it around before Sunday's race.
'It is incredibly frustrating, both for me and them. All the boys are working as hard as possible, but
so far we haven't pinpointed what it is.
'Honestly, if I can be fast enough early in the race to be able to get up there and latch onto those
two, it will be pure entertainment. It's going to be a pack race, and you never know how that's going
to turn out.'
Sheer disbelief: Brazilian driver Vitor Meira at a drivers meeting after the deadly crash and, right,
crew members look at the remains of one of the crashed cars
Tangled mess: Members of driver Paul Tracy's team inspect the remains of his car
Shocking aftermath: Cars are scattered on the track after a 15 car crash during the Las Vegas Indy
300
Stunned and tearful: Drivers take five tribute laps in Las Vegas on Sunday in honour of Dan Wheldon
Dazed: IndyCar racer Danica Patrick walks away from pit road after the tribute laps
Choking back tears: Stunned fans weep as drivers pay their five-lap tribute
Touching tribute: Teams line up on pit row as drivers take five laps in honour of Wheldon
1978 - 2011: A LIFETIME OF WINNING
1978: Born in Olney, Buckinghamshire on June 22.
1982: Starts karting.
1999: Wins U.S. F2000 championship and wins 'Rookie of the Year'.
2000: Becomes Toyota Atlantic 'Rookie of the Year'.
2001: Wins CART Dayton Indy Lights 'Rookie of the Year.'
Mr Wheldon was in second place, far back of rookie J.R. Hildebrand approaching the final turn when Hildebrand lost control and clipped the wall.
He zipped past, and the only lap he led all day at Indianapolis was the last one.
He returned to the track the next morning for the traditional photo session with the winner, kissing
the bricks as his two-year-old son Sebastian sat on the asphalt alongside him, and wife, Susie, held
their then two-month-old, Oliver.
Mr Wheldon was almost resigned to finishing second at Indy for the third straight year, before
misfortune struck Hildebrand.
'It's obviously unfortunate, but that's Indianapolis,' he said.
'That's why it's the greatest spectacle in racing. You never know what's going to happen.'
Such was the case again today.
Mr Wheldon was well behind the first wave of cars that got into trouble on the fateful lap, and had
no way to avoid the wrecks in front of him.
With the incredible speeds reached by the cars, there was no time to brake or steer out of trouble.
Popular: With his love of racing and golden boy looks, Wheldon was loved among followers of the
sport
THE INDYCAR DRIVERS WHO DIED FOR THEIR LOVE OF SPEED
IndyCar has not had a fatality since Paul Dana was killed at the Homestead-Miami track in 2006.
Another driver had lost control and gone into a spin during a morning warm-up. Dana died when he
hit the other car at 200mph.
American driver Tony Renna was killed in 2003 in Indianapolis. During tire testing his car spun and
became airborne, smashing into the fence. Renna died instantly.
In 1996 Scott Brayton a veteran driver who had competed in 14 Indy 500s since 1981, was killed in
practice after qualifying for the pole position for that years race.
Champion driver Greg Moore was fatally injured in a violent 1999 crash during the Marlboro 500,
the CART season finale in Fontana, California.
Gonzalo Rodriguez, a Uraguayan driver, died during the practice session for only his second CART
race, at Laguna Seca, California, in 1999. At the notorious Corkscrew corner, his car went off the
track flipping over concrete the barrier and landing upside down on the other side of the wall.
American race car driver Jeff Krosnoff was killed in a race in Toronto in 1996. A wheel-to-wheel
touch with another car sent his vehicle over the barrier striking a light post. The accident also left a
track volunteer dead after he was struck by a wheel.
Filipino driver Jovy Marcelo who came from a racing family well known in Asia, was killed in practice
for the 1992 Indy 500 race.
Two drivers were killed in 1982. Jim Hickman died in a qualifying accident in Milwaukee after a
stuck throttle caused his car to slam into the wall. Earlier in 1982 he had been named Rookie of the
Year.
Gordon Smiley died during qualification for the 1982 Indy 500 after his car slid off a turn and hit the
wall at nearly 200 mph. Smiley was also a promising Formula 1 driver.
'I saw two cars touch each other up in front of me and then I tried to slow down, couldn't slow
down,' driver Paul Tracy said.
'Then Dan's car, from what I saw in the videos, came over my back wheel and over top of me. Just a
horrendous accident.'
Even as a former series champion and one of the sport's top names, Wheldon did not have the
financial backing to secure a full-time ride for himself this season.
He kept himself busy by working as a commentator for some races and testing prototype cars that
the IndyCar series will be using in the future.
IndyCar will have new cars in 2012, much of the changes done with a nod for safety.
It had been a passion of Wheldon's in recent months, and he once quipped that he was a 'test
dummy' for the new cars by working with engineers as often as he was.
Mr Wheldon moved to the United States in 1999, quickly trying to find sponsor money to fund his
dream, and by 2002 - after stints in some lower-profile open-wheel series, such as the F2000
championship, Toyota Atlantic Series and IndyLights - he was on the IndyCar grid for the first time.
Wheldon got his first IndyCar Series ride, in 2002, for two races with Panther Racing, then replaced
Michael Andretti when Andretti retired the next season and won Rookie of the Year.
His first victory came the next season, in Japan, and he finished second in the championship
standings behind Andretti Green Racing teammate Tony Kanaan.
The next year, he was its champion. NASCAR teams talked to him about changing series. So did
Formula One organizations.
In the end, he decided IndyCar was his calling.
'The biggest thing for me is the Indianapolis 500,' Wheldon said in 2005, not long after becoming the
first Englishman since Graham Hill in 1966 to prevail at the Brickyard. 'It would be really difficult to
leave this series because of that race.'
As evidenced by the difficulty in finding sponsorships this season, it was also difficult for him to stay
in the series.
Even though he finished among the top 10 in IndyCar points annually from 2004 through 2010,
Sunday was only Wheldon's third start of 2011.
Off the track, Wheldon had varied interests, some of which had almost nothing to do with his driving.
In 2010, he released a photo book he called Lionheart, a coffee table book that he described as
'almost like a photo biography from my career in IndyCars up until this point.'
He spent years editing the book, which included dozens of photos of his life away from the track,
including images from his wedding.
'I wanted it to have a lot of my input,' Mr Wheldon said last year. 'Obviously, it's a reflection of me.'
He also wanted that book to provide his fans with a glimpse of his life that they would never have
known otherwise.
'There's a lot of my wedding in there,' Wheldon said.