Jay Chladek Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 (edited) The Las Vegas Indycar race had a big crash involving 15 cars. Of the 15, the most critically injured driver was Dan Wheldon. It really does not look good. Edited October 16, 2011 by Jay Chladek Quote Link to post Share on other sites
adecore Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 Cant believe it, they were talking to the guy during the warm up lap. Watching it live here in the UK. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cobrahistorian Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 Crap. I talked to Dan at length when he came to visit the National Guard Memorial Museum back on 2009. He donated one of his driving suits, since he was driving the National Guard car at that point. Really great guy who was really interested in the history of the Guard and understood the symbol that he represented. I hope he'll be ok. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mlicari Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 They just announced that he has died. RIP. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cobrahistorian Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 Rest in peace Dan. It was a pleasure to have met you. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TomcatFanatic123 Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 (edited) Sad, sad day for racing. I was watching the race on ABC and saw the crash happen...I had a feeling it wasn't going to be a good outcome :( Edited October 16, 2011 by TomcatFanatic123 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IrishGreek Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 RIP Dan. They just finished the broadcast. The remaining cars and drivers (only 19 were left after the crash) did a 5 lap, 3 wide salute to Dan. Sad day, but I think a fitting send off from the other drivers... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
catfan Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 scary part is me and him the same age Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TomcatFanatic123 Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 (edited) As sad as it is for his family and friends, and though it is no consolation to them in this painful time, Dan passed away doing what he loved to do. I will always remember him winning this year's Indy 500, and enjoyed listening to him on the three or four Versus Network broadcasts he did...you could really tell he had a passion for the sport by how excited he got explaining things and calling the races. Thoughts and 's go out to his family. Edited October 16, 2011 by TomcatFanatic123 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jimz66 Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 NOt much of an Indy racing fan but love NASCAR. This is truly an extremely sad day for all racing. NO matter which one(s) you follow... RIP Dan. Sorry to all his friends, family and fans........... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Vince Maddux Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mungo1974 Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 Tragic news.....i got to meet Dan at the Goodwood Festival of Speed once. I got his autograph and that of Dario Franchitti... I was watching the race tonight on TV,it was one of those wrecks you just know in the pit of your stomach wasn't gonna end good. RIP Dan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Les / Creative Edge Photo Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 RIP Dan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GreyGhost Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 Rest in Peace, Dan ... My prayers for his Family & Friends ... -Gregg Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jay Chladek Posted October 16, 2011 Author Share Posted October 16, 2011 I give credit to all the drivers who could, they did a good job with the salute. Dario was crying like crazy as he put on his helmet. I suppose it is a small consolation that this thing DOESN'T happen more often. But that just means it hurts THAT much more when it does. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
eharrold44 Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Very interesting (and classy, IMO) choice to end the race. It's somewhat unprecedented, as far as I can remember. RIP Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bigasshammm Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 (edited) One of the worst accidents of my lifetime. I am a year younger than Dan I believe (I think he was 33 I haven't seen the whole story yet) and know that he definitely was doing what he loved. Sad day for racing indeed and thoughts and prayers to everyone involved. ugh he had a 3 year old and a 6 month old. I myself have a 3 yr old and 1 yr old. Words cant describe only tears. Edited October 17, 2011 by Bigasshammm Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Flyboyf18 Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Nasty, nasty accident! Kinda ironic that it appears the safety structure used to keep those watching the race safe caused the severe damage to the cars. Another promising young driver to the race track in the sky. RIP Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Billy Kingsley Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 I slept through the race, and found out when I woke up. Truly horrible news. This is why being a fan of auto racing is the hardest sport to be a fan of. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HOLMES Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Oh how sad....MY sympathies and condolences to his family and friends and co drivers. ...And Bill..I know what you mean...I just also watched SENNA , the movie, and he was MY FAVORITE and I blubbed almost all the way through..so yep it can be hard... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bigasshammm Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Oh how sad....MY sympathies and condolences to his family and friends and co drivers. ...And Bill..I know what you mean...I just also watched SENNA , the movie, and he was MY FAVORITE and I blubbed almost all the way through..so yep it can be hard... Great movie. Recommended to all race fans or not. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ChesshireCat Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 In Indy, Dan was well loved. He is the first driver since 1927 to die in the same year he won the 500. Most folks do not really understand what those cars can do, and just how fast they can be. But on the otherhand they are overbuilt with a crash in mind. I watch the replay of the crash series with a former driver going tru it in micro seconds explaining what was happening and what was taking shape ahead of them. He said that Dan played the crash about as well as anybody could, and should have pretty much avoided most of it, but was ran into by a car that failed to slow down. Which brings into light a long standing complaint voiced from just about every driver at onetime or another. There are many drivers that lack the skills to drive one of these cars, but are well placed to buy themselves into a ride. There have been several over the years, and in the end something bad happens more often than not. Getting behind the wheel of a car that is capable of going 360 Kph forever is not for the most of us out there. gary Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Boomstick Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 When I saw the news on the ticker at the bottom of the TV screen, I couldn't finish watching football. I gathered up the wife and the two girls and went for a walk on the trail. I'm an IRL fan which means I'll watch a race when televised. For some reason, I chose to watch football yesterday instead. RIP Dan Wheldon. Thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends. You will be missed. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jay Chladek Posted October 18, 2011 Author Share Posted October 18, 2011 (edited) Well, some changes will need to be made as racing on tracks where you can go 210 to 220 mph, stay flat out through the turns (at Indy you have to slow down and it is a bigger track) and go three and four wide into them (while putting 34 cars on the track) is NOT smart at all. And with these rules packages that bunch the cars up, things get even worse. It may work with just under 20 cars (a typical Indycar field), but add a third more and it gets a bit too crazy. I would love to have been a fly on the wall in that drivers meeting to see who ultimately pulled the plug on the rest of the race. I am pretty sure it was the rest of the drivers who did it since the organizers and race control didn't seem to listen to their concerns before after what race practice was showing. Granted too if the angles had been a little different with how Dan hit the wall and catch fence, he might have been alive. But with the drivers who got injured, it alone should have been a bold enough warning that it was a dumb idea. Dan's death just happened to put an exclaimation point on the whole thing. To me, this is kind of like Indycar's version of the Challenger disaster where warning signs were there, but they went ahead anyway. The loss of Dan to Indycar I stick somewhere between Dale Earnhardt and Alan Kulwicki. Alan was a more heartfelt loss, but it was due to a plane crash, not a racing accident. Dale's was a race accident of course, but unlike Dan, about half the NASCAR fans didn't even like Dale all that much (not until AFTER he died anyway). Personally, I don't want to see a deal with Indycar where nothing really improves safety-wise until after a few drivers get killed or maimed in the process. Nascar did that crap as after the loss of Kenny Irwin Jr., Tony Roper and Adam Petty, they didn't mandate use of HANS devices or similar head restraints. Then they lost their big star and said "I guess we need to do something now." Edited October 18, 2011 by Jay Chladek Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wolfgun33 Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 Found out about this on my way home from the airshow. It's a very tragic day for all of racing. And for it to happen at the last race of the season when everyone should be celebrating. Although i'm not a big Indy Car fan, I do watch the Indy 500 and have a lot of respect for the drivers. The other tragic part of this is the fact that Dan didn't have a full time ride this year. He had been testing the new car that is a lot safer. He was to begin a full time ride next season with Andretti. My thoughts and prayers to the Wheldon family, IRL teams and fans. It's a great loss. RIP Dan Wheldon Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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