Dan Wheldon

Daniel Clive Wheldon (22 June 1978 – 16 October 2011) was an English racing driver. He was the 2005 Indy Racing League IndyCar Series champion, and a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500. Wheldon died from injuries shortly after a collision at the 2011 IZOD IndyCar World Championship at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on 16 October 2011, at the age of 33.

Early life and career
Wheldon, who was born in Emberton, near Olney, Buckinghamshire, England, took up karting at the age of 4 with funding from his father. He progressed through the junior ranks of motor racing during his school years. Attending Bedford School until he completed his GCSEs at age 16, he frequently took time off to race. During his early career in open wheel racing, he developed a rivalry with Jenson Button before ultimately leaving the United Kingdom to race in the United States. The reasoning behind the move was that the level of investment needed to fund his racing career in the UK was beyond his family's resources. Moving to the United States in 1999, he spent several years in lower open-wheeled circuits like the U.S. F2000 National Championship, the Toyota Atlantic Championship and Indy Lights.

IRL IndyCar Series
In 2002, Wheldon moved up to the IRL IndyCar Series for two events with Panther Racing as teammate to Sam Hornish, Jr. Wheldon joined Andretti Green Racing the following year, taking the spot of Michael Andretti following his retirement, and collected league Rookie of the Year honours. In 2004, he won his first IRL race at Twin Ring Motegi in Japan; ultimately finishing as runner-up to teammate Tony Kanaan in the championship with three wins.

He won the Indianapolis 500, as well as the IndyCar Series championship, in the 2005 season. His six victories in 2005 also broke the record for most victories in one season (under IRL sanction), previously held by Sam Hornish, Jr. with 5. His win at Indy was the first for an Englishman since Graham Hill's victory in 1966. In November 2005, it was announced that he would be driving for Chip Ganassi Racing in the IndyCar Series in 2006. Shortly after his first test with Ganassi, in February 2006, he won the 24 Hours of Daytona endurance sports car race with Ganassi teammates Scott Dixon and Casey Mears.

He began the 2006 season by beating Hélio Castroneves by 0.0147 seconds in the Toyota Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway; a sombre race due to the earlier death of Paul Dana in a practice session. Wheldon retired from the Honda Grand Prix due to contact with Sam Hornish, Jr. during a caution period. At the end of the season, Wheldon and Hornish were tied for the lead with each driver having 475 points. In the event of a tie, the driver with the most wins for that particular season is declared the champion. Hornish had four wins for the 2006 season to Wheldon's two; therefore Hornish was declared the 2006 IndyCar champion.

During the 2006 season, he was offered a place in the BMW Sauber Formula One team, but declined on discovering he would not be assured a regular drive. "I do want to race in F1. When my contract expires with Chip, I'll take a serious look at Formula One."



Commenting in 2007 on the perception of him as 'difficult', Wheldon said "I put everything into my racing, and I expect the same back. If I see people who aren't giving it I'm not afraid to say so but that sometimes comes out a little brash. That could be improved a little bit."

On 22 June 2008, his 30th birthday, Wheldon took his 15th career victory in the IndyCar Series after winning the Iowa Corn Indy 250 over Hideki Mutoh and Marco Andretti. He donated his winnings to help the victims of the recent tornadoes and flooding which had occurred in Iowa.

Wheldon was released from his drive at Ganassi on 2 September 2008. He was replaced by Dario Franchitti. "I have enjoyed these last three seasons with Target Chip Ganassi Racing but will be moving on to pursue a very exciting opportunity for 2009," Wheldon said. This would later turn out to be a return to former team Panther Racing. Wheldon drove the Panther car to a second place finish in the 2009 Indianapolis 500; the second Indy 500 runner-up finish in a row for the team. However, his strong start to the season faded and Wheldon failed to crack the top 10 in 7 of the last 8 races. The following year, Wheldon finished second at the 2010 Indianapolis 500 to good friend Dario Franchitti of his former team, Chip Ganassi Racing; his second place finish and Franchitti's win was overshadowed by Mike Conway's horrific crash. This gave Panther its third straight runner-up finish at Indy. Wheldon remained competitive all year; challenging for wins on the oval tracks. Despite strong showings with Panther Racing, Wheldon still failed to win a race during his time with the team which frustrated his bosses. This led to his sudden firing from Panther Racing and was replaced by rookie J.R. Hildebrand; leaving Wheldon without a full-time ride for the 2011 season.



Wheldon attempted and won the 2011 Indianapolis 500 with Bryan Herta Autosport during the weekend of the 100th anniversary of the race, after J.R. Hildebrand hit the wall in the fourth and final turn on the final lap after trying to pass the decelerating Charlie Kimball, and slowly slid towards the finish; allowing Wheldon to pass en route to his second Indy 500 victory. This race was the fourth straight runner up for the team in the Indy 500. With the win, Wheldon became the first driver in Indy 500 history to win the race by leading a single lap.

The National Guard pit team for Hildebrand congratulated Wheldon on his win but when Wheldon was celebrating in victory lane he heard Panther Racing's staff say that he made an illegal pass under yellow. IndyCar denied this and said that the yellow was not thrown until after Wheldon had won the race and even if it was thrown before the pass Hildebrand's car was wounded and therefore be allowed to be passed in the race. Wheldon was very emotional after the win, due to his not having a ride for the rest of the season and the news that his mother had recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease. It was Wheldon's first series win in three seasons, his 16th win in the IndyCar Series and the final win of his racing career.

Over the rest of the 2011 season, Wheldon helped IndyCar and Dallara test the new IndyCar chassis that was to debut in 2012.

Personal life
In 2008, Wheldon married his long-time personal assistant, Susie Behm, originally from Armstrong, British Columbia, Canada. They had two sons: Sebastian, who was born on 1 February 2009, and Oliver, who was born on 19 March 2011. The family lived together in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Death
At the IZOD IndyCar World Championship at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on 16 October 2011, Wheldon was involved in a 15-car accident during lap 11 of the race, in which Wheldon's car flew approximately 325 ft into the catch fence with the cockpit area first into a pole lining the track before landing back on the ground. The carnage and ensuing debris field resulted in race officials throwing a red flag almost instantly. Wheldon was extricated from his car by the Holmatro Safety Team and their Las Vegas-based colleagues and was airlifted to the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada for his critical injuries. After interviewing the championship contenders Randy Bernard, president of IndyCar, announced to the officials, drivers and fans that Wheldon had died from the accident after being pronounced dead on arrival. He was 33 years old.

Officials, after input from drivers and team owners, declared that the race would be abandoned, and that a five lap, three-car–wide formation salute would be held in Wheldon's honour, with his number 77 being displayed alone at the top of the scoring pylon. He had been the only driver participating in Go Daddy's IndyCar Challenge where he and a randomly selected fan would have been eligible for US$2.5 million each if he won the race starting from last place.

An autopsy conducted on 17 October 2011 concluded that Wheldon died of blunt force trauma to the head.

Wheldon's funeral was held on 22 October 2011 in St. Petersburg, Florida. Fellow drivers Dario Franchitti, Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan attended the funeral, and served as pallbearers along with Wheldon's brothers. IndyCar held a public memorial service for Wheldon a day later at Conseco Fieldhouse (now known as Bankers Life Fieldhouse) in Indianapolis.

Wheldon was the fifth Indianapolis 500 winner to die in a racing accident in the same year as winning the race, and the first multiple winner to do so. Preceding him were Gaston Chevrolet (1920), Joe Boyer (1924), Ray Keech (1929) and George Robson (1946).

Aftermath
After Wheldon's death, Michael Andretti revealed that Wheldon had officially signed with Andretti Autosport on the morning of 16 October 2011 for a multi-year deal to replace driver Danica Patrick beginning with the 2012 season. Andretti Autosport, previously known as Andretti Green Racing, was the team with which Wheldon won both the Indianapolis 500 and the IndyCar Series championship in 2005. James Hinchcliffe was named his replacement. As a result of the crash IndyCar declared that starting in 2012 they will not race at Las Vegas for an indefinite time.

Dario Franchitti, who was a personal friend of Wheldon, won the 2011 IndyCar championship due to Will Power's involvement in the crash; it was declared that the crash was an accident and that Franchitti would have won regardless if the race continued. Indy Racing League, LLC delayed all official prizegiving, choosing instead to conduct it during the annual State of INDYCAR speech in February 2012. Franchitti did not celebrate his championship win until the week after the next week and in the days that followed said that the day was the worst possible day he has felt. Race driver Michael Waltrip (a NASCAR and sportscar team principal) sent Franchitti a small text referencing to the death of his car owner in a 2001 race by saying after sympathetic words "Welcome to my club..."

On 18 October 2011, Dallara announced that their new chassis would be named in honour of Wheldon. The DW12, with the new bumper/nerf bar section being featured, was designed to prevent many similar single-seater crashes such as the one that killed Wheldon. The nomenclature is similar to that of the old Formula One team Ligier, whose cars were labelled JSxx in memory of Jo Schlesser after his death at the 1968 French Grand Prix.

On 5 December 2011, a charity race honouring Wheldon was held in Milton Keynes in England. The location of this race was less than 10 mi from where Wheldon was born and raised. Notable drivers in this race included Dario Franchitti (who took part in the race where Wheldon was killed), Anthony Davidson and Jenson Button. All money earned by this charity race was donated to a charity chosen by Wheldon's family.

On 7 March 2012, Wheldon's widow Susie and Mayor Bill Foster unveiled a street sign in St. Petersburg, Florida; the city where Wheldon lived during the final years of his life. Named Dan Wheldon Way, the sign was placed at the corner of Bayshore Drive and Albert Whitted Park (turn 10 of the IndyCar circuit.) This is the same spot where, in 2005, Wheldon made a crucial pass on Ryan Briscoe and Tony Kanaan with nine laps remaining to win the inaugural IndyCar Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. On 25 March 2012, the upcoming IndyCar Series season began with the 2012 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg; the first race held since Wheldon's death. Wheldon's youngest sister, Holly, waved the green flag to start the event. Hélio Castroneves, known for climbing fences following race victories, won the event, and climbed the fence where the Dan Wheldon Way sign stood after the race. "No question about it, this is for our friend upstairs, Dan Wheldon," Castroneves said afterwards.

On 27 May 2012, the 96th Indianapolis 500 was held; the first without Wheldon in the field following his death. Dario Franchitti won the event, and paid tribute to Wheldon afterwards by wearing white sunglasses. "Everybody up there was a friend of Dan's, and that about sums it up. Everybody loved him," Franchitti said as bagpipes played over the public address system. "I think D-Dub would be proud of that one."

Dan Wheldon International Driver Trophy
The Dan Wheldon International Driver Trophy is awarded to the best performing international driver over the race weekend of the Australian V8 Supercars Gold Coast 600. The trophy was named for Wheldon after his death, which occurred one week prior to the 2011 event in which he was scheduled to race in with the Holden Racing Team. The international drivers' trophy had been unnamed when debuted in 2010, but has been referenced.

Other projects
Wheldon was a guest star in the voice cast for the TV series Hot Wheels Battle Force 5.

On 9 August 2011, Ignite Game Technologies announced that Wheldon would assist the physics development for its online auto racing game Simraceway. Wheldon commented, "It was pretty obvious that Ignite was not looking to build just another racing game, so the opportunity to influence Simraceway's physics directly was pretty appealing." It later emerged Wheldon would also be playing a role in the company’s performance driving centre at Infineon Raceway.

American open-wheel racing results
(key)

IndyCar Series

 * a Wheldon lost the title on the tiebreaker—he won only two races compared to Sam Hornish, Jr.'s four after the two tied on 475 points
 * 1 Run on same day
 * 2 Non-points race
 * ''3 Event cancelled after a 15-car incident on Lap 11 involving Wheldon, who would later succumb to injuries sustained in the accident.
 * ''3 Event cancelled after a 15-car incident on Lap 11 involving Wheldon, who would later succumb to injuries sustained in the accident.


 * ** Podium (non-win) indicates 2nd or 3rd place finishes.
 * *** Top 10s (non-podium) indicates 4th through 10th place finishes.

Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, Results are overall/class)