By now, most everyone knows what happened Sunday at the 2011 IndyCar World Championship in Las Vegas.
It was supposed to be a day when the series was hoping to get back into the mainstream by putting on a race that people will remember for a long time.
Shortly after the 34-car field received the green flag, tragedy stuck. For driver Dan Wheldon, it was the last time he would ever start an event.
A few laps into the race, a 15-car pileup happened between turns one and two and spread car parts across the backstretch of the 1.5-mile oval. Wheldon’s Honda flew in the air and hit the catch fence. The crash ended his life and brought a terrible end to a race that had so much riding on it in terms of bringing back the popularity of the sport.
Since entering the series a few years ago, Wheldon had become a household name. He won the 2005 Indycar Series title and also won that season’s Indy 500. During his career, Wheldon visited victory lane 16 times, however probably his biggest win came at this year’s Indy 500.
After the 2010 season, Wheldon lost his ride with Panther Racing, and he could not find another full-time spot in the series when 2011 started. By the time May rolled around for the traditional race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Wheldon hooked up with one of his former teammates, Bryan Herta, and entered the 100th edition of the legendary event.
Ironically, the car that Wheldon was fired from after the previous season, was one turn away from winning the 2011 Indy 500. However, the car crashed and Wheldon drove past the wrecked vehicle, and he took a surprise victory.
It would be the last win of his career. And sponsorship woes forced him back on the sidelines.
At the same time, he still had plenty of work. He got to test out the new car the series was going to debut next season, and he also found his calling in the broadcast booth during some of the other races.
Only 33 years old, he still wanted to race.
After Sunday’s race, Wheldon was supposed to sign a contract with the same team that helped him win the 2005 series title.
He was getting back in the series on full-time basics in 2012.
It was one of the worst feelings I have felt while watching a race.
The last time I felt that way was 10 years ago after Dale Earnhardt was killed on the final lap of the Daytona 500.
Wheldon had a chance to drive at the recently closed Nashville Superspeedway, when the series raced there until 2008.
I had a chance to interview him a few times when I covered the race while in college at MTSU.
He was a nice guy that made time for everybody, and he was always a great quote. He became one of my favorite drivers to watch in the series.
I, like all auto racing fans, will really miss him. |
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