Blog

According to driver Dan Wheldon, the Indy 500 was “the biggest sporting event in the world.”  He truly loved the sport and that race, and the racing world was rocked yesterday by news of his untimely death at age 33 in a fiery crash during the Indy 300.  There was a massive, 15 car pileup.

Championship contender Will Power and two other drivers were also injured in the pileup during Lap 11. Moments after the crash, Wheldon was airlifted from the track to University Medical Center, where he died about two hours later from “unsurvivable” injuries.

After the race was cancelled, the shocked and sobbing drivers took part in a five-lap salute around the track in honour of one of their sport’s biggest stars.

Driver Danica Patrick will remember this day as a tragic end to her Indy racing career;  she had announced her retirement from the circuit in late summer, and will embark on a career in NASCAR racing instead.  Memories of the death of friend and fellow indy racer Wheldon will no doubt follow her into her new career.

Go Daddy CEO Bob Parsons offered the following condolences:

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to Dan Wheldon’s family and friends on this sad, sad day. All of us in the IndyCar family feel an unexplainable sense of loss. Not just for the sport, but for all who knew Dan Wheldon. Dan was a family man, a father, a husband, a son and a brother. The two-time Indianapolis 500 winner was also a competitor and a colleague … our deepest condolences go out to all who knew Dan.”

The sport suffered a terrible loss indeed yesterday.  Several of the racers later reported having a “bad feeling” about the track after practice runs all week at high speeds on the track that had some steep banking areas.  Perhaps in the future, the tracks will be better suited for high speed racing.