Friday Feature – Spotlight: Dan Wheldon

Dan Weldon, born Daniel Clive Wheldon, was born on June 22, 1978 in Emberton, Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom. At the age of 4, Dan took up karting with funding that he received from his father, although little did he know this would be the start of his long term passion that he would later turn into a career. During his school years, Dan worked his way through the junior ranks of motor racing and balanced his education with his hobby – completing his GCSEs while attending Bedford School at the age of 16 – regularly taking time off to race. 

While in the United Kingdom, Weldon developed a rivalry with Jenson Button early in his career in open wheel racing, before leaving to race in the United States. He felt the move was necessary because his family could no longer meet the level of investment needed to fund his racing career in the United Kingdom. He moved to the United States in 1999 and spent several years in lower open-wheeled circuits – the US F2000 National Championship, the Toyota Atlantic Championship, and Indy Lights. 

For the next several years Wheldon participated in a various amount of races and received many awards for his wins. A timeline of those wins and races are included below: 

• 2002-2004: IRL IndyCar Series – Rookie of the Year Honours 
  • 2004: Won his first IRL race at Twin Ring Motegi in Japan finishing as runner up 
• 2005: Won the Indianapolis 500 and the IndyCar Series championship 
  • Six victories in 2005 broke the record for most victories in one season (under IRL sanction) 
  • His win at Indy was the first for an Englishman since Graham Hill’s win (1966) 
• 2006: Won the 24 Hours of Daytona endurance sports car race 
  • Wheldon retired from the Honda Grand Prix due to contact with Sam Hornish Jr. during a caution period 
  • End of 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 specific season is declared the winner, Hornish had 4, Wheldon had 2; therefore Hornish won 
  • During the 2006 season he was offered a place in the BMW Sauber Formula One team which he declined when he couldn’t be guaranteed a regular drive, saying “I do want to race in F1. When my contract expires with Chip, I’ll take a serious look at Formula One.”
• 2007: Won the opening race at Homestead 
  • Won again in Kansas 
  • Most memorable moment of the season: Run in with Danica Patrick
• 2008-2011: 
  • June 22, 2008 (his 30th birthday), Wheldon won the Iowa Corn Indy 250 over Hideki Mutoh and Marco Andretti, taking his 15th career victory in the IndyCar series; he donated his winnings to assist the victims of the recent tornadoes and flooding which happened in Iowa 
  • 2009 – Second place finish in the Indianapolis 500; the second Indy 500 runner up finish for the team 
  • 2011 – Won the Indianapolis 500 with Bryan Herta Autosport during the weekend of the 100th anniversary of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway 
    • This race became the 4th straight runner up for Panther Racing in the Indy 500; with the win, Dan Wheldon became the first driver in Indy 500 to win the race by leading a single lap 
    • Controversy: Panther Racing staff claimed the win to be invalid due to the fact that Wheldon made an illegal pass under yellow; IndyCar denied this saying that the yellow was not thrown until after he had won the race and even so Hildebrand’s car was already hurt therefore allowing Wheldon to pass and win the race 
      • After the race Wheldon became very emotional, not only because he no longer had a car to compete with for the rest of the season but also because of his mothers recent diagnosis of Alzhimer’s Disease 
      • It was his first series win in three seasons, his 16th win in the IndyCar series, and what would go on to become his final win of his racing career
    • For the remainder of the 2011 season, Wheldon helped IndyCar and Dallara test the new IndyCar chassis that was set to debut in 2012

Death

While competing at the IZOD IndyCar World Championship at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on the 16th of October 2011, Wheldon quickly became a victim to a 15 car accident on the 11th lap. His car flew approximately 325 feet (99 m) into the catchfence cockpit first and landed back on the racing surface after his head hit a pole lining the track. He was removed from the carnage and airlifted to the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, however he succumbed to his injuries and passed away – he was 33 years old. 

It didnt take long for the news to spread, and so arrangements were made for his funeral which took place exactly 11 days after his death. IndyCar’s CEO, Randy Bernard, was the first to confirm the tragedy releasing a statement to the press. 

It was decided after gathering input from the other drivers and team owners by officials that the race would be abandoned and that there would be a five lap, three wide formation salute in Wheldon’s honour, along with his #77 displayed alone at the top of the scoring pylon. 

Wheldon had been the only racer to participate in GoDaddy’s IndyCar Challenge where he and a randomly selected fan would be eligible for 2.5M (USD) each if he had won the race starting in last place. 

An autopsy performed on October 17, 2011 revealed that Dan had died from blunt force trauma to the head. His head suffered two distinct impacts when his vehicle was airborne, with the second impact with the fence post being the fatal one. 

For those of you who are interested in seeing video footage from the track of the accident itself, I have included it in the previous blog post entitled ‘The Honda Indy Toronto (Originally known as the Molson Indy Toronto)’. Here is the link: https://zerolimits2021.com/the-honda-indy-toronto-originally-known-as-the-molson-indy-toronto/https://zerolimits2021.com/the-honda-indy-toronto-originally-known-as-the-molson-indy-toronto/

Personal Life

Dan married his wife Susie Behm, his long time personal assistant from Armstrong, British Columbia in 2008. They lived together in St. Petersburg, Florida with their two sons, Sebastian (born in 2009) and Oliver (born in 2011). 

Aftermath

It was revealed to sources (confirmed by Andretti Autosport) that the morning of Wheldon’s death, he signed a several year deal with the company to replace Danica Patrick beginning with the 2012 season. This was the same team that Wheldon won both the Indianapolis 500 and the IndyCar Series championship in 2005. In lieu of the tragic event that occurred, James Hinchcliffe was named as his replacement. Also, IndyCar stated that they would no longer race at Las Vegas in light of the crash. 

On March 7, 2012, Dan Wheldon’s widow Susie and Mayor Bill Foster unveiled a street sign in St. Petersburg, Florida – the city where the Wheldon’s lived during the IndyCar championship season and towards the end of his life. The street sign was named Dan Wheldon Way and placed at the corner of Bayshore Drive and Albert Whitted Park (turn 10 of the IndyCar circuit), the same spot where 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 in 2005. 

In addition to this, a trophy was created in his honour (the Dan Wheldon International Driver Trophy) and was awarded to the best performing international driver over the race weekend of the Australian V8 Supercars Gold Coast 600. Up until 2010 the international drivers’ trophy had been unnamed, however due to Dan’s death – which took place a week prior to the 2011 event in which he was scheduled to race in with the Holden Racing Team – and to honour him, it was named after him. A change in regulations that stated international co-drivers were no longer compulsory in the race was what sparked the movement to discontinue the trophy after 2012. 

This was not the only way Wheldon was honoured for his long term career as there were many other initiatives alongside the ones mentioned that have his legacy living on. Gone but never forgotten.