Wheldon seriously injured in massive 15-car wreck that sent cars flying Las Vegas IndyCar race

[Electric Monk]

Source: Washington Post / AP

By Associated Press, Updated: Sunday, October 16, 4:13 PM

LAS VEGAS — IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon has been seriously injured after his car went sailing through the air during in a massive 15-car wreck early in Sunday’s Las Vegas Indy 300.

Indianapolis 500 winner Wheldon, in line to win $5 million had he won the race, was injured when he car flew over another on the Lap 12 wreck and apparently caught part of the catch fence just outside of Turn 2.

Wheldon was transported to a hospital in a helicopter after a crash early in Sunday’s Las Vegas Indy 300.

Paul Tracy, who was involved in the wreck, said a team of doctors was working on Wheldon, but there was no word of his injuries. A helicopter lifted off from the speedway, and an IndyCar official confirmed Wheldon was onboard.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/othersports/autoracing/wheldon-seriously-injured-in-massive-15-car-wreck-that-sent-cars-flying-las-vegas-indycar-race/2011/10/16/gIQALKhJpL_story.html

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I saw the wreck on TV (PVR delayed), and it was the worst multi-car wreck I've ever seen in IndyCar. Cars were literally flying all over the place at 200+ mph. Really scary wreck.

The race has been red-flagged now for 2 hours.

If you're so inclined, it wouldn't hurt to say a little prayer for him.



edit: They just announced he died from his injuries, and this race has been declared over. The other drivers will run a 5 lap tribute to him shortly.

R.I.P. Daniel Clive Wheldon (June 22, 1978 - October 16, 2011)

[DemReadingDU]

1. Saw it too, very bad

All thoughts going for Wheldon.

[Tempest]

2. They're now reporting he died from injuries

Dan Wheldon has died following a crash at the Las Vegas Indy 300, according to ABC TV. More details to come.

[PatrynXX]

39. Big Iowa name thats all I know

saw the big flame picture on Huffpo's app for android. first major news story I found on my new cell phone :(

[Lucinda]

3. Post in GD says ABC news announced his death

:(
Prayers for all involved

[Bosonic]

4. Yikes - Flying through the air on fire

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7DetQvUjoU

[dkf]

6. Omg that's the feed from inside his car.

[Bosonic]

7. No it's from another driver's car (Will Power)

Who survived (I believe).

[dhill926]

5. RIP.......

what a great personality he was. Tragic.

[Doctor_J]

8. Not a lot of fender benders at 200mph

RIP

[liberal N proud]

9. NBC Sports link

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/44923199/ns/sports-motor_sports/

[SoapBox]

10. Just my opinion...

but what a stupid and senseless "sport".

A waste of petroleum and in this case a life.

[leftyohiolib]

11. agreed

[bigworld]

12. Most sports and hobbies are, really.

It's the benefit we get as a species for having enough to eat, money to spend, and enough leisure time to enjoy. We all spend that time in different ways.

[leftyohiolib]

13. stamp collecting never killed anyone

[Name removed]

15. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Psephos]

16. You are mistaken.

"...An astonishing lore surrounds this stamp: in 1892, one of its earlier owners, Gaston Leroux, was murdered for it by an envious fellow philatelist, Hector Giroux.<2>"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaiian_Missionaries

[bigworld]

33. And I've seen "Nine Queens." Philatelists are a dastardly lot.

[Psephos]

40. That is a *very* good movie. :) n/t

[groundloop]

14. Pretty damned lacking in class to bad mouth a sport in a thread about a death

If you want to discuss the vurtues (or in your opinion lack of virtues) of auto racing why don't you go off and start a new thread?

I consider myself a strong environmentalist, and I don't have any problem saying I enjoy auto racing. In fact I used to race SCCA myself and I can totally understand the sentiment expressed by many drivers that they'd rather die doing what they love than spend years suffering of old age.

Dan Wheldon was a great driver. My thoughts are with his family.

[Hosnon]

17. Why not just stay your sorry ass out of this thread?

R.I.P. Dan

[abogado]

23. Thank you for saying what I would have, if I had more seniority here.

...

[madrchsod]

26. you don`t need seniority to point out .....

classless statements about someone who just died doing what he loved to do.

[AngryOldDem]

18. As I've often said before....DU **never** disappoints. n/t

[RantinRavin]

19. Next time, know what you are talking about

Indy cars run on methanol, not petrolium.

[Lionessa]

21. I used to think that way, but what I found out and what not, is that

without such races, many safety implements, and crash analysis, and fuel mixings (?? I understand that they are also advancing some of the biofuels R&D), fire retardants, all manner of things get a hardy workout and are constantly being improved and then ultimately many end up saving lives on the roadways. If memory serves both
rearview mirrors and seat belts were first engineered to keep racecar drivers safer. I'm sure there are way more, just two I'm pretty darn sure of off the top of my head.

And, like it or not, Americans work better and improve and innovate faster when the race is on.

[abogado]

22. All the Indy, F1 and Nascar races in a season use no more petroleum than

a 747 does flying from Andrews to Rome. One time. I do believe Air Force One is a 747.

[Skittles]

24. I see your point on one hand

on the other hand, I concede that life would be exceedingly boring if no one ever did anything stupid and senseless

[sofa king]

43. We might also concede that some are inexorably drawn to risk.

We should all recall that racing is organized in part because in places where it is not, young males put everyone else at risk on the streets in order to pursue the same interests.

[nolabear]

27. Darlin', if it wasn't for stupid and senseless life wouldn't be worth living.

I'm no racing fan, but people need to play, and to be challenged, and to, as the poet said, rage against the dying of the light. I'm very, very sprry this man died, but he died doing what he loved and next to being immortal I think that's hoped for by many.

[JanMichael]

31. you are correct. Some DUers are going to pile on you

for you comment, but as a society, we should have moved past this stupid shit by now. Same for NASCAR. We live 25 miles from one of the biggest, stupidest tracks in the US.

It's utter garbage. I think this generation is going to have to die off before this silly assed car racing crap stops.

[PavePusher]

35. Yeah, we should all be Vulcans. Or some stupid shit.

Have you set up your Bureau of Silly Assed Crap That I Want to Ban yet?

[Codeine]

47. Please. As long as we have transport of any sort we'll race them

against each other. As soon as we had enough cars to make a decent race we started pitting them against each other to see which was fastest. In Europe they race big rigs around dirt tracks! Swedish kids as young as twelve can race in low-cost rallies in the forests and fields, spitting up dirt from their churning tires.

Racing is universal and timeless. We raced on foot, on horse, on chariot, on buggy; by rowing, sailing, and motoring boats; and in the air with planes and balloons.

We race dogs, we race birds, we race frogs. Kids race paper boats in the running water of streams or gutters. We raced to space.

Every generation will race, dude. The cars may be electric or solar or nuclear-powered, but they'll be racing them far after we are but memories.

[PavePusher]

34. So is being a dick on a website. Bubye. n/t

[24601]

36. After the 1964 Indy crash that killed Dave McDonald & Eddie Sachs,

they moved to Methanol Racing Fuel. Petroleum is used in tires, plastics, etc, but not the fuel.

The point is the same as any other sport to be the best at something. You probably didn't recall that advancements in auto racing lead to improvements in the cars normal folk buy - like the invention of rear-view mirrors. And NASCAR has ties to moonshiners running away from the police during prohibition.

But since you can't find the ability to enjoy it, let's just cancel all sports for everybody. Just think of all the gas saved as people stay home and read books instead. And if nothing else, it will throw even more people out of work and push that unemployment rate even higher.

[Codeine]

49. He had a blast doing what he enjoyed. No "waste" at all. nt

[valerief]

20. Stupid is as stupid does. None of those drivers HAVE TO do that. nt

[InvisibleTouch]

28. None of us HAVE to do most of the things we love.

Some of which are quite dangerous. Even walking across the street to buy an ice cream cone can kill you. But you can cower in your basement for 60 years and will still die.

My respect to those who live their lives fully and go out doing what they love.

[CakeGrrl]

37. ITA

It's legal and adults race and watch those races of their own free will.

As long as that's the case, I have no problem with anyone doing what they want.

I'll NEVER join the Polar Bear Club, but if you like jumping in icy lakes, enjoy!

[Name removed]

30. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[valerief]

32. CRASH! morte.

[Electric Monk]

42. If I had the skills and the opportunity, I would love to compete at that level.

That'd be a dream come true for me, and I'm not stupid. I drove some Formula Vee around a decade ago, and quickly realized I wasn't 'the right stuff' but that was still plenty of fun for me.

I guess I'll just stick to playing Forza and GT5. That is much safer, true.



R.I.P. Dan Wheldon.

[joeglow3]

45. I clicked on this just to see if someone posted this crap.

Good to see somethings on DU never disappoint. Too bad there was not a way to bet on these things. DU would have made me a millionaire by now.

[ScottLand]

25. So very sad to hear this. He was such a young man.

[GreenEyedLefty]

29. So sad. Condolences to his family.

[Altoid_Cyclist]

38. Come on people!!!

I can't believe some of the replies in this thread.

If auto racing isn't something that you enjoy, then that's your choice. However, the callous remarks that I'm seeing are way out of line.

Yes...it's true that he didn't have to do this" for a living. It's also true that this is a dangerous way to make a living. But to say in so many words that he deserved to die at 33 while leaving behind a wife and two young sons is pathetic on a site such as DU.

He did this because he was one of the best drivers in the world and it allowed him to support his family which is the point that some of you seem to be missing.

Speaking from personal experience as well as many more examples in the news, bicycling is one of the most dangerous hobbies to participate in. I have a brain injury and spinal cord damage to verify that it's sometimes dangerous. I still love the rush that comes from hitting sharp curves @ 45 - 50 MPH. That history as well as two heart attacks while riding still don't prevent me from going back out as much as I can. Cycling is worth the risk to me just as racing @ 220MPH was to Mr. Wheldon.

You can either choose to avoid anything that is potentially dangerous in life or you can do what you love and know that you have at least one thing that makes life worth living. Mr. Wheldon was doing what he loved AND earning a living for his family.

Think about what some of you are saying and stop trashing Mr. Wheldon's life just because you don't understand his reasons for racing. We can do better here IMHO.

[Bombero1956]

41. Can't say as I'm surprised

When I heard that Dan Wheldon had died of his injuries at the Indy car race in Las Vegas I just knew that I would find a few idiotic comments on DU. I also knew that they would come from folks that know nothing about motorsports. Rest in Peace Dan, my condolences to the Wheldon family and Sam Schmidt Motorsports.

[Blue_Tires]

44. r.i.p.

I think IndyCar is going to do some hard thinking about racing on these NASCAR-designed high-banked bowls in the offseason...

[AngryOldDem]

46. Some drivers were criticizing it before the race.

Dario Franchitti for one. Seeing how narrow that track is, with the low degree of banking on the turns, I do wonder what they were thinking. I know the sport has fallen on hard times, and this was part race/part publicity stunt, but it was not worth Dan Wheldon's life.

[Blue_Tires]

48. Not to mention the speeds are too high as well

Some years back at Texas the IRL drivers almost refused to race -- After qualifying and practice in the 230+ mph range they were feeling disoriented...Although I did read that IndyCar is moving to a supposedly safer chassis next season...

It's shocking to think back at how far open-wheel has fallen in this country after the 'split' and how effective NASCAR has been in filling that void...

[AngryOldDem]

51. Just saying on MSNBC....

...that courses like Las Vegas most likely won't be on the schedule next year, same with open road, etc. The only closest track like that will be the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

I live in Indy, and this town is literally in mourning. People are leaving flowers, quarts of milk, stuffed animals, etc., at the IMS gates. Dan Wheldon was loved here. Almost all the local sportscasters were practically in tears last night covering the story.

And I agree that the split has been about the worst thing that ever happened to Indy car racing.

[tawadi]

50. Very tragic

To those who are quick to condemn, here is a quote from fellow Indy driver Tony Kanaan:

"You ask anybody on this field, if we could choose a way to go... that's the way."

Ironically, Dan Wheldon cut back on racing this year to spend more time with his family.

source: http://www.wday.com/event/article/id/53394

[B2G]

52. RIP Dan

I started attending the Indy 500 at the age of 12 and have been hooked ever since.

Prayers out for his wife and 2 beautiful little children. So incredibly sad.