We sit in the first row, just coming out of the first turn (Southwest Vista, to be precise)...and when the white flag dropped, Hildebrande passed us and Wheldon did so shortly after. And under a minute later, when Wheldon zipped passed us and Hildebrande limped to a stop in turn one (after some other traffic passed), we knew that the one-time Indy champ from England had won his second...but nothing was official.
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| Second Win at Indy |
So we waited on Dan...but we knew...he was the winner.
Today, I got together with a few members of my family to watch the final race of the IndyCar season, I was pretty excited to see what would happen- Would it be Franchitti or Power to win the championship? Would the 1.5 mile NASCAR venue prove to be a good place for the open wheel machines to run?
I know, it's football season...and I agree; the fall is time for football. But unlike NASCAR, Indy knows that the season shouldn't be three-quarters of a year long...and the last race was a ton of fun to watch as another favorite of mine, Ed Carpenter held off Goliath (in the form of Dario Franchitti) for the sixth-closest race in the history of the series. So, I was ready for racing.
As the cars readied for the race, there was a bit of nervousness in the air. Some of the drivers seemed clearly nervous about the large field, high speeds and short course...but these men and women regularly put their lives on the line, so danger isn't a new concept to them.
Before the green flag dropped, ABC's commentators talked to Dan Wheldon about the race and the opportunity he had been given. In typical Wheldon fashion, he thanked everyone- sponsors by name, his owner Sam Schmidt, and of course, the fans. This was Wheldon's calling card...and one thing he seemed to pick up from the good ole boys in NASCAR- give credit to those who put you where you are.
Wheldon got "it". He was the best ambassador IndyCar racing had. Sure, he had the most-obvious veneers in the history of man, but he knew his English dentistry wouldn't help him as he pimped energy drinks, designer jeans, IZOD clothing or Honda Racing engines.
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| The Ambassador of the IndyCar Series |
A few years ago, before J and I had built a readership that actually cared what we had to say, I used to write about IndyCar a lot more. J would write about the Yankees, and I'd write about that week's IndyCar race...and since it was the off-season for Purdue sports, it was a good way to fill the time. So for those of you who are surprised to be reading about racing on this site, don't be...do a google search, it used to be the norm.
So back to Las Vegas. The race started with a blistering pace. Side-by-side racing a la Kentucky or Texas was the norm. But every now and again, even in the very early laps, the cars would get three wide for no apparent reason other than foolishness. And on lap 11, after Wheldon had climbed 10 spots to #24, hell and its fury broke loose in the form of the worst wreck I've ever seen.
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| The End |
It was violent, smoky, had flashes of fire and multiple cars airborne. My older brother was in the other room with LBD and when the everything began I couldn't help but bounding out of my seat and yelling, "OH NO!!"
J often jokes about how the typical race fan loves a good wreck...and he's probably right. But I'm not a fan of them. The cars are moving too fast and too much is on the line to revel in the carnage. In my opinion, if you like wrecks, you don't like racing.
So as I watched the cars come to a rest, I tried to figure out which 15 drivers had been involved. I noticed Power first...and thought how Franchitti surely didn't want to win the Championship in this manner. Then I saw Mann crying (which is odd at the scene of a wreck) as she was loaded into an ambulance. Then I noticed that Wheldon had been involved...and upon the next shot, I knew it wasn't good.
So once again, we waited on Dan...but this time we knew it wasn't good.
He was rushed via lifeline helicopter to the hospital, the race went red...and there was no news about Wheldon...and that's simply awful news. After a half hour...hour...hour and one half passed, there was still no news on Wheldon's condition...But every race fan that I texted and spoke to knew the truth- the 2011 Indy 500 Champ was gone.
The official announcement was followed by an unusual 5 lap memorial driven by the remaining 19 running cars as they followed the pace car. As the brave men and women got back into their cars, many sobbed like a child- the type of uncontrollable weeping that causes your body to convulse. It was like nothing I've seen, nor hope to ever see again.
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| Dad |
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| The Wheldon Chassis |
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| The 2011 Indy 500 Winner, Dan Wheldon |
8 comments:
Truly tragic. But I'm glad I heard about it here. I appreciate your sincerity as always, boilerdowd. I'm a very casual racing fan - I pretty much only watch when it's at Indy. But I remember very vividly when Wheldon drank the milk this year. I'm sorry to hear it ended so quickly for him. Here's to improving safety with the new chassis new year.
Thanks Paul- this is really upsetting to me.
Although I disagree with your NASCAR thoughts as a whole (I'm a huge NASCAR fan and its probably the only thing I love more than Purdue), I couldn't agree with you more on this post. If you like wrecks, you are not a true fan of racing. Indycar lost a good guy today and the sport has now lost probably 2 of its 3 or 4 most popular drivers all in one race (I'm including Danica since she now heads to NASCAR). While I respect INDY's decision to end the race today, I think the race must go on. I'm sure Wheldon was the same as any other race car driver out there... he would want the show to go on. That is the way Dale Earnhardt, Adam Petty, Kenny Irwin Jr., Davey Allison, etc would have wanted it
9939, I don't think many, if any of the 19 drivers in the remaining field wanted the race to go on...as a fan, I tend to agree, but I'm glad they stopped the race. It was very clear that people like Franchitti, Patrick, Hamilton, Castroneves and others were very upset and not mentally right to race. I'll go one step further to venture that the nature of this wreck might put drivers like Tracy, Hamilton and maybe Franchitti into retirement.
A few years ago, the last time a driver died, it was in practice (I believe Petty's situation was the same), and they still raced...Wheldon actually won that race. But there were a confluence of factors that led them to correctly stopping this one.
I do indeed make jokes about racing, mainly to bust b-dowd's nuts about it. But I hope no one infers from any of this that I appreciate people crashing into stationary objects at ~200 MPH.
I do make jokes about racing and race fans, but cars have been a passion of mine my entire life (all modes of motorized transport, really) and racing has always entertained me. I grew up going to a piddly little track in South Jersey called New Egypt Speedway on Saturday nights in the summer.
My uncle drove a race car about 20 years ago on one of those crappy little local circuits and I hope to one day get behind the wheel, likely at one of those racing schools (once BS profits achieve a certain apex).
My point is, I do like the sport of racing, I do appreciate it and I, too, am saddened by the tragic loss of a guy so well-liked by so many. One thing about auto-racing -- and especially open-wheel racing, in my observation -- is how much of a family all racers are. They may bicker (like family) but they all know they're among a small percentage who can understand what goes on out there. To hear how every one of them interviewed after the wreck talked about it being the worst they'd seen and, almost to a man (and woman), they said they were concerned about "Dan."
The whole thing is hearbreaking.
I got the opportunity to see the Senna documentary a couple weeks ago and today felt eerily similar. Hopefully the new platform will prevent tragedies like this in the future. It is truly a sad day for motor sports. Thanks for the write up Bdowd.
It's really hard to look at the picture of Dan and his oldest son. His kids are both within a few months of my boys. I can't imagine how his wife and boys feel right now. That's just awful
really tragic, i feel pitty for accident victims, truly agreed that His English dentistry wouldn't help him as he pimped energy drinks, designer jeans, izod apparel or Honda Racing engines.
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