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Dan Wheldon


NewNiceMrMe
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Was in bits watching the coverage last night.

Before he moved to Emberton, Dan lived 3 doors down from me and we used to play out together. Hell, I remember the last time we dug out the box of photos at my folks, there were pics of him at one of my birthday parties.

I will always remember being amazed by all the Go-Kart equipment they kept in their garage, even though at the time I never really knew what it was all about.

Admittedly this is going back over 25 years, and we never kept in touch, but watching the tragic events of last night brought back memories, and thinking of the 2 of us as kids had me crying my eyes out. Even moreso knowing that there are 2 little boys who will grow up without knowing their Dad.

RIP Dan. Gone far, far too soon.

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Which is why I find myself, on far to many Mondays, reflecting on why the sport I love can be so cruel.

Totally understand that, Jim - so many people worldwide will be reflecting on this sad news today. I think this accident is also a useful reminder to the skill of the Indy drivers that on restricted track space, they perform at the level they do, with minute margins for error. I'm glad in a way that the Media have collectively recognised that Dan is a huge loss to Motorsport.

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OK, no disrespect whatsoever to what he's achieved, but is that really the case?

There's a lot of UK drivers who've gone to the USA and done very, very well. Blundell and Mansell are two who come to mind, Mansell being the first to win an Indy and F1 championship. No idea if they've done as well as Dan Wheldon, or are the references to him being the most successful British driver in that series?

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Arguably Dan was the most successful current English Racing Driver. 1 IRL championship and 2 500 wins, to compare with Lewis and Jensons 1 F1 championship. Though not many people would agree with that.

However Dario Franchitti with 3 IRL championships and 2 500 wins is considered by many to be Britains most successful driver.

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Arguably Dan was the most successful current English Racing Driver. 1 IRL championship and 2 500 wins, to compare with Lewis and Jensons 1 F1 championship. Though not many people would agree with that.

However Dario Franchitti with 3 IRL championships and 2 500 wins is considered by many to be Britains most successful driver.

Sorry, Dario is of course 4 time champion after yesterdays sad events.

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Now, I didn't watch the race and have only seen the crash once and by know means am I saying it was his fault. However where is the sense in having a challenge like that, I know drivers will be drivers and try to win regardless of prize money but surely he felt extra pressure on his shoulders to overtake more.

The thing is, it wasn't his accident - it all went pear shaped up ahead and with that number of cars on track at 200+mph there's nowhere to go and you end up being collected up in the mess :(

As said, its a tragic loss and got to really feel for his wife and children - nearly cried myself looking at Dario's reaction sitting in the car :(

Am sure the discussion on closed cockpit will come up again in relation to safety, it saved McNish at this years LeMans 24hr...

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What sorry news. I don't know much about Indycar, it all seemed a bit 'primative' to me, what is the safety like compared to F1 ?

You've said it yourself, primitive.

Apparently his wife and two children went in the helicopter with him to the hospital, I can't decide if that is a good or bad thing for them.

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Just been sent to this through work emails.. May he RIP

Many of you will have heard of the tragic death of Dan Wheldon, the highly-rated Indy car-racing driver who was killed during the Izod IndyCar race on Sunday in Las Vegas.

Dan is the son of Clive and Sue Wheldon and some of you will know that Clive runs our xxxx xxxx,based in xxxx. Clive has been part of the xxxxxxx management for over a decade and this is dreadfully sad news for him and his family.

Our thoughts are with them all at this difficult time.

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  • 1 month later...

Official report out describes a "perfect storm" of events, the number of cars on a track of that size was "acceptable" . The accident produced 2 impacts to his helmet, the second of which caused by a fence post (-250g :( ) was described as an un-survivable head trauma. Indy car will not race at Vegas in 2012 but has the option to return in 2013.

BBC Sport - IndyCar inquest finds driver Dan Wheldon killed by fence pole

Edited by bazza_g
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  • 9 months later...
  • 4 years later...

Cannot believe five years have passed.  I seem to recall I didn't write anything at the time because I just didn't know what to write, it was the closest I have come to crying at my desk when I read the news in the morning.  I didn't know Dan anything like as well as Kieron, he went to the same school as me and was a few years above, and was definitely a hero of our family. He won Indianapolis 500 twice - first when he was 22 (I think), and second in 2011.  He was without a drive after being fired at the end of the previous season, joined a minor team for Indianapolis, and if you wrote a Hollywood script about it, nobody would believe you....

 

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