Horrific 15 vehicle IndyCar crash in Las Vegas - Dan Wheldon killed

[tk13]

I know this is mentioned in the NASCAR thread but this deserves its own thread. Horrific crash, one of ESPN's racing guys on twitter said it might be the worst multi car wreck he's ever seen. Apparently Dan Wheldon has been airlifted to a hospital and people are very concerned about his condition. Everyone else seems to have survived. The race is currently on ABC but has been stopped for the moment.

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[Bugeater]

Wow. I'm speechless.

[jspchief]

Maybe Ashley Judd will be single again.

[Dave Lane]

Cool

[-King-]

Can't believe how far some of those cars flew.

[-King-]

Cool
LMAO

[doomy3]

Yikes.

[Dave Lane]

Isn't that really why people watch these races? Glad nobody was hurt but that was pretty cool. :)

[Bugeater]

Isn't that really why people watch these races? Glad nobody was hurt but that was pretty cool. :)
Uhhh...there's talk of a possible fatality. But yeah, it's pretty much the only reason to watch.

[lcarus]

Maybe Ashley Judd will be single again.

I would do dirty, dirty, dirty things to that woman.

[Rain Man]

I bet someone was texting while they were driving.

[4th and Long]

I went to a demolition derby and an IndyCar race broke out?

[Mama Hip Rockets]

That's what happens when you get a bunch of redneck morons together to drive really really fast right next to each other.

[kstater]

That's what happens when you get a bunch of redneck morons together to drive really really fast right next to each other.

Indycar talent is outsourced.

[memyselfI]

Hope no one i seriously hurt. High speed crashes might be the only compelling reason to watch this ridiculous 'sport.'

[nathanKent]

Glad nobody was hurt

Yeah.... ya know.... except for the guy that was.

[Buck]

Isn't that really why people watch these races? Glad nobody was hurt but that was pretty cool. :)

Dan Wheldon might die.

[memyselfI]

Dan Wheldon might die.

Not good. Prayers to all involved. I do think they know full well that's a real possibility every time they start their engines. It's not like that in most other sports.

[jspchief]

Dan Wheldon might die.

Really? He was my favorite driver.

[jspchief]

That's what happens when you get a bunch of redneck morons together to drive really really fast right next to each other.

Indy is eurotrash you dumbf*ck, not rednecks.

[stevieray]

That's what happens when you get a bunch of redneck morons together to drive really really fast right next to each other.

hardly....these are some of the most skilled drivers in the world.

open wheel racing is extremely dangerous.

[Rain Man]

If you look at 1:32 in the video, on the far right of the screen, you can see one of the drivers run a red light to start the whole thing.

[Buck]

From everything reported on twitter, it does not sound good at all.

[kstater]

Looks like he's passed. RIP. Looks like someone's put up a fake tweet, and it's being RT like crazy.

[Buck]

Looks like he's passed. RIP. Looks like someone's put up a fake tweet, and it's being RT like crazy.

I was gonna say.

A lot of people crying at the track though. He's probably dead or disabled.

[tk13]

Yeah... there's some false tweets flying around right now.

However, they did call everyone in for a meeting and people around the track seem very upset... not good.

[Marcellus]

I can't believe people find this funny at all. I am not an Indy fan at all but seeing that wreck made my stomach turn.

[Titty Meat]

f1fanaticlive F1 Fanatic Live
And of course Dan Wheldon starts 34th and last - a win here will net him a $5m prize which will be split with a fan at the track. #indycar
1 hour ago Favorite Retweet Reply


Wow thats sad

[Thig Lyfe]

That's fuckin' terrifying.

[Demonpenz]

that sucks. IndyCar should be more popular because it is more exciting and more dangerous but it is dangerous, of course the only time someone cares is when this shit happens

[Bugeater]

Are they seriously considering finishing this race?

[kstater]

Are they seriously considering finishing this race?

With Brian Barnhart in charge? Of course. If there's a wrong choice to be made, it'll be made.

[kstater]

Officially passed.

RIP

[tk13]

Wheldon has passed away. Race cancelled. Drivers will do a 5 lap salute around the track shortly.

[Buck]

Dead. RIP

[Delano]

Rough stuff. Did this guy have any children?
Posted via Mobile Device

[TrebMaxx]

RIP Dan.

[KevB]

Rough stuff. Did this guy have any children?
Posted via Mobile Device

Yes, but don't know the specifics. Friend of mine said she met he and his wife and their children a while back.

[TrebMaxx]

Rough stuff. Did this guy have any children?
Posted via Mobile Device

Yes, two.

[-King-]

Wheldon married his long-time personal assistant, Susie Behm, in 2008. They have 2 sons: Sebastian <sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference">[12] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Wheldon#cite_note-11)</sup>, who was born on 1 February 2009, and Oliver,<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference">[13] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Wheldon#cite_note-12)</sup> born 19 March 2011. The family lives in St. Petersburg, Florida (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Petersburg,_Florida).




Fuck.





:(

[Demonpenz]

Reminds me alot of Greg Moore, because once the wreck happened, you could hear the voice of the announcers like "Oh that guy is done"

[Demonpenz]

Danica's like I am glad I am getting the fuck out of this series

[mlyonsd]

Ugly. RIP.

[Rams Fan]

RIP Dan Wheldon.

[kstater]

Sad part is Dan was the test driver for the new car that's coming out next year. Just announced last week a full time ride for Andretti Autosport.

[Stewie]

RIP Dan. This sucks.

[GloryDayz]

Wow... Sad sad day in racing...

[Wyatt Earp]

RIP Dan. :(

[Delano]

I am surprised they replayed the wreck on television.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Jerm]

I feel sick...so damn sad, great racer and by all accounts a really good guy.

Those things are fucking deathtraps, I hope Patrick isn't the only one that decides to bolt.

It's amazing this doesn't happen more often.

RIP. :(

[Bugeater]

Finally just saw all the ABC replays...that was horrific. RIP Dan.

[ShowtimeSBMVP]

RIP

[Gadzooks]

It's amazing this doesn't happen more often.

RIP. :(
This. :(

[Frazod]

Not a racing fan, but I've seen a couple of those cars on display - the first time I saw one in person I was struck by how tiny they are - much smaller than they look on TV. With a crash like that it's amazing more people didn't get killed.

RIP

[|Zach|]

Cool

You are a lot more interesting when you talk about butt hurt you are over religion. Reminding us how badly it gets under your skin.

[Dave Lane]

Dead. RIP

Holy shit didn't look that bad

[Deberg_1990]

Not a racing fan, but I've seen a couple of those cars on display - the first time I saw one in person I was struck by how tiny they are - much smaller than they look on TV. With a crash like that it's amazing more people didn't get killed.

RIP

Yea, im amazed that people have the guts to get into something like that and travel at those speeds. Just incredible. RIP

[Buck]

Holy shit didn't look that bad

What? It looked horrific.

[KcMizzou]

Yea, im amazed that people have the guts to get into something like that and travel at those speeds. Just incredible. RIPIt's a credit to the skill of the drivers, I think...

That speed in such an intentionally light vehicle... takes balls.

[-King-]

Holy shit didn't look that bad

:spock: Cars flew.

[LiveSteam]

Holy shit didn't look that bad

God knows what you are trying to do here. MR.David Lane

[|Zach|]

Holy shit didn't look that bad

Yea. Those cars crashing into each other while they were on fire didn't look that bad.

My only hope is that you are being an asshole and trolling us. Nobody should be this stupid.

[suzzer99]

Video apparently overloading youtube. So frustrating to try to watch.

[kchero]

RIP Dan Wheldon :(

[jspchief]

Iirc, the year Wheldon won the indy 500, they put Danica on the cover of that weeks SI instead of him.

[Baby Lee]

Isn't that really why people watch these races? Glad nobody was hurt but that was pretty cool. :)

Watching nowadays in HD with car cams is very exciting. Particularly if you dream about driving that fast.

[Baby Lee]

I feel sick...so damn sad, great racer and by all accounts a really good guy.

Those things are fucking deathtraps, I hope Patrick isn't the only one that decides to bolt.

It's amazing this doesn't happen more often.

RIP. :(

'Those things' are a major reason that there are less and less deathtraps every year, fuckstick.

Oversized tracks leading to superfast lap times, which the organizers then packed with too many racers, may have created a deadly situation, that was realized in full by one of the league's luminaries, but those are different issues.

It sucks like hell Wheldon passed, but the marriage of racing and engineering in F1 is a great thing for human innovation.

[Buck]

This isn't F1 dude.

[LiveSteam]

The man died for his love of the left turn, God rest his sole

[Baby Lee]

This isn't F1 dude.

I'm talking F1 tech, not the specifics of various leagues.

[Bambi]

Just watched it on youtube.

Do they usually run that many cars in one race? Seemed like it happened so easily. Surprising that there aren't more accidents like this in Indycar.

RIP Dan Wheldon

[007]

That's what happens when you get a bunch of redneck morons together to drive really really fast right next to each other.

Indy racing is the wine and cheese league not the burger and brats gathering.

[Buck]

I'm talking F1 tech, not the specifics of various leagues.

I don't think they use each others' tech at all.

[Demonpenz]

'Those things' are a major reason that there are less and less deathtraps every year, ****stick.

Oversized tracks leading to superfast lap times, which the organizers then packed with too many racers, may have created a deadly situation, that was realized in full by one of the league's luminaries, but those are different issues.

It sucks like hell Wheldon passed, but the marriage of racing and engineering in F1 is a great thing for human innovation.

No matter what you do it's still racing, it's going to happen.

[kevonm]

I don't think they use each others' tech at all.

I agree here, F1 races on winding tracks, indy is an oval track. Cant imagine there is a whole lot in common.

[Jerm]

'Those things' are a major reason that there are less and less deathtraps every year, fuckstick.

Oversized tracks leading to superfast lap times, which the organizers then packed with too many racers, may have created a deadly situation, that was realized in full by one of the league's luminaries, but those are different issues.

It sucks like hell Wheldon passed, but the marriage of racing and engineering in F1 is a great thing for human innovation.

I meant open wheel cars as a whole, fuckstick.

When you go hurdling towards a fence at insane speeds in a car that all but explodes with no protection for your head and upper body except for a helmet and fire suit yeah I'd say that's a fucking death trap.

There's no way you can't say stock cars aren't safer...I get it, racing as a whole is dangerous and this could happen to anyone so save it. Then again I'm apparently talking to someone who knows it all so why should I bother...

Way to derail the topic asshole.

I just hope for Dan and his family's sake he died upon impacting the wall and he wasn't burned alive.

[Dylan]

I know this is mentioned in the NASCAR thread but this deserves its own thread. Horrific crash, one of ESPN's racing guys on twitter said it might be the worst multi car wreck he's ever seen. Apparently Dan Wheldon has been airlifted to a hospital and people are very concerned about his condition. Everyone else seems to have survived. The race is currently on ABC but has been stopped for the moment.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/YcAZ7I_lk7M" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Rest in Paradise, Wheldon


Wow, how sad.

[Mama Hip Rockets]

Indy is eurotrash you dumbf*ck, not rednecks.

Ah, my bad. I don't keep up with the different levels of retards who drive cars in circles for a living. Or for a dying.

[Al Bundy]

Racing those cars takes some serious balls. He was a St. Pete Fl resident. RIP Dan.

[Bowser]

Sucks for his family, especially with two kids so young. RIP

[Hog's Gone Fishin]

On the bright side, Baldwin will make his debut next week against the scum Raiders.

[-King-]

On the bright side, Baldwin will make his debut next week against the scum Raiders.

:spock:

[Hammock Parties]

Maybe I'm sick, but I have a morbid curiosity to see photos of his injuries. I can only imagine what a crash like that does to the human body.

[Dylan]

http://img3.allvoices.com/thumbs/image/609/480/81131127-dan-wheldon.jpg
DAN WHELDON
1978-2011

LAS VEGAS -- Dan Wheldon, the 2011 Indianapolis 500 winner and one of the most popular drivers in open-wheel racing, died Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in a horrific multi-car crash on Lap 11 of the IndyCar Series season finale.

Officials decided to call the race, but the drivers did a five-lap tribute to Wheldon. IndyCar Series CEO Randy Bernard made the official announcement of Wheldon's death without further comment.

"IndyCar is very sad to announce that Dan Wheldon has passed away from unsurvivable injuries," Bernard said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with his family today. IndyCar, its drivers and owners, have decided to end the race. In honor of Dan Wheldon, the drivers have decided to do a five-lap salute to in his honor."

Wheldon, 33 and the 2005 series champion from Emberton, England, was competing in only his third IndyCar race of the season, trying to win the event and earn a $5 million bonus that was part of a league promotion for drivers who didn't compete full-time in the series this year.

He was the only driver to accept the challenge. This year's Indy 500 was the second time Wheldon had won the prestigious event. He also won it in 2005 and won 16 times overall in his IndyCar career

Wheldon was expected to replace Danica Patrick next season in the Go-Daddy-sponsored car for Andretti Autosport.

Patrick is moving to NASCAR full-time in 2012.

Wheldon was airlifted from the Las Vegas track at 1:19 p.m. local time Sunday and taken to a nearby hospital, becoming the first IndyCar driver to die on the track since rookie Paul Dana was killed in practice on the morning of race day at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2006.

As word began to spread that his injuries were fatal, those at the track could not control their tears. Television cameras captured Ashley Judd, the wife of IndyCar champion Dario Franchitti, dabbing at her eyes shortly before the official word came.

The remainder of the race was canceled. Drivers solemnly returned to the track for the five-lap tribute, almost all of them hiding their eyes behind dark sunglasses after being told their colleague was gone. As Roger Penske met with his team trackside and other drivers simply hugged those around them, Bernard made the announcement of Wheldon's death.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with his family today," Bernard said.

When drivers returned to the track, Wheldon's No. 77 was the only one on the towering scoreboard. Franchitti sobbed uncontrollably as he got back into his car for the tribute laps. Over speakers at the track, the song "Danny Boy" blared, followed by "Amazing Grace" as hundreds of crew workers from each team stood solemnly.

The race was only minutes old when Wheldon was one of 15 cars involved in the wreck that started when two cars touched tires.

Several cars burst into flames, and debris was all over the track, some of the impact so intense that workers needed to patch holes in the asphalt.

Video replays showed Wheldon's car turning over as it went airborne and sailed into what's called the "catch fence," which sits over the SAFER barrier that's designed to give a bit when cars make contact. Rescue workers were at Wheldon's car quickly, some furiously waving for more help to get to the scene.

Sunday's wreck left Townsend Bell upside down while smoldering cars and debris littered the track nearly halfway up the straightaway of the 1.5-mile oval.

The accident appeared to start when Wade Cunningham's car swerved on the track and JR Hildebrand drove over the left rear of Cunningham's car. Hildebrand appeared to go airborne, and Cunningham's car shot up into the wall, setting off a chain reaction among the cars behind him.

Some of those cars slowed, others didn't, and others spun in front of Wheldon and championship contender Will Power. There was so much chaos on the track it was hard to tell who was driving what car.

Power appeared to fly over Alex Lloyd's car, rolling into the catchfence and landing on its right side. His in-car camera showed one of the front tires coming toward him in the cockpit.

Wheldon then appeared to drive over Paul Tracy's car. Tracy seemed to be slowing but Weldon did not. He went airborne and spun into the fence.

The track was red-flagged following the accidents while crews worked on fences and removed smashed cars.

"It was like a movie scene which they try to make as gnarly as possible," said Patrick. "It was debris everywhere across the whole track, you could smell the smoke, you could see the billowing smoke on the back straight from the car. There was a chunk of fire that we were driving around. You could see cars scattered."

Drivers had been concerned about the high speeds at the track, where they were hitting nearly 225 mph during practice.

"I'll tell you, I've never seen anything like it," Ryan Briscoe said. "The debris we all had to drive through the lap later, it looked like a war scene from Terminator or something. I mean, there were just pieces of metal and car on fire in the middle of the track with no car attached to it and just debris everywhere.

So it was scary, and your first thoughts are hoping that no one is hurt because there's just stuff everywhere. Crazy."

Also injured in the crash were Hildebrand and Pippa Mann. Both will remain in the hospital overnight.

IndyCar said Mann was being treated for a burn to her right pinkie finger and will be released Monday morning, and Hildebrand was awake and alert but will be held overnight for further evaluation.

The accident spoiled what Bernard had hoped would be a showcase event for the struggling IndyCar Series.

The second-year CEO worked the entire season on turning the finale into a spectacle, and said he'd offer his resignation to the IndyCar board of directors if ABC's broadcast didn't pull a .8 ranking. His goal was to improve upon last year's season finale's horrible television rating and give the series some momentum for what's hoped to be a strong season in 2013 with the introduction of a new car and new manufacturers.

So Bernard poured everything into Las Vegas, renting the speedway from owner Bruton Smith and agreeing to promote the event himself. He landed enough sponsorship to at least break even on race, and the $5 million challenge bought him an enormous amount of publicity the entire year.

Bernard got the Las Vegas Strip to close to stage a parade of cars, hosted industry parties and a blackjack tournament all to boost interest in the race. He even got MGM Grand Resorts to offer a pair of tickets to anyone staying this weekend in one of the chain's 14 properties.

But what was hoped to be a day of celebration quickly turned somber.

Source: ESPN

[LiveSteam]

This poor man dies & yet Bob Costa lives on. OWWWWWWWWWWWWW! THE HUMANITY!

[johnny961]

Horrific. RIP Dan.

[Archie F. Swin]

http://photogallery.thestar.com/1070853

still shots of wreck

['Hamas' Jenkins]

That's just awful. No other way to spin it.

[Demonpenz]

Could have been worse, see all the other debris and people crashing on fire, wouldn't have surprised me if 2 people or killed

[OnTheWarpath15]

Holy shit didn't look that bad

We have a new leader in the clubhouse for dumbest comment ever on ChiefsPlanet.

[Buck]

We have a new leader in the clubhouse for dumbest comment ever on ChiefsPlanet.

Did you see is first post in this thread? That's gotta be #2.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

What amazes me is that this doesn't happen about every other race.

[OnTheWarpath15]

Did you see is first post in this thread? That's gotta be #2.

:shake:

What an idiot.

[Buck]

Also his second.

[OnTheWarpath15]

Isn't that really why people watch these races? Glad nobody was hurt but that was pretty cool. :)

FFS.

[whatsmynameagain]

ROFL

[teedubya]

That was horrible. Holy shit.

[CaliforniaChief]

Sad story. Prayers for his family, friends, and racing team.

Also, some of you are really stupid.

[Bugeater]

The accident spoiled what Bernard had hoped would be a showcase event for the struggling IndyCar Series.

The second-year CEO worked the entire season on turning the finale into a spectacle, and said he'd offer his resignation to the IndyCar board of directors if ABC's broadcast didn't pull a .8 ranking. His goal was to improve upon last year's season finale's horrible television rating and give the series some momentum for what's hoped to be a strong season in 2013 with the introduction of a new car and new manufacturers.

So Bernard poured everything into Las Vegas, renting the speedway from owner Bruton Smith and agreeing to promote the event himself. He landed enough sponsorship to at least break even on race, and the $5 million challenge bought him an enormous amount of publicity the entire year.

Bernard got the Las Vegas Strip to close to stage a parade of cars, hosted industry parties and a blackjack tournament all to boost interest in the race. He even got MGM Grand Resorts to offer a pair of tickets to anyone staying this weekend in one of the chain's 14 properties.

But what was hoped to be a day of celebration quickly turned somber.

Source: ESPN
Damn, that sure backfired on him.

[Buck]

Damn, that sure backfired on him.

I bet they had a huge increase in ratings after the crash.

[Pants]

That's is just terrible. Dude died doing what he loved most, he knew the risks and went out a race driver.

He's not the first and not the last.

RIP Dan.

[johnny961]

That's is just terrible. Dude died doing what he loved most, he knew the risks and went out a race driver.

He's not the first and not the last.

RIP Dan.

Thats about the only thing that can be said about something as bad as this. At least he was doing something that he enjoyed when he went out. From the looks of that wreck he probably never knew what happened either. He probably wasn't conscious of much pain and suffering.

[Aries Walker]

As you can imagine, this is about the only news story on right now in Indianapolis. It's just horrendous - the guy had everything going for him.

Here's a clip of some coverage of the wreck. I'm not sure which car was Wheldon's, but you can Sebastian Saavedra (red car) just nudge the car in front of him, which starts the whole thing. A couple of other guys try to react and then it's just mayhem.

No gore, but unsettling to say the least.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/NFCOugYb6Hg?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NFCOugYb6Hg

[PornChief]

Poor dude was supposed to come down here to co-drive a V8 supercar in the Gold Coast 600 next weekend. 2nd year straight a last race accident cost Will Power a chance at the title.

[lcarus]

RIP Dan Wheldon and prayers and thoughts to his family. I know zilch about racing and didn't even know of Wheldon, but from what they are saying, he was one of the great guys in sports. Sad day.

[alpha_omega]

RIP Dan.

[DJ's left nut]

You look through those stills and wonder how the hell Powers walked away from it.

His car had several moments where he could've easily been killed had it spun just a little differently, yet he suffers no real injury. In that later still where the two cars (Powers and Wheldon's) are skidding to a stop, neither car appears to be any worse off than the other; you could tell me that either one of those guys either died or walked away and I'd have believed you.

Just dumb luck.