Dan Wheldon dies in 15-car Indycar crash

[koalabear]

Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon died Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after his car became ensnarled in a fiery 15-car pileup, flew over another vehicle and landed in a catch fence just outside turn 2.

The 33-year-old racer was a two-time Indy winner, including this year's race.

Three other drivers, including championship contender Will Power, were hurt in the pileup during Lap 13.

Weldon was airlifted from the track to University Medical Center; about two hours later, his colleagues were told of his death.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/10/16/sports/main20121120.shtml?tag=cbsContent;cbsCarousel

Indianapolis 500 Winner Dan Wheldon Dies After Massive Crash

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2011/...massive-indycar-crash-at-vegas/#ixzz1azcMq89F

 

[RoryN]

Horrible crash - probably the worst I've ever seen for IndyCar.

RIP for a great driver.

 

[Goodgirl4him]

R.I.P. Dan. A horrific crash. Prayers go out to family.

 

[Ham Murabi]

I read earlier in the week that the drivers were a little worried because the track at Vegas is so fast. They were clipping along at 220 mph in qualifying.
The idea of a whole bunch of cars driving together at that speed, negotiating curves, maneuvering and passing is something I can't imagine.

 

[eyer]

renard ruse also started a thread here:

http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?t=782690

The crazy thing is this was only Wheldon's 2nd race of the year, and this was the last race of the season.

He didn't have a ride until Indy - which he won...

...and he didn't accept any other rides until this weekend.

And the only reason he raced today was because IndyCar put up a $5 million bonus for any non-regular season driver that won this season-ending race (they were originally utopian hoping to pull in some Sprint Cup drivers, too).

I doubt there's really too many true race drivers who wouldn't choose to go out exactly as Dan did today...

...the supreme thrill and joy of doing the exact thing you're convinced you were born to do, makes every race day a beautiful day to die.

 

[Lancecastor]

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2011/10/17/sports/autoracing/17indycar2/17indycar2-popup.jpg

So....you get a part-time driver chasing after the $5 Million put up by the organizers exclusively for any non-contender.

No wonder he crashed and burned. Fucking circus monkey driver.

Oval racing is for retards anyway.

Wheldon’s death will bring the IndyCar series’ record under great scrutiny, particularly as he was driving in a $5 million challenge to try to win the race in Vegas from last place on the grid.

“It will be pure entertainment,” Wheldon wrote in a blog beforehand. “It’s going to be a pack race, and you never know how that’s going to turn out.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/mo...e-racetrack-proves-that-sport-is-no-game.html

 

[renard_ruse]

I read earlier in the week that the drivers were a little worried because the track at Vegas is so fast. They were clipping along at 220 mph in qualifying.
The idea of a whole bunch of cars driving together at that speed, negotiating curves, maneuvering and passing is something I can't imagine.

Sounds like the I-5 through southern Orange County.

 

[eyer]

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2011/10/17/sports/autoracing/17indycar2/17indycar2-popup.jpg

So....you get a part-time driver chasing after the $5 Million put up by the organizers exclusively for any non-contender.

No wonder he crashed and burned. Fucking circus monkey driver.

Oval racing is for retards anyway.

Quite...

...all that's required besides GO FAST, TURN LEFT is big enough ballz to do both.

The 1 lap track record at Indy is 237+ mph, which included straightaway speeds just nudging 250 mph...

...but that was back in 1996.

And there used to be no pit lane speed whatsoever during a race; being an over-the-wall member of any pit crew when Mario Andretti was driving at times proved fatal.

They've pussified the speeds and rules way down from what it used to be like, but there's a reason so many of the Mercury/Gemini/Apollo nauts were Indy car fans when the sport was at its zenith...

...mere mortals just can't quite measure up to the challenge.

 

[Lancecastor]

Whoever came up with the idea of that $5 Million Booby Prize won't have a job Monday morning....and I wouldn't be surprised if it kills the IRL.

 

[Hooey_rorynALT]

Whoever came up with the idea of that $5 Million Booby Prize won't have a job Monday morning....and I wouldn't be surprised if it kills the IRL.

The IRL died a long time ago, have you seen all of the empty seats at most events? The only big draw is the Indy 500 race.

Even F1 is suffering these days.

 

[eyer]

Whoever came up with the idea of that $5 Million Booby Prize won't have a job Monday morning....and I wouldn't be surprised if it kills the IRL.

That was the brainchild of their current marketing guru/politically appointed president of a major automobile racing body...

...the faceman used to run the Professional Bullriders Association, or whatever it's called.

The $5 mil was definitely a pr gimmick...

...but it had absolutely nothing practical to do with what happened on the track today.

 

[Killswitch]

The IRL died a long time ago, have you seen all of the empty seats at most events? The only big draw is the Indy 500 race.

Even F1 is suffering these days.

Force India just secured 100 million dollars for 2012.

f1 is fine.

 

[renard_ruse]

Whoever came up with the idea of that $5 Million Booby Prize won't have a job Monday morning....and I wouldn't be surprised if it kills the IRL.

Its a shame that oval open wheel racing is probably done for. Its really the most exciting racing. NASCAR is like watching cars on the freeway, and F1, though I like the spectacle and sophistication, is also boring to watch. The open wheel oval race is as American as well, the Indy 500.

It makes one wonder about the longterm viability of Indy if there isn't even a real series for it to be a part of.

 

[eyer]

Its a shame that oval open wheel racing is probably done for.

Yeah...

...the naive have been saying that for awhile now.

BTW:

The other 14 drivers involved in the horrendous wipeout emerged okay, thank you very much...

...the most serious injuries were Pippa Mann's severely burned right pinkie finger and JR Hildebrand's bruised sternum.

When cause is announced for Wheldon's death, I'm guessing it'll be the usual blunt force trauma to the head...

...which any - or all - of those 14 other drivers could've encountered in that violent melee, too.

That Wheldon was the only one of the 15 to pay the ultimate price...

...reenforces the belief it was just his day to buy the farm.

Before yesterday's race, it was announced that Wheldon would be reuniting with Michael Andretti racing for next season, replacing Danica Patrick who's going NASCAR racing full time next season...

...Wheldon won his first 500 driving for Andretti in 2005.

http://i.usatoday.net/sports/gallery/2011/Motor/Dan%20Wheldon/a_wheldonpg-vertical.jpg​

 

[JBCorbell]

Its a shame that oval open wheel racing is probably done for. Its really the most exciting racing. NASCAR is like watching cars on the freeway, and F1, though I like the spectacle and sophistication, is also boring to watch. The open wheel oval race is as American as well, the Indy 500.

It makes one wonder about the longterm viability of Indy if there isn't even a real series for it to be a part of.

WRC is certainly not boring.

http://www.youtube.com/user/wrc

 

[Lancecastor]

The IRL died a long time ago, have you seen all of the empty seats at most events? The only big draw is the Indy 500 race.

Even F1 is suffering these days.

Obviously IRL is not dead...yet.

But this 5 million dollar stunt is probably going to nullify any remain credibility the series had in the world of open wheel racing.

Not that credibility matters to American racing fans...in the USA the mayhem is half the rationale for watching.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy how paint swapping flavors NASCAR and requires a different skill set...but it's a different kind of racing from F1.

Just as NHL hockey is a different game from IIHF hockey.

 

[eyer]

http://i.cdn.turner.com/nascar/dam/assets/111016115253-dan-wheldon-t2-story-top.jpg

The Wheldons...

...Susie, Dan, Oliver, and Sebastian

 

[KRCummings]

This isn't gonna be one of those NASCAR things where all the hillbillies go around with numbers on their back windows and cheap tshirts and stuff is it? They still aren't over that guy getting killed and it's been like 20 years or some shit. Seems like it anyway.
They all act like they were personally touched by his death. That bugs the shit out of me. It's a guy you never knew. Get the fuck over it and stop making someone elses tragedy about you. It's tacky.

 

[Lancecastor]

This isn't gonna be one of those NASCAR things where all the hillbillies go around with numbers on their back windows and cheap tshirts and stuff is it? They still aren't over that guy getting killed and it's been like 20 years or some shit. Seems like it anyway.
They all act like they were personally touched by his death. That bugs the shit out of me. It's a guy you never knew. Get the fuck over it and stop making someone elses tragedy about you. It's tacky.

He was British and drove open wheel cars, so no Dale/Elvis treatment for him.

 

[Shagly]

He could have saved 15% or more by changing his auto insurance policy to GEICO.

 

[eyer]

"Their average was 225 (mph)? I've never been 225 mph in my life -- and that's their average around an oval. They are brave men and women that drive those things."

Jimmie Johnson, 5-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion, speaking today about Indy cars @ Las Vegas Motor Speedway

7-time F1 World champion Michael Schumacher, when competing at the United States Gran Prix on Indy's road course, told reporters he wasn't brave enough to race in the Indianapolis 500...

...and he was serious.

1979 F1 World champion Jody Scheckter is now saying he doesn't want his son, Indy 500 and IRL vet Tomas Scheckter, driving Indy cars anymore...

...but Tomas is crazier than his daddy.

 

[eyer]

And speaking of crazy...

...even though she'll be racing full-time in NASCAR next season, Indy car vet Danica Patrick still wants to race the Indianapolis 500 next year; her new Sprint Cup owner, former pole position winner, Indy car champion, and 2-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart may well help that happen for her as he is one of only three drivers in history who've competed in the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR's Charlotte 600 on the same day.

Danica ain't skaired...

 

[Super-Surprise]

"Their average was 225 (mph)? I've never been 225 mph in my life -- and that's their average

Have you never flown in a jet airplane?

 

[eyer]

Have you never flown in a jet airplane?

Try to keep your wheels on the ground there, dude...

x2

 

[Super-Surprise]

Are you aware that the earth rotates at ~1,000 MPH, chicky?

x3