Dan Wheldon: Another Young Life Lost to the Racing Track
Monday, October 17th, 2011The racing world has not quite recovered from the shock news that hit the stands late Sunday evening. The death of Dan Wheldon, a two time Indianapolis 500 champion, has shocked the racing community and once again raises important questions about the dangers of high speed car racing. The British racer was only 33 years old when he met is fiery end. He leaves behind a wife and two young children.
Apparently, the crash occurred at turn 2 of the track, when Dan negotiated the bend at high speed, lost control and crashed into the wall. His car erupted in flames, and there was a huge pile on that involved 15 other cars. No other racers were seriously injured, and all of them survived except the British racer. According to Randy Card, Indy Car CEO, the cause of death of Dan was “unsurvivable injuries”.
All other racers, except the ones whose cars were damaged, went around the race track slowly driving their cars to the tune of Saving Grace in the background. They went around the track five times to show their respects to their colleague and champion racer. Eyewitness present at the track and fellow racers mentioned that this was the most horrendous of race track accidents they have ever seen.
The once brash turned into an absolute racing professional, Dan was born in England but settled in Florida. He was a supporter of the Alzheimer’s Association, an organization that promotes awareness of Alzheimer’s disease. The racer’s mother, incidentally, was diagnosed in 2009 with the disease. Racing was in the blood of Dan as his father was a professional go-karter and his mom a timer at a local track. Unfortunately for Dan, he lost his life doing something that ingrained in him and to a sport that he was so passionate about.
Sports News provided by Sports Content Writers.
