Dan Wheldon

British racing driver

Daniel Clive Wheldon (22 June 1978 – 16 October 2011) was a British motor racing driver. He was the 2005 Indy Racing League IndyCar Series champion. He was also the winner of the Indianapolis 500 in 2005 and 2011. He was killed at the age of 33, in a 15-car crash at the IZOD IndyCar World Championship.[1][2]

Dan Wheldon
Wheldon in Washington, D.C. in February 2010
NationalityBritish
Born(1978-06-22)22 June 1978
Emberton, Buckinghamshire, England
Died16 October 2011(2011-10-16) (aged 33)
Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
IRL IndyCar Series
Years active2002–2011
TeamsChip Ganassi Racing
Andretti Green Racing
Panther Racing
Bryan Herta Autosport
Sam Schmidt Motorsports
Starts128
Wins16
Poles5
Best finish1st in 2005
Previous series
2005–2008
2001
2000
1999
Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series
Indy Lights
Toyota Atlantic Championship
U.S. F2000 National Championship
Championship titles
2005
1999
IndyCar Series Champion
U.S. F2000 National Championship
Awards
2003
2005
2006
2011
IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year
Indianapolis 500 Winner
24 Hours of Daytona Winner
Indianapolis 500 Winner
IndyCar Series Most Popular Driver (after his death)

Early life and start of career

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Wheldon was born in Emberton, near Olney, Buckinghamshire, England. He started go-kart racing at the age of four. At the beginning of his career in open wheel racing, he had a rivalry with Jenson Button before he left the United Kingdom to start racing in the United States. He moved to the U.S. because he thought the chance for success there were greater than in the UK.[3] He moved to the United States in 1999. He spent many years racing in lower open-wheeled circuits like the U.S. F2000 Championship Series, the Toyota Atlantic series and the Indy Lights series before moving to a higher series.

IRL IndyCar Series

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In 2002, Wheldon moved up to the IRL IndyCar Series for two races. He drove for Panther Racing with his teammate Sam Hornish Jr. In 2003, he joined Andretti Green Racing, winning the Rookie of the Year award. In 2004, he won his first IRL race at Twin Ring Motegi in Japan. He finished the 2004 season second in points with three wins.

In 2005, Wheldon won the Indianapolis 500. He finished the season first in points winning the IndyCar Series championship. He won six races during the season, breaking the record for most victories in one season.[4] In November 2005, it was made known that Wheldon would be driving for Chip Ganassi Racing in the IndyCar Series in 2006. He went on to drive for Chip Ganassi Racing in the 24 Hours of Daytona, winning the race with Ganassi teammates Scott Dixon and Ganassi NASCAR driver Casey Mears.[5]

Wheldon began the 2006 IndyCar season by winning the race at Homestead–Miami Speedway. This was a sombre race, as Paul Dana had died earlier while practising for the race.[6] At the end of the 2006 IndyCar season, he and Sam Hornish Jr. were tied for the lead in the points. They both had 475 points. Hornish had four wins for the 2006 season, and Wheldon only had two. Because Hornish had more wins than Wheldon, he was made the 2006 Indy Car Champion.[7]

The BMW Sauber Formula One team gave Wheldon the chance to drive for them, but he turned down their offer. They could not give him a ride for the whole season, so he decided to continue to focus on Indy.[8]

 
Practising for the 2007 Indianapolis 500.

On 22 June 2008, Wheldon won his 15th IndyCar Series race in the Iowa Corn Indy 250. He donated all of the money he won to help the victims of the tornadoes and flooding which had just happened in Iowa.[9]

On 2 September 2008, Wheldon left Chip Ganassi Racing.[10] He was replaced by Dario Franchitti. He had chosen to return to Panther Racing.[11] He finished second in the 2009 Indianapolis 500. However, Wheldon did not finish in the top 10 in seven of the last eight races of the year. The next year, he ran well again at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, finishing second. He finished the 2009 season 9th in the series points.[12] He ran well with Panther racing in 2009 but he did not win a race during his time with the team. Panther Racing decided to replace Wheldon with J. R. Hildebrand. He raced in the 2011 Indianapolis 500 with Bryan Herta Autosport, winning the race after J. R. Hildebrand crashed going into the final turn.[13] He was very emotional after winning the race. He did not have a ride for the rest of the season. He was also worried about his mother who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. He dedicated his win to his mother.[14] It was his first series win in three seasons.[15]

On 16 October 2011, Wheldon was part of a 15-car wreck on lap 11 of the IZOD IndyCar World Championship at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. His car went into the air and hit the catch fence. He was taken by helicopter to the hospital. When he was taken to the hospital, he was declared dead from blunt force trauma to the head. He was 33. He is buried at the Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Clearwater, Florida.[1][2]

Other appearances

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Wheldon was a guest star in the voice cast for the TV series Hot Wheels Battle Force 5.[16]

Personal life

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Wheldon married his long-time personal assistant, Susie Behm, in 2008. The couple had two sons, Sebastian (born 1 February 2009) and Oliver (born 19 March 2011). His family lives in St. Petersburg, Florida.[17]

Motorsports career results

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IndyCar Series

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Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Rank Points
2002 Panther Racing  
HMS
 
PHX
 
FON
 
NZR
 
INDY
 
TXS
 
PPIR
 
RIR
 
KAN
 
NSH
 
MIS
 
KTY
 
STL
 
CHI
10
 
TXS
15
36th 35
2003 Andretti Green Racing  
HMS
 
PHX
 
MOT
7
 
INDY
19
 
TXS
20
 
PPIR
19
 
RIR
8
 
KAN
21
 
NSH
4
 
MIS
20
 
STL
5
 
KTY
8
 
NZR
7
 
CHI
4
 
FON
4
 
TX2
3
11th 312
2004 Andretti Green Racing  
HMS
3
 
PHX
3
 
MOT
1
 
INDY
3
 
TXS
13
 
RIR
1
 
KAN
9
 
NSH
13
 
MIL
18
 
MIS
3
 
KTY
3
 
PPIR
3
 
NZR
1
 
CHI
4
 
FON
3
 
TX2
3
2nd 533
2005 Andretti Green Racing  
HMS
1
 
PHX
6
 
STP
1
 
MOT
1
 
INDY
1
 
TXS
6
 
RIR
5
 
KAN
2
 
NSH
21
 
MIL
5
 
MIS
2
 
KTY
3
 
PPIR
1
 
SNM
18
 
CHI
1
 
WGL
5
 
FON
6
1st 618
2006 Chip Ganassi Racing  
HMS
1
 
STP
16
 
MOT
2
 
INDY
4
 
WGL
15
 
TXS
3
 
RIR
9
 
KAN
2
 
NSH
2
 
MIL
8
 
MIS
3
 
KTY
4
 
SNM
6
 
CHI
1
2nda 475
2007 Chip Ganassi Racing  
HMS
1
 
STP
9
 
MOT
2
 
KAN
1
 
INDY
22
 
MIL
3
 
TXS
15
 
IOW
11
 
RIR
3
 
WGL
7
 
NSH
8
 
MDO
10
 
MIS
12
 
KTY
17
 
SNM
7
 
DET
3
 
CHI
13
4th 466
2008 Chip Ganassi Racing  
HMS
3
 
STP
12
 
|MOT1
4
 
LBH1
DNP
 
KAN
1
 
INDY
12
 
MIL
4
 
TXS
4
 
IOW
1
 
RIR
4
 
WGL
24
 
NSH
2
 
MDO
17
 
EDM
7
 
KTY
5
 
SNM
4
 
DET
20
 
CHI
6
4th 492
Panther Racing  
SRF2
11
2009 Panther Racing  
STP
14
 
LBH
5
 
KAN
10
 
INDY
2
 
MIL
10
 
TXS
7
 
IOW
4
 
RIR
10
 
WGL
10
 
TOR
14
 
EDM
15
 
KTY
11
 
MDO
16
 
SNM
12
 
CHI
22
 
MOT
8
 
HMS
21
10th 354
2010 Panther Racing  
SAO
5
 
STP
20
 
ALA
11
 
LBH
9
 
KAN
15
 
INDY
2
 
TXS
9
 
IOW
11
 
WGL
6
 
TOR
10
 
EDM
20
 
MDO
14
 
SNM
25
 
CHI
2
 
KTY
3
 
MOT
10
 
HMS
9
9th 388
2011 BHA with Curb Agajanian
Sam Schmidt Motorsports
 
STP
 
ALA
 
LBH
 
SAO
 
INDY
1
 
TXS1
 
TXS2
 
MIL
 
IOW
 
TOR
 
EDM
 
MDO
 
NWH
 
SNM
 
BAL
 
MOT
28th 75
Sam Schmidt Motorsports  
KTY
14
 
LVS3
Canc
a Wheldon lost the title on the tiebreaker. Wheldon won only two races while Sam Hornish Jr. won four, giving him the championship.
1 Run on same day
2 Non-points race
3 Event cancelled after a 15-car incident on Lap 11 involving Wheldon, who later died from his injuries.
Years Teams Races Poles Wins Podiums
(non-win)**
Top 10s
(non-podium)***
Indianapolis 500
wins
Championships
10 5 133 5 16 27 50 2 (2005, 2011) 1 (2005)
** Podium (non-win) means 2nd or 3rd place finishes.
*** Top 10s (non-podium) means 4th through 10th place finishes.

Indianapolis 500

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Year Chassis Engine Start Finish Team Summary
2003 Dallara Honda 5 19 Andretti Green Wrecked in turn 4, flipped
2004 Dallara Honda 2 3 Andretti Green Running
2005 Dallara Honda 16 1 Andretti Green Running; 157.603 mph
2006 Dallara Honda 3 4 Chip Ganassi Racing Running
2007 Dallara Honda 6 22 Chip Ganassi Racing Crashed on backstretch
2008 Dallara Honda 2 12 Chip Ganassi Racing Running
2009 Dallara Honda 18 2 Panther Racing Running
2010 Dallara Honda 18 2 Panther Racing Running
2011 Dallara Honda 6 1 Bryan Herta Autosport Running; 170.265 mph

References

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  1. 1.0 1.1 "Briton Dan Wheldon dies in IndyCar race in Las Vegas". BBC Sports. BBC. 18 October 2011. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Dan Wheldon dies in huge crash at IndyCar finale". USA Today. Archived from the original on 2011-11-18. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  3. Viner, Brian (25 May 2007). "Dan Wheldon: 'Winning at Monaco would be great, but it's nothing next to the Indy 500'". The Independent. Archived from the original on 25 May 2008. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  4. "Dan Wheldon: a career in pictures". The Guardian. 18 October 2011. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  5. Salisbury, Matt (30 January 2006). "Grand-Am: Ganassi secure maiden Rolex 24 win". Crash. Archived from the original on 18 December 2018. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  6. Biebrich, Richard (27 March 2006). "A Driver's Duel". Sun-Sentinel. Archived from the original on 18 December 2018. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  7. "Dan's race, Sam's title". Eurosport. 10 September 2006. Archived from the original on 18 December 2018. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  8. Himmer, Alastair (18 April 2006). "Wheldon turned down BMW F1 offer". Autosport. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  9. Simmons, Marcus (17 October 2011). "Dan Wheldon: 1978 - 2011". Autosport. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  10. Perez, A.J. (3 September 2008). "Goodbye NASCAR: Franchitti headed back to IndyCar Series". USA Today. Retrieved 2 September 2008.
  11. Lewandowski, Dave (9 February 2011). "Wheldon, super hero of Battle Force 5". IndyCar Series. Archived from the original on 19 October 2011. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
  12. "2009 IZOD IndyCar Series Point Standings". Archived from the original on 2010-12-04. Retrieved 2011-11-19.
  13. "Britain's Dan Wheldon wins second Indy500 after rival's late crash". The Guardian. 30 May 2011. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
  14. "Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon enjoys moment in spotlight". USA Today. 30 May 2011. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
  15. "Dan Wheldon gets stunning Indy win". ESPN. 30 May 2011. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
  16. Lewandowski, Dave (9 February 2011). "Wheldon, super hero of Battle Force 5". IndyCar Series. Archived from the original on 19 October 2011. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  17. DeGregory, Lane (17 March 2017). "Susie Wheldon, wife of late IndyCar champion Dan Wheldon, opens up about life without him". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 24 March 2019.

Other websites

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Sporting positions
Preceded by
Laurent Redon
IndyCar Series
Rookie of the Year

2003
Succeeded by
Kosuke Matsuura
Preceded by
Buddy Rice
Indianapolis 500 Winner
2005
Succeeded by
Sam Hornish Jr.
Preceded by
Tony Kanaan
IRL IndyCar Series Champion
2005
Succeeded by
Sam Hornish Jr.
Preceded by
Dario Franchitti
Indianapolis 500 Winner
2011
Succeeded by
Incumbent
Awards
Preceded by
Mark Webber
Autosport
Rookie of the Year

2003
Succeeded by
A. J. Allmendinger
Preceded by
Andy Priaulx
Autosport
British Competition Driver of the Year

2005
Succeeded by
Jenson Button