Dan Wheldon

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.

Early life and start of career
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. 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
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. 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.

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. 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.

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.

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.

On 2 September 2008, Wheldon left Chip Ganassi Racing. He was replaced by Dario Franchitti. He had chosen to return to Panther Racing. 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. 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. 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. It was his first series win in three seasons.

Death
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.

Other appearances
Wheldon was a guest star in the voice cast for the TV series Hot Wheels Battle Force 5.

Personal life
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.

Motorsports career results
IndyCar Series
 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 RacingHMSPHXFONNZRINDYTXSPPIRRIRKANNSHMISKTYSTLCHI10TXS15 36th 35 2003 Andretti Green RacingHMSPHXMOT7INDY19TXS20PPIR19RIR8KAN21NSH4MIS20STL5KTY8NZR7CHI4FON4TX23 11th 312 2004 Andretti Green RacingHMS3PHX3MOT1INDY3TXS13RIR1KAN9NSH13MIL18MIS3KTY3PPIR3NZR1CHI4FON3TX23 2nd 533 2005 Andretti Green RacingHMS1PHX6STP1MOT1INDY1TXS6RIR5KAN2NSH21MIL5MIS2KTY3PPIR1SNM18CHI1WGL5FON6 1st 618 2006 Chip Ganassi RacingHMS1STP16MOT2INDY4WGL15TXS3RIR9KAN2NSH2MIL8MIS3KTY4SNM6CHI1 2nda 475 2007 Chip Ganassi RacingHMS1STP9MOT2KAN1INDY22MIL3TXS15IOW11RIR3WGL7NSH8MDO10MIS12KTY17SNM7DET3CHI134th466 2008 Chip Ganassi RacingHMS3STP12|MOT14LBH1DNPKAN1INDY12MIL4TXS4IOW1RIR4WGL24NSH2MDO17EDM7KTY5SNM4DET20CHI64th492 Panther RacingSRF211 2009 Panther RacingSTP14LBH5KAN10INDY2MIL10TXS7IOW4RIR10WGL10TOR14EDM15KTY11MDO16SNM12CHI22MOT8HMS2110th354 2010 Panther RacingSAO5STP20ALA11LBH9KAN15INDY2TXS9IOW11WGL6TOR10EDM20MDO14SNM25CHI2KTY3MOT10HMS9 9th 388 2011 BHA with Curb AgajanianSam Schmidt MotorsportsSTPALALBHSAOINDY1TXS1TXS2MILIOWTOREDMMDONWHSNMBALMOT 28th 75 Sam Schmidt MotorsportsKTY14LVS3Canc

 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 500wins Championships10513351627502 (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
 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 4Chip Ganassi Racing Running 2007 Dallara Honda 6 22Chip Ganassi Racing Crashed on backstretch 2008 Dallara Honda 2 12Chip Ganassi Racing Running 2009 Dallara Honda 18 2Panther Racing Running 2010 Dallara Honda 18 2Panther Racing Running 2011 Dallara Honda 6 1Bryan Herta Autosport Running; 170.265 mph

References

Other websites


 Dan Wheldon at Driver Database
 Dan Wheldon at Racing-Reference



Category:1978 births
Category:2011 deaths
Category:Accidental deaths in the United States
Category:Deaths in sport
Category:English racecar drivers
Category:Sportspeople from Buckinghamshire
Category:IndyCar Series drivers