In the lead-up to the 2005 Indianapolis 500 open-wheel race, the talk centered around Danica Patrick, the first female driver to appear in the race who observers thought might have chance at winning the race. I didn’t pay much attention to it because I wasn’t a racing fan, but at the sports apparel warehouse I worked there were two people who had a “friendly” feud concerning their favorite NASCAR drivers, one who was a Tony Stewart fan, and the other Jeff Gordon’s. At the time of that Indy 500, they discussed whether Patrick had an “unfair” advantage over other drivers because of her slight build; even a few pound less weight could improve speed and fuel efficiency. As it turned out, Patrick ended the race finishing a respectable fourth, but the winner was Dan Wheldon, the first British driver to win the race since 1966. Wheldon went on to win a record six races on the IRL circuit that year, eventually becoming the overall points champion for the season. Wheldon didn’t repeat that success in subsequent years, but it was still odd that he failed to attract sponsorship to race full-time in 2011, after being replaced by a rookie driver by the Panther Racing team. Wheldon subsequently spent time doing occasional color commentary, but Bryan Herta Autosport gave him a spot in this year’s Indy 500, in which he won a surprising victory--passing the driver who took his spot on the Panther team on the final lap. Wheldon only appeared in two other races this year, but decided against joining the Formula 1 circuit, agreeing to replace Patrick on the Michael Andretti team next year when she moves on to the NASCAR circuit.
This past Sunday, the NFL took center stage as usual; initial reports of a 15-car pile-up at the IRL season finale at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway failed to interest non-race fans until reports surfaced that Wheldon had been airlifted from the track to a local hospital. Then came the shocking news only minutes after he reached the hospital: Wheldon had died from “unsurvivable” head injuries. I suppose the news shocked me more than it might due to the fact that outside of Patrick, Wheldon was the only current IRL driver whose name I recognized. What made it more disturbing was the unexpectedness of it. The race announcers on ABC television for many minutes had no clue that anything was amiss. Just before the crash they were commenting on Wheldon’s move from 34th place to 24th just 11 laps into the race, and noted his previous concerns about “dirty air” on the track. Views from his onboard cam were abruptly cut to a view of the pile-up that was just ahead of him. The mayhem lasted only a few seconds, but not before viewers could see three cars literally flying through the air in rapid succession; one car appeared to do two complete flips. It was difficult to tell which of the first two cars hit the “catch fence”—a chain-link fence that is supposed to prevent debris from crashes from flying into spectators—on the cockpit side, causing the fence to rattle violently. The car was then seen to hit the “safe” wall, before its shredded remnant slid into the middle of the track. First a yellow then a red flag was issued, stopping the race.
Replays showed the accident was initiated by one driver attempting to move from the high side to the low side, in the process being clipped by another car, causing it to turn sideways. That second car went over the first car and both drove into the “safe” wall, which is supposed have “give” on impact. A third car high on the track became another victim, but the accident might have been limited to them had not two other cars, attempting to avoid flying debris, slid sideways, causing subsequent cars to slam into them. 15 of the 34 cars were immediately knocked out of the race; Patrick, who had eased on the throttle before the pile-up, managed to slide by the initial contact. The race commentators noted that there was fear that such a mishap would occur, with too many cars on a relatively small but fast track, wide enough to allow four cars to run side by side; drivers also complained that the track was too “easy” for bad drivers to keep-up with good drivers, encouraging dangerous “pack” driving. And experienced drivers complained that inexperienced drivers were too impatient--a recipe for disaster for open-wheeled cars without driver-protective canopies on a track where there are only inches to spare for error.
Despite the obvious mayhem on the track, there was no immediate indication that anyone had been seriously injured. But while the commentators talked about their concerns about the variables that were responsible for what had just transpired, ongoing events on the track seemed to indicate that something was seriously amiss. At least a half dozen track rescue workers surrounded one car in the middle of the track—whose condition was so battered it looked like half of it was missing—with one man excitedly waving his arms, apparently trying to get someone’s attention about the severity of the situation; soon an ambulance arrived, and while emergency medical workers tried to aid the driver, an yellow tarp was used to keep the scene out of view from drivers and spectators. The driver turned out to be Wheldon. Shortly afterward, an unconscious Wheldon, head heavily bandaged, was taken by helicopter to University Medical Hospital. Soon thereafter, IndyCar CEO Randy Bernhard announced his death to the shocked attendees of the race. More details came out; after hitting the catch fence, Wheldon’s upside down car hit the edge of the wall; the car’s roll bar or hoop buckled, leaving Wheldon’s head exposed to the wall, causing blunt head trauma. The race was officially called, and drivers who still had running cars then did a solemn five-lap tribute to Wheldon.
But besides the track conditions, the number of cars and the fear that such an accident might happen, this tragedy might not have occurred save for a chain of events that no one could have foreseen. Racing on the IRL circuit, despite the presence of a publicity vehicle like Patrick, has taken a back seat to NASCAR. In order to improve anemic ratings and drum-up interest among racing fans for the season finale, Berhnard had concocted an “event” called the GoDaddy IndyCar Challenge Bonus. Originally this was supposed to entice non-IRL drivers the chance at $5 million dollars if they won the race. But because of lack of interest (Kasey Kahne was a possibility, but his demand to drive only for Team Penske ended his potential involvement) the “challenge” was reduced to offering a chance for IRL drivers who had not run enough races to qualify for in the overall points standing to win some big money. The stipulation was that the drivers had to start at the bottom of the pack, and the winner had to split the money with a lucky fan. Some retired big-name drivers considered the offer but decided they were too old to risk the Las Vegas track; Wheldon, who hadn’t raced since the Indy 500 in May, was the only driver to accept the challenge, to start in the 34th and last spot. Wheldon admitted the difficulty of his task. "When you look at the depth of the field in the Izod IndyCar Series right now, it's full of talent. So it's certainly going to be harder to come to the front than in recent years. When you consider the talent level of the grid, I think quite honestly, it far outweighs NASCAR."
Although Wheldon was disappointed in his car’s performance in a tune-up race in Kentucky, on his USA Today blog he expressed some confidence in his chances. "This is going to be an amazing show. The two championship contenders, Dario Franchitti and Will Power, are starting right next to each other in the middle of the grid. Honestly, if I can be fast enough early in the race to be able to get up there and latch onto those two, it will be pure entertainment. It's going to be a pack race, and you never know how that's going to turn out...As long as I can find some speed and keep up with the pack, I'll do everything I can to put on a show."
The irony is that a “pack” mishap that Wheldon may have hoped would change the odds in his favor did happen—except that it was of such a horrific scale that it engulfed him with deadly consequences. His move from last to 24th early in the race was impressive, but he was too close behind the main pack when the accident was initiated, and it was impossible for him to avoid a collision at speeds of 100 yards per second. Yet had he been able to slide by the wreckage, with perhaps only a half-dozen cars ahead of him, anything was possible.
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