"Two-Time Indy 500 Winner" Dan Wheldon Born

June 22, 1978 - October 16, 2011

Dan Wheldon

(Photo;usatoday.com)

Born in Emberton, England.

Daniel Clive Wheldon was the 2005 IndyCar Series champion and a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500, having won the race in 2005 and 2011. He took up karting at the age of four with funding from his father. He progressed through the junior ranks of motor racing during his school years. Moving to the United States in 1999, he spent several years in lower open-wheeled circuits, such as the US F2000 National Championship, the Toyota Atlantic Championship, and Indy Lights.

Wheldon died of injuries sustained after a collision during the IZOD IndyCar World Championship, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, on October 16, 2011. He was involved in a 15-car accident on the 11th lap, in which his car flew approximately 325 feet into the catch fence cockpit-first and landed back on the racing surface after his head hit a pole lining the track. The carnage and ensuing debris led race officials to almost instantly throw a red flag. Wheldon was extricated from his car by the Holmatro Safety Team and their Las Vegas-based colleagues and was airlifted to the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada for his critical injuries. After interviewing the championship contenders, IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard confirmed Wheldon's death in a statement to the press. He was 33 years old.