IndyCar champion and Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon lost his life in a horrific crash in the season finale at Las Vegas 15 years ago today.
Running in the middle of a 34-car pack on the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Wheldon was caught up in a multi-car accident and launched into the fencing on the outside of the oval. IndyCar has not returned to the speedway since.
Wheldon’s wife Susie gave birth to their second son earlier that year. Both their sons went into racing and the eldest, Sebastian, will compete in Formula 3 next year.
Dan Wheldon’s victories included the 2005 IndyCar championship plus two wins in the Indianapolis 500. The second came earlier in 2011, in one of the most astonishing finishes ever seen at the Brickyard:
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