UNTIL LAP 11 - Remembering Dan Wheldon's Final Race
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- Опубликовано: 19 май 2024
- ALTERNATE CUT WITHOUT CHAT: • UNTIL LAP 11 - No Chat...
In memory of two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon, who lost his life ten years ago today.
On Sunday, October 16, 2011, I logged onto a motorsports chat room as I tuned into watch the IZOD IndyCar World Championships in Las Vegas. The resulting chat transcript provided a first-hand account of the emotions of that awful day, and I saved a copy of it when the race was called. Now, a decade later, I'm sharing that transcript for the first time, plus my own personal memories from that day, synced up to the original ABC broadcast.
In the interest of time, these are only excerpts from the chat, but represents most of its length. And in the interest of an accurate historical record, these excerpts are otherwise unedited, and have been synced up to the approximate moments in the broadcast, where possible.
THOUGHTS AFTER THE ACCIDENT (October 16, 2011)
• 10/16/11: My initial t...
BSGN TRIBUTE TO DAN WHELDON (October 17, 2011)
• Dan Wheldon: A Tribute...
For more on the story behind this race, please check out NASCARMAN History's excellent video "PERFECT STORM: INDYCAR'S LAS VEGAS NIGHTMARE," which is narrated by me: • Perfect Storm: IndyCar...
CHAPTERS
0:00 - Intro
1:34 - The chat
3:30 - 2011 Indy 500
6:13 - Live chat replay - Pre-race
12:30 - Command to start engines
13:55 - Green flag
18:12 - The wreck
18:39 - Immediate aftermath
27:10 - Driver interviews
35:02 - The wait
38:09 - The announcement
40:51 - The tribute laps
45:43 - A change
47:24 - Closing
MUSIC:
"The Quiet Aftermath" - Sir Cubworth
“Tuff Data” - Vans In Japan
BOOKS:
Hallberry, Andy and Jeff Olson, ed., "Lionheart: Remembering Dan Wheldon," Lionheart Books, Inc., 2016.
VIDEO:
• Until Lap 11 Credits
PHOTOS:
*Alamy Stock Photo
*Dan Wheldon on Twitter
*Google Images 
Спорт
"Many people ask me why I say till we meet again. I say, because Goodbye is so final. Goodbye Dan Wheldon."
This is one of the saddest yet most powerful pieces of commentary I have ever heard.
Marty Reid gets a lot of well deserved flack, but I don’t think he could have handled this any better.
Crazy how that statement hits just as hard now is it did watching it in 11. I had never actually been watching a race where I driver died before this event, and it completely changed the way I saw the sport. Almost makes you feel guilty that your entertainment resulted in a fatality.
@@liamurevig673 Sadly Marty has so much experience in handling death on air that he's almost professional at it by now, which should never be a thing.
@@badbooking3221 In the modern era of racing coverage, I think Marty & Paul Page tie for the most fatal events announced at 4. Not to mention all the close calls Marty has had to cover. It's sad honestly & it's part of why I sympathize with him.
@@Ultimate23Dragon man I hope they’re doing okay. Mentally I mean. That takes a serious toll
"This is going to be a spectacle, this is a great way to go out." - Dan Wheldon, 16th October 2011
“You’re probably gonna see something that you’ve never seen before on Fox.” - Dale Earnhardt, 18th February 2001
I'm sure Dan just meant a great way to end the season, same with Dale, he probably was just hyping the race.
@@polycube868 Exactly they were just hyping up the Races, but if you analyze the Messages Deeply, it meant something else 😔
You cut off the quote early. Dan said for the 2011 IndyCar season
The 10-16 aka 9-11 motorsports tragic of Dan Weldon
How quickly that chat went from haha goofy to holy shit this is serious
No matter who it is, no matter the series, death in racing always hits hard. RIP Dan
I'm glad that came across. That was something that stood out to me reading the transcript.
It is a great reflection on Brock and his comrades that they treated this with the seriousness they did. A more respectful group of racing fans, and a more respectful chat, I have yet to meet.
Depressingly, none come close. Usually, when an accident like this happens, you get the 10 or 12 people who shut right up or express dismay and worry, before a flurry of trolls show up, claiming the worst without confirmation to make people upset or otherwise making tasteless comments. I was watching the 2021 Daytona 500 on Twitch, and that's exactly how it went - a few of us were worried, some openly hoped for the best, while far too many others tried their best to sour the experience even more.
Mock the things that deserve mocking, take serious that which is serious. The chat is much the same as it always has been though the platform has changed.
Kinda ok with you not crediting us, so we don't get a flood of folks who don't "get" it. But I see you still in the Discord server, you could have at least given us a heads up that you were going to broadcast us to RUclips.
@@LASTCARonBROCK the fact you had the foresight to start saving thst chat discussion is honestly a good thing. Capturing the true essence of fans in the moment. I can imagine a similar mindset of a chatroom in the closing laps of the 2020 Daytona 500, albeit with a thankfully different outcome.
@@LASTCARonBROCK hard to believe that was 10 years ago. Not just Dan's death, but the following week Marco Simonchelli died in a moto gp race in sepang.
Grew up 12 minutes from LVMS. Oct 16th is a day local race fans won't forget...
I miss the wreck but show replays before announcement and I thought, he's dead!
Truth. I worked at Nellis and our booster club had a concession stand at the race so we watched it for free. That was a bad day. There wasnt a dry eye in the house during the parade laps.
I was their at the race when it happened.
This was a tough on to watch, but very well done. A perspective that so many of us shared that day.
The 10-16
Hard to believe its been 10 yrs.This was 1 of those moments ya just knew wasn't going to end well.RIP Dan
Very well done
I always had the feeling that Will knew immediately after getting out of his car. Much in the same way that Ken Schrader knew about Earnhardt.
He did. He was facing Wheldon and saw his face. Says he knew Dan was gone right then and there.
And he seems to be one of the most outspoken against pack racing. I’ve been watching interviews lately and I’m gaining a lot of respect for him.
Yes,Absolutely I had that same feeling,I’m sure Dale and Dan shook hands at the golden racetrack,Miss you both Dale and Dan,R.I.P.😇
Oh yeah. He knew. He's talked about it since. He saw. Many of them saw, but Will went to check on him. So he knew. I was horrified watching it from my bedroom. I can't imagine what they saw.
PT's interview at 29:40 he sounded EXACTLY like Schrader
I think one of the worst parts about this (other than losing Dan of course) was how ABC handled the coverage, shoving cameras in the faces of drivers in mourning, showing close ups and replays of the crash AFTER we found out he died, and missing the announcement itself. Their handling of it was completely inexcusable.
Paul Page, calling a NHRA event that day, was pissed off at how they handled it. "Well, since this is going to be seen on every news outlet..." Marty was never truly a member of the IndyCar community. Conversely, when Greg Moore had his fatal crash at Fontana, Paul hit the cough button to tell the production team "No replays" after he reacted "Oh my God".
"There is a line here where tribute and milking it for ratings crosses."
ABC crossed that line, then circled around to the other side and crossed it again. That was bottom-of-the-barrel stuff.
@@Jesus_Hippie Marty might’ve not been apart of the community, but he handled the situation very admirably given the situation handed to him by ABC and the race itself
cameraman were doing what there told to do
This was ESPN, not ABC, it was entirely ESPN's fault, and arguably, the downfall really began for ESPN after this race, they have continued to dramatise everything, and everything since.
When the announced he had died, I teared up. Not when this originally happened, I mean now when I'm watching this video. It doesn't matter that it has been 10 years, hearing a racer died is never easy and it will never be easy.
We know this can happen, every weekend when you turn on a race you know a hit at the wrong angle could mean we lose a driver. It is nice that safety has improved but in the back of most people's minds we know we could see a driver pass.
At Daytona in 2020 when we saw Newman's bad wreck I thought we lost him. We saw the wreck and heard the commentators talking sounding depressed. I teared up then, I'm tearing up now writing this.
Racing is fun, but the consequences can be horrendous. This is why I hate any kind of crash, you never know the outcome.
RIP #LionHeart
It’s the hardest part of the sport. We have so many great men and women that put their lives on the line for our entertainment. The only comfort I take in this video is hearing Dan was hooting and hollering having a good ass time
Ryan Newman’s crash was the most sure I have ever been that someone had died without turning out to be right.
@@ryansheehan9462 100%, I sat with my inlaws in our living room paralyzed by fear. Then the broadcast -JUST ENDED-, and thankfully twitter exists. I would have been a wreck till the next day.
Damn this is so well said
Honestly I think Grosjean's crash in Bahrain last year was about as spooky. His car got wedged into a steel barrier, it acted like a wrench and ripped the car in half. Were it not for F1's halo his head would have either been cleanly severed or completely crushed. And he walked out of it with nothing but somewhat badly burnt hands, after staying in the flames for half a minute.
I don’t want to overstate anything but there is a lot of things I have learned about this day over the years.
I gained a ton more respect for the commentary team. I karted at the same track the Goodyear’s and he talked about what was going on on their side. All 3 Goodyear, Reid and Cheever were told of Wheldon’s passing over 2 hours prior to when it was announced. So they had to fill several hours of air time before the announcement was made public. He was pronounced Dead still at the track, before leaving in a helicopter.
In the time following the crash there were 3 separate meetings. The first was a Driver ONLY meeting, at the head of it were Kanaan and Dario. They made the announcement to all the Drivers first that Wheldon had died. The 2nd meeting was with Drivers and Teams where they decided to Abandon the race and how the move forward in the day. The 3rd meeting was the press conference with the media that was televised.
Such a sad day. I had just spoken to Dan at a World Karting Association event in New Castle Indiana 2 weeks before Vegas where I congratulated him on his 2nd 500 win and joked about splitting the $5,000,000 with me to fund my racing.
I had a feeling they knew and were stalling waiting for Indycar to make the announcement, just from the way they were acting. They kept getting more and more and more somber as the break went on, which led me to believe they'd been told as or just after the helicopter left. That's a horrendous spot for them to be in. What can they say to fill up all that dead air time? They have to dance around the elephant in the room for two hours. They know, and we kind of know they know, but they can't officially tell us.
Everytime they go to the onboard of Dan I know what's coming next and it's surreal. RIP
I will never forget the feeling. The Greg Moore crash was a similar flooring sick feeling. Dale Sr. feeling was different and it has never really changed as if it has been frozen in time and another 20 years can pass and I'd feel the same as I did in 2001. The Wheldon crash always reminded me of the Rich Vogler one, the first fatal crash I can remember as a kid seeing on TV.
It’s a hard feeling seeing something like on live tv, it’s a feeling you can’t shake away. Just at a notice that feeling pops up and you see that moment over and over again. Safety is sadly often built on the death of hero’s
That’s the weird thing about the body, you can always tell when something bad just happened.
@@alexsweet6957yeah... i watched the race where jules bianchi had his devastating accident that lead to his death and the weird feeling i had... it never went away. It changed a bit when i found out he had died but I still think back to that day a lot. Watching the race, with my dad and brother, and we all just looked at each other and all three knew this was going to end that way... i see racing in a different way now. I still enjoy it but it makes me nervous. And yeah you're right on that last point... in every profession most safety rules are written in blood. That seems to be the only thing forcing changes... lord please protect all the men and women out there who drive these machines, keep them from being harmed and care for their souls.
An idea that I've had since witnessing the crash at Brands Hatch a couple months back:
Miracles like Grosjean and Newman remind us that we shouldn't take the fact that everyone so often walks away from horrible crashes unscathed for granted. Days like 10/16/11 remind us that we shouldn't take the miracles for granted, either.
Unlike so many times in recent memory, there was no miracle to save Wheldon's life. Fate wouldn't have it. The car, launched at a perfect angle, rolled a perfect amount of degrees, and hit a perfect part of the fence. It puts into perspective every time a driver has been a matter of inches from disaster. Never will forget this day.
You describing it reminds me so much of Senna's.
That piece of suspension pierced him in the exact place that would've been fatal. The angle he crashed in makes the wheel hit him where it would've been fatal. And he crashed in those exact spot where you could only crash if there's something wrong with your car or you made an absolute error.
Sometimes, things just happen. Lots have 'what ifs...', but many also don't have much of it. Dan's one of them.
A halo/cockpit bar would have saved him. And Justin Wilson too.
It’s **insane** it took that long to get one on these cars
"Miracles like Grosjean and Newman remind us that we shouldn't take the fact that everyone so often walks away from horrible crashes unscathed for granted. Days like 10/16/11 remind us that we shouldn't take the miracles for granted, either. "
Reminds me of Bathurst 2008 in the Supercars series. Paul Weel crashed at Reed Park, then got hammered in the driver's side rear door by Chris Pither, only a few feet from certain death. Two years earlier, Mark Porter died in an eerily similar crash in the 2nd tier series. He got hit in the driver's door.
Miracles were there for Paul Weel. They weren't there for Mark Porter.
"Today is all about broken hearts and shattered legs", oh man that's hardcore.
20:06 “well, told you, shattered legs everywhere”
Ten years later. The pain hurts still to this day, seeing my hero crash and then die in front of my eyes brings me tears. I wish had the privilege to have met him. This is a wound that has haunted me. However, This is a day that will always hurt me no matter what. But Brock, I’m just gonna say you definitely did a damn good job doing this. This is a wonderful documentary that you did on such a dark day.
PT later said on a podcast he saw Dan in the medical center and his face was completely smashed in.
Paul said that the horrors he saw that day made him quit he had nightmares about it. That and he lost a friend Greg Moore too,
his head and face literally hit the fence idk how paul can live like that knowing what he saw reminds me of ken seeing dale sr in his car after his fatal wreck
@@NickyD TK and Dario heard the news first and he actually passed on the helicopter. Kannan later got a piece of Wheldon’s seatbelt and drove with it on the salute.
I can’t even just the thought.
You knew the accident was bad just by the amount of cars that flew into the fence.
What Paul saw I can’t even.
@@NickyD or when Ayrton Senna passed. Sid Watkins said he could tell the moment his soul left his body.
"It is more difficult to live than to run. The races last a couple of hours, but life lasts a lifetime"
Juan Manuel Fangio
A great and poignant quote from one of the greatest racers in history. Thanls, Diego. 🙂🙂🙂
@@RandysRacingPlace633 🤗
@@DiegoOspina86i never read this quote before. Thank you for sharing it.
At 36:03, TK crying pretty much conveyed to all of us that Dan had died. Plus watch again when everyone came out of the meeting, half were in total shock, half were trying to put on a brave face, but ended up breaking down.
25:44 this sounds strikingly similar to my afternoon that day. I was watching the race in my room, and when the crash happened I went out and told my grandmother “you may want to turn this on, this is really bad.” She and I sat on the couch for the entire two hours, in almost complete stunned silence until the announcement.
0:58 This doesn't get talked about as often as it should. When James Jakes had this crash happen in practice, seeing how much damage his car sustained and how close the fire was to the cockpit, this was when, even as a 12-year-old, I started to get nervous about the safety of the race given there would be 34 cars on track at once.
Hard to believe it's been 10 years. Harder to believe that it happened at all with all the warning signs.
Though less serious, and Jakes walked away with no apparent injury, that crash is similar to the one Mauricio Gugelmin had at Texas in 2001. Mo wrecked in Turn 2, and the car continued on to Turn 3 before stopping. An eerie throwback to a similarly treacherous and infamous weekend.
It’s been ten years and I still can’t hear “we have lost Dan Wheldon” without crying.
I know how you feel I'm not really an indycar fan but as a Nascar fan my child hood hero was Dale Earnhardt.
I know how you feel and I hardly ever tear up. I mostly followed NASCAR back then, but I watched this event when it happened. Watching this after ten years, the "because goodbye is too final" line took me right back to that exact moment and the exact feeling I had 10 years ago....At the time, I had made it through the sad drama that unfolded, the tribute laps, and had barely made it through Amazing Grace without tearing up. And then that poignant line hit me like a brick wall. So beautifully stated, so devastating. But I hadn't consciously remembered the line, it was like it was in my head, tied to strong emotion, but hadn't been accessed in so long....and then it hit me again watching this video and the memories of that exact moment and feeling came flooding back so much I still teared up a bit all this time later.
I could not stop crying when I heard We’ve Dale Earnhardt and when I heard Indycar is very sad to announce that Dan Wheldon has passed away from unsurvival injuries
I have to admit, this is the most emotional IndyCar documentary I've ever seen in my time following the series...
Dan will never ever be forgotten.
For me, back in 2011, the two weeks between October 16 and 23 are the toughest in my life as a motorsports fan. The first is hearing the news on Wheldon's death and the week after, motorbike racer Marco Simoncelli died following an accident at Sepang, Malaysia.
The fact you had the feeling to copy the chat on whim is crazy to think about! Added a whole new level new to the video! Amazing job Brock!
R.I.P Dan!
I was flying back from Vegas and had a layover in Atlanta. On the tram there, I saw Dan Wheldon. He could tell I knew who he was and he sat down and talked to me. It was really cool. We talked about racing for what was probably something like 2-3 minutes. He really did not have to do that, and it always gave me great respect for him and I pulled for him of course. Just said to think back about this accident and his family having to go on without him...
I heard a good story: A kid was in line to get his autograph, and his mother tells him, "Go ask Mr. Wheldon for his autograph". Dan gave his million-dollar smile, and said, "Mr. Wheldon is back in England. I'm Dan".... Rest In Peace Dan Wheldon, 1972-2011, I look forward to meeting you in heaven one day...
I was up in Toledo for the ARCA finale that weekend. I remember reading about the race and having a bad feeling something was going to happen, as I felt they were putting too many cars on track (a mistake NASCAR made at Talladega in '73). Wasn't surprised when I heard a wreck had happened. It was rainy most of the day in Toledo (save for the last 15 laps), which with hearing the news in Vegas really just brought the mood down. Spent the whole 5 hour drive home just thinking about it all.
I remember when we were driving to that Toledo race, and we talked about how IndyCar had been playing with fire for so long racing in tight packs like that, and we just wanted to get through this one last race with that package safely. It was unfortunately not to be.
Dan's death was the first I'd ever experienced in racing and something about it still stands out the most. Such an unnecessary and avoidable disaster.
It was my first taste of indycar, I was so shocked I didn’t watch again till 2020 where I became a fan
@@jefferyrobertson7520 never really gave much thought to him, why do you ask?
@@jefferyrobertson7520 he still races part time in arca. Raced Daytona last year
Dan's death wasn't the first I've witnessed in racing but it has been the most significant to me. I am not sure I know exactly why that is. Maybe it was that I found him so darn likeable. Maybe it was because it was the most easily avoidable. Maybe it was the visual of the track looking like a warzone in the wake of the accident. Maybe it is all of that. Either way, Dan's death has impacted the way I view sports especially motorsports and how disgusted I get at common sense safety getting thrown to the side for "entertainment value." LVMS and Indycar should have known that this race would have never worked. The margin for any error was much too small. Rest in Peace Dan, you are missed.
@@jefferyrobertson7520 Wtf does that have to do with Dan Wheldon's crash or the comment at hand? Do you have any sort of respect?
Dan was a friend of Iowa and will always be remembered for his donation of his race winnings to relief efforts during the floods of 2008 that devastated a large part of eastern Iowa.
As a resident of Cedar Rapids, IA which was perhaps the hardest hit city in Iowa, I get chills every time I see a story about Lion Heart. May his story live on forever.
I was at this race. I've never gone to a race with such a bad feeling before. Saturday was fun, took in the truck race, and the first Monster Energy Cup race, but just had this bad feeling about the Indycar race on that track. I can remember it like it was yesterday.
I didn't watch the race live, but I remember when I logged on the computer and saw the news. I saw the replay and the tribute, my dad came up and saw as I was crying. We miss you Dan
"Dominos are currently inspecting my pizzas to make sure they are perfect" famous last words
Unreal how the broadcast happened to be on board with him when he was killed
I've seen that shot from Dan's onboard right before the accident, the accident itself, and Bernard's announcement several times over the years at this point. However, this is the first time for me to sit down and watch the prerace and the full 11 laps since seeing it live on ABC. I remember watching Speed Center and Wind Tunnel that night, and switching to another channel when they showed the wreck. For several months, I actively avoided seeing video or photos of it. Eventually, I did go back and watch videos of the crash, though.
Ever since that day, my perception of danger in motorsport was amplified, especially in regards to high-speed pack racing on ovals, both in IndyCar and NASCAR. The biggest example of that was when Eric McClure had his crash at Talladega the following May. Seeing him being cut from the car and airlifted by helicopter gave me a similar sense of dread as I had with Dan, and I couldn't watch the rest of the race as a result.
Not to be disrespectful to what happened but Talladega absolutely needs to go in the bin
@@Wingyy1995 Talladega isn't necessarily the problem. Pack racing is. NASCAR needs to change the package.
I remember watching practice that weekend and saying "I'm not gonna watch someone die...I'm just gonna watch football on Sunday."
I had a friend text me that there was a huge wreck and my heart sank. I flipped over and saw the carnage and knew we'd lost someone.
To this day how the decision-makers decided Vegas and 34 cars were safe, I'll never know.
For the five lap salute, it sounded like even those naturally aspirated V8s that IndyCar were using were crying
The broadcast sign-off always sends chills up my spine
Not on NBC or the new NBCSN
@@andreasgrothe9940 ?
I’m related to Dan Wheldon. I’m a distant cousin to him. I sadly never got to meet him. He was my favorite driver growing up. I remember I was 7 when he died. A few years later I took a DNA test and one of my family members was a man named Dainel Clive from St Pete Florida (Dan Wheldon). Knowing this now I’m going to travel to Clearwater and go to his grave, give him flowers, glass bottle of milk, an England and a checkered flag and just talk to him. Have a conversation that I never got to have. I miss you Dan. I love you 😭❤️
Man, what are the odds.
@@TerminatedAccount. when I found out I was mixed. Never got to meet him but family is family
@@roostormchaser2476 I hope you get to make the trip man. God Bless.
I can't hear amazing grace with bagpipes and not just start sobbing uncontrollably and think about how traumatizing watching this race was. My first two memories in life was Dale Earnhardt's death and 9/11... Dan Wheldons death haunted me through my teens. And having grown up in a household that was Earnhardt fans, and growing up a fan of Dan Wheldons. I thought for sure everyone I would root for would end up dying horribly. In 2012 when I still raced soap box derby cars, I was given a pair of "Dan Wheldon" Sunglasses from a competitor who went to that years Indy 500 and knew how much he meant to me. I wore them every year until I eventually retired from soap box derby racing. He was a hero to me. I just hope that if theres a life after this, I can shake his hand and tell him I hoped I made him proud by my little nod to him as I did my own racing... thanks Brock for making this. I wasn't expecting to cry today. But damn it. Ten years later it hurts just as much.
I remember catching this right after the accident just happened and seeing this live on TV and the replays of the accident. Just seeing the tarp cover Dan’s car, and the glimpses we got of it post wreck where you could see that the roof hoop was torn off was a horrific sight.
I always think back to that time Champ Car cancelled their Texas race in 2001 that was supposed to be the same weekend that Driven also released. It wasn’t due to the quality of the film, I’m not judging the quality of the film here. The drivers when they tested Texas in the Champ Cars/CART vehicles noted how fast they were going. I’m not a expert in speeds, G Forces, etc. I just thought I found multiple parallels between the races but I have been wrong plenty of times.
It never is due to the quality of the film, considering that Michael Bay's Pearl Harbour came out a few months later and made millions of dollars.
The CART race at Texas could have been like this one had it gone ahead
A lot of things go through my mind when it comes to this particular event:
- Paul Tracy's interview was my first inclination that Dan was badly injured. When Paul said Dan was going to have "a long recovery" my mindset went from "Is Dan going to be ok" to "Oh God how bad is he injured".
- The wait for any update regarding the drivers & especially Dan felt like an eternity. I felt like I waited for an update for over 6 hours when it was only a quarter of that time.
- Being naive & trying to be hopeful that Dan was alive, I saw the emotion of the drivers after the media center meeting being one of fear & not them knowing that Dan was gone. When Randy Bernard made his announcement the initial part was missed, which honestly was a blessing to lessen the impact for the TV audience that hadn't figured it out. When I heard the race was called my immediate thought was "The track is too badly damaged." When the 5 lap salute was announced, I was perplexed... & then Marty Reid brought up Paul Dana, & that's when I figured it out, right before Marty flat out said it.
- During the tribute laps they played Amazing Grace on the bagpipes. I lost it... Reason being because my Mom told me that come her time, she wanted that exact song played at her memorial.
- The question about whether IndyCar would survive to me was more "Should I continue to watch IndyCar, & auto racing in general?" I honestly came close to quitting not only IndyCar but all of auto racing. This was now 3 times I had lost a driver of interest in the span of a decade (The other 2 were ARCA's Blaise Alexander who I started having a little bit of interest in just 2 months prior, & the NHRA's Darrell Russell who I rooted for since his first Top Fuel race being Joe Amato's successor)... Looking back & really thinking about it, had a particular crash on June 13th, 2009 been fatal, I most certainly would have quit. If not after that crash, then most certainly after Wheldon's.
- I've always felt bad for Marty Reid. He is a great announcer. Granted he's no Bob Jenkins or Allen Bestwick, but I feel like Marty was very good. Sadly he's synonymous with tragedy. Among the 3 drivers I've lost, he's called the event for 2 of them (The other being Darrell Russell). The other 2 races he called where there was a fatality hit hard as well: Tony Roper legit died on my birthday, & Paul Dana died less than 2 weeks after my favorite game show host passed away... I know what Marty has said regarding him leaving ESPN, but I truly feel like him calling all these bad crashes & events eventually took a toll on him, & especially Dan's crash.
No doubt that it took a toll on Marty Reid, and while he’s not the greatest of announcers, I can’t think of anyone who could handle the circumstances any better than Marty
Will power is lucky as hell to be alive
You really liked Peter Tomarken then.
@@jakubwidlarz Yep... Broke my heart when I found out he died & how. 💔
Paul Tracy's interview was to this wreck what Kenny Schrader's interview was to the 2001 Daytona 500 and Dale Earnhardt's. It was the first significant indicator that something was very, very wrong. Kenny's was worse TBH because he had *seen* Dale dead in the car and when CBS interviewed him he literally looked like he'd seen a ghost. He was incredibly shaken, and NOTHING ever shook up Ken Schrader. PT's wasn't quite like that, but yeah, the line about "long recovery" stood out. Drivers don't normally say stuff like that. And Tracy, as combative and pugnacious as he always was, was oddly quiet and reserved in that interview.
Great video Brock
I can’t believe it’s been 10 years today since we lost Dan Wheldon. #RIPDanWheldon
I was there. I was 6 years old. Still to this day, its the most traumatic day of my life. I was initially excited to go to my first indycar race, as literally my entire life up to that point I had been a NASCAR fan, still am. I felt initially slightly skeptical of the race but i was still excited nonetheless. We went to the neon garage before the race, as we were going to watch the race from a rooftop in the infield. My mom and dad were with me. My mom and dad both open wheel fans, as they were from LA, where i was born, and they'd go to every Grand Prix of Long Beach. So imagine their surprise when I picked NASCAR over indy. That's beside the point. I was anxious for the race to start. But the moment they cranked the engines, my heart dropped. I remember the feeling. The worst feeling I have ever felt. I knew something bad was going to happen. There was nothing i could do to stop it. I clutched my moms arm and looked up at my parents. "Something bad is going to happen" I said. "These cars shouldn't be on this track". My parents told me not to worry. As the pace car went in, I started sobbing. Uncontrollably. I knew what was going to happen, I was powerless and was only along for the ride. My parents were confused but they couldn't understand. On lap 11, I look over to turns 1&2 from where we were standing, and in what felt like slow motion, i saw it unravel. The first car spinning, then the next, then the next. The horrid fireballs and carnage I was witnessing. I knew someone was dead. I felt alone. Scared. Powerless. It seemed like I was in a black hole. I kept crying and crying. begging to go home. we went to the grandstands, sat down, and with my scott dixon. dario franchitti, and will power diecasts in hand, I tried to process what had happened. There was still no announcement over the speakers on any drivers condition, but again, I knew someone died. I knew someone was dead the moment I walked into the track. I had been going to LVMS to see NASCAR races since I was 2, so races were nothing new to me. The sound was comforting to me. But when they cranked the engines that day, as I stood in the middle of the racetrack with all the noise reverberating right into where I was, I was scared. Genuinely scared. Not before or since have I ever been this scared. It was traumatizing. I wanted to be a racecar driver. Still do and always have. But that day was a necessary lesson and experience I had to endure if I wanted to be a racer. But I still did. I do however remember vividly that for about 3 months after, that I hated racing. That I never want to drive a racecar. But I couldnt lie to myself. Theres nothing cooler than racecars. Im still pursuing my dream to this day, but I look back on this day often. I thank Dan Wheldon for his life, passion, and sacrifice for the sport of auto racing. I know this has been a ramble but, its honestly hard to articulate what that day was like for me. It still feels fresh in my mind. Part of me still struggles to grow past how 6 year old me felt.
Thank you so much for sharing such a personal memory of that day. It's been profound hearing from those your age who witnessed this when they were so young. It's clearly a moment that's left its mark.
UPDATE: An alternate version of this video is now available at this link: ruclips.net/video/WfmZGU07Odk/видео.html
The only changes made to this second version are (1) the chat overlay has been completely removed and (2) the screen does not fade to black when the accident starts. These changes were made after carefully reviewing the comments section during the week. The biggest concern was that font was too large and made it hard to watch the footage.
For those of you who do not mind the chat overlay, nothing else has been changed in this second version. However, it does also give you the option to watch both side-by-side, if you prefer the chat to appear in a separate window. The time stamps are identical, so both videos can be easily synced.
Thank you for your support of this video, and for remembering Dan Wheldon.
I remember watching this race live on WPVI Philadelphia, I actually didn't see the announcement of Dan's passing and the five lap tribute live because the race went past it's broadcast window (at least in the Philadelphia market, Idk about other markets and ABC affiliate stations on the east coast) but I had a feeling that I had just witnessed a death
This race was almost like a movie. There was so much foreshadowing. “It’s gonna be a great way to go out”. “There are gonna be more fatalities in this race than any other this season”. It all seems too perfect, yet so imperfect at the same time
Thankfully I wasn’t watching this live. I was only a kid at the time. This just reminded me of Daytona when Newman wrecked. I was there when that happened and the silence was so scary. I thought the worse
I was at Pocono when Wickens crashed. 30,000+ people not making a single sound is truly one of the most terrifying things ever
And Ryan Newman walked out of the hospital 2 days later like nothing happened. He has a darn good guardian angel
Great tribute! I never saw the race, but those 11 laps really foreshadowed what ended up happening. It is a miracle that all of the other drivers were able to walk away from some of those destroyed cars.
I have my Dan Wheldon diecast tucked away in a box. Been that way since 2011.
I'm about to watch this. I'm already feeling pain.
one minute, we are race fans having fun and seeing a fantastic race! the next minute, we lost a legendary driver....
R.I.P Dan
😔
Kind of the duality of man, in a way - lapping up the pack racing chaos one moment, loathing that it ever happened the next.
@@mitchell-wallisforce7859 yeah…
I lost my first racing hero (boat racer Bill Muncey) when I was 3; it was my introduction to the reality of racing. I was watching this race with my 6 year old daughter. When I saw the tarp (25:21) I knew I had to start a talk with her about death and racing. It wasn't an easy conversation, but a necessary one. All that being said, we still love watching races together.
Thank you for this video! It's very well done and offers a nuanced insight to the events of that day.
I still vividly remember Dan Wheldon's death. It brought me to tears and I don't how I kept it all together through the five-lap salute.
A lot of us young race fans grew up on that terrible day.
R.I.P. Dan Wheldon.
I worked that race. Dan was going in and out of my Sunoco gate back n forth between garages. We talked a lot the two days before race. I had made a new friend.Then I saw him right b4 the race. Told him have a safe race. I was fkg shattered when I realized it was Dan's car. I broke down. It was one of the worst days ever. I was not ok for a while after this race. I lost a friend that day.
10:58 “it will have more fatalities” man I’m shocked someone said that before the race that’s a tragic coincidence I wonder what that person is thinking now or when his death was announced
There are other examples like that in the chat, too. Part of it, again, was typical of the sense of humor in the chat. But it could also be said that reflects some apprehension before the race.
to be fair that race had the highest chance of it in a long time!
This was the first fatality I had seen in a race live and hopefully the last one. After it happened I was completely in shock. I was 17 at the time.
And Jackie Stewart said during his announcing days for ABC that drivers don't feel any emotions for other drivers when a crash happens. Dario's best friend and former teammate died in a crash and he's in tears just getting ready to drive around at low speed for five laps....Pretty much says it all.
It may have been true then. I remember reading somewhere that when Pat O'Connor died at the 1958 Indy 500, AJ Foyt said he will never become close friends with another racer again, O'Connor had helped AJ a lot.
I was living in Las Vegas when this happened. Our condo was about 3 miles from the track, with only Nellis AFB and open desert in between. It was a beautiful day, and we had windows and the patio door open. We were watching the race on TV, and we could hear the race through the door and windows. We heard it as it was happening on the screen in front of us. For a long time I couldn’t shop at O’Reilly’s, because I could still see the billboard on the back stretch when I’d see their sign. Dan was a good man, husband and father, and a great friend to many of his competitors. RIP, Dan. Hard to believe we’re coming up on 12 years.
I was at the race in Vegas. I had never seen a fatality on track in the dozens of races I’d attended. Later that evening I was at the casino bar at MGM Grand commiserating with a fellow fan who held a betting ticket for Wheldon to win. It would be covered in tears. I live in Tampa Bay Area now and go to St Pete race each year. I always take time to go have a moment of silence and remembrance at Dan’s memorial.
Got me crying reliving my emotions from 10 years ago, thank you so much for sharing this.
Thanks, Brock. Reliving the chat feed as it happened for your brought me back to the similar way I experienced this race, and the tragedy that unfolded. It was on a website that aggregated news links with a message-board style comment section. I can still go back and read the comments, and it's amazing to see how quickly the mood turned from a very guarded cynicism pre-accident, to horror, shock and deep concern post-accident. Great video, great narration, and quality as always. Looking forward to your next project!
I attended this race back when I was 11, I remember seeing 2 fireballs and the helicopter taking Dan Wheldon. When it was announced that Dan passed everyone could not believed it. When they did the 5 lap salute, everyone was silent. It was my first and only IndyCar I have ever been to.
Thank you for sharing. I was there at LVMS 10 years ago. I am also a Will Power fan, and I thought for sure that he would win the championship that year, so I had to be there. Besides I had gotten a free ticket from Randy Bernard for attending the Long Beach Grand Prix. I remember watching the Indy Lights race earlier in the day. After the drop of the green flag, the first, second , and third place car went three wide for the entire lap for the first four laps! I wondered if the IndyCar race was going to be this wild. For the IndyCar race I believe the loud speakers were tuned to IMS radio because they had Josef Newgarden as their race commentator. That was the first time I had ever heard of him.
I was seated close to turn 1. I remember seeing the accident start, and quickly reached for my camera. As I kept taking picture after picture, it was weird, the cars kept crashing long after the initial start of the accident. After the accident, I kept thinking they would restart the race. Although we had seen a lot of cars wrecked, those of us in the grandstands were in the dark as to how serious this was. It wasn't until they interviewed Paul Tracy the seriousness of the situation. He was the one who said, "I'm concerned about Dan. I kept asking them how Dan is, and they won't tell me." Leave it to Paul to tell you the truth.
The five pace laps where they played Danny Boy and Amazing Grace, with all the teams lined up along pit road was the most honorable thing to do for a fallen driver that I had ever seen in my life.
Rest in peace Dan Wheldon.
You always deliver a replicated emotion to these types of videos Brock.
I felt that same gut wrenching, anxiousness I felt back then, watching this.
We take for granted sometimes, the men and women who strap into these cars and go fast for our entertainment. We complain about the lack of horsepower, or something so minimal...
That we forget sometimes these are fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, or friends simply living their dreams. And putting on a show for us, the racing enthusiasts. Dan hasn't been forgotten. Not by a long shot.
Thank you again Brock for this touching tribute
I remember this wreck so vividly, too. I remember it like it was yesterday. I, just like Brock in 2011, was getting into IndyCar racing, I even got to go to the Baltimore Grand Prix and watch Power win it live that Labor Day weekend.
I never imagined this would happen almost a month later. That day, I had gotten home from church, had youth group that night, and I was like "I can watch the IndyCar finale before I go." I watched all 11 laps... and then the wreck. I wanted to look away. I couldn't. I had my eyes glued and I was praying quietly that everyone was okay. I had to leave for youth group as coverage went on. I was left hanging in the balance. Unsure of what happened to Dan. And then I got the message via text from my dad. I looked. and my heart sank down.
I wouldn't have that sinking feeling with motorsports ever again... until Jason Leffler in 2013, Justin Wilson in 2015, and Bryan Clauson in 2016. They all hit so hard.
10 years later... we still miss you, Dan.
Incredibly well done. Brought tears to my eyes even this many years after. I shared the karting track with DW a few times and the only thing that was more memorable than his performance on-track was his smile and kind demeanor off it. May he continue to rest in everlasting peace.
This was the first time I experienced a driver being killed in a race. I remember this date exactly where I was. Even which chair I was sitting on. I work in racing and the first race I ever did at Las Vegas on the big track was eerie for me. We drove into the infield through the tunnel and I just couldn't not look at turn 2. I'm glad to say last year I was able to get a win at Las Vegas (on the bullring) in September 2020 which felt meaningful to me. This place will always be special to me.. RIP
A man on his comeback to IndyCar having gotten a ride for 2012 with Andretti. And a man who I believe could have won another championship, and won another Indy 500. RIP Dan 1978-2011
40:53 The one image that I remember the most from the original ABC telecast when I saw this live. 😢😢😢😭😭😭😭😭
This is one of very few crashs I can't go back and watch. I've watched Dale Sr, Justin Wilson, Antione Hubert, Scott Kalitta, Greg Moore but this wreck was particularly frightening and vicious. Scary to think about to this day. Will never forget Dan Wheldon
can't believe it was 10 years ago
I will never forget where I was that day. I'm in the UK so the race started late, that being said I had to record it because I was working until even later. Sat down with snacks about 11:30pm to catch up, as usual I fast forwarded through some of the pre race intro. When the crash happened I slumped out of the chair and onto the floor. I vividly remember not fast forwarding through any of the red flag even though I could. My dad came down for work at about 6am the next morning, the TV was showing blue screen because the recording had ended and I was still in tears on the floor. The worst day I have ever experienced as a motorsport fan. RIP Dan. You'll always be my hero.
this is so powerfully real to watch. i remember everything about that chilling day. congratulations on making me tear up for the first time in years.
I was 8 years old, this was my first year i really followed racing in general, i was at a friend's house when the race started and when the accident happened live, but when i got back, i then saw this replay, and i was immediately praying for everyone involved, i watched all the way to the end, and i was crying when they officially announced that Dan had succumbed to the injuries he suffered in the accident, after this, i stopped watching racing for some time. I later started watching NASCAR again after a few weeks.
I still have unused tickets to this race. It's something that I'll NEVER get rid of.
I remember watching this. I was distraught and in pieces when this happened. RIP Dan Wheldon
I usually hate to leave this many comments all one one video, but I’m making an exception here.
I also watched the 2011 Indianapolis 500, and at the time I was gutted for JR Hildebrand. I can still see the heartbreak on his face as he climbed from his wrecked car. Throughout that year, I often thought about that moment. After October 16th, it all began to make sense. That moment was meant to be, Dan Wheldon was meant to win that 500 as his final moment of glory before his passing.
man... this was a really tough watch, but really well done. That photo at 34:19 is horrifying. I've never seen that before...
I remember watching the race live and just watching somebody die right in front of my eyes just startled the shit outta me. It disturbed me so much I couldn’t watch Indy Car the same way again.
RIP Dan. Hope you’re racing hard with Dale Sr up there with the other racing legends in that race track in the sky.
Your quick thinking to preserve the live reaction as this happened with a group of friends was incredible and showed in real time how a good time amongst friends could change so quickly when something in the sport we love goes wrong. This was a beautiful piece, Brock. It brought back the feelings that I felt as a racing fan that day when it happened, it was hard not to get a bit emotional. Thank you
Great Job, Brock. Im not a huge Indy fan, but I thought Id give this a shot. Again, you nailed it. Fantastic piece of work!
This is the first time your channel has been recommended to me. I was 10 when I was watching this race, alone in my dad’s home office because my siblings were watching something else in the living room. I didn’t know how to react. I feel like now, in my relatively fresh adulthood, I feel a lot more emotional about this day than I did when I was younger, I clearly didn’t didn’t grasp the gravity of the situation as much as I can now.
This video made me cry like a baby. Again, physically alone in the room. But this time, experiencing it with countless other strangers from the past. This was rough. Extremely hard to watch at times.
This video was perfection in every way. Thank you for documenting this day with the respect and sincerity it deserves.
I remember this as if it were yesterday. Awful day. Race In Paradise, Dan. We still remember you and you are very much missed and loved.
I was in our basement watching the race live. my parents were upstairs watching sitcoms, waiting for ABC world news to start.
at 6:30pm exactly, they changed the channel in-time for the 5 lap tribute.
i didnt realize i was wimpering so loudly, until they came to the top of the stairs to ask if i was okay.
i mentioned earlier in the afternoon, after a rough day at school, that i was excited to see the Indycar race.
i honestly didnt know much about Dan, but i met him in baltimore in 2011 and recieved a warm handshake after i thanked him for his time after a short encounter in the convention center. i don't remember any conversation after "woah didn't you win Indy this year?"
i miss him more now than initially. in 2024, the long-term ramifications are going to continue to affect IndyCar as a whole for years to come.
we love you, Lionheart.
I remember this like it was yesterday. I was probably 8 or 9 at the time. Came home from my Grandparents after spending the weekend with them and decided to check on the Indycar race. I will never forget anything about that day. Being so young I never really could wrap my head around it at the time. This masterpiece 10 years later made me realize just how horrible this tragedy was. And I'm glad I'm able to understand the significance of this day all these years later. This made me tear up quiet a few times. Thank you for making this video, from the bottom of my heart.
Great video and beautiful tribute Brock. Every once in a while I come back to this horrible race to remember Dan. Seeing all the amazing tributes today just reminds me yet again how wonderful of a guy he was and how awfully awfully sad today is.
Thank you for this. I'm in tears right now. Just as painful today as it was the day it happened. Rest In Peace my friend. Will miss you always.
An amazing tribute. Thank you for sharing this, Brock.
Rest in peace Dan
I was watching this race live. To this day, Amazing Grace on bagpipes makes me cry
I remember this very well.
That evening I had a podcast scheduled. We hadn’t been anticipating talking about this but we devoted a whole segment to it (about twenty, twenty five minutes worth). Really felt that helped me cope with what happened; it shocked the hell out of me.
I was coming back home from a sporting event with my dad. He always listened to sport radio. They rarely if ever covered ANYTHING racing. I remember thinking it was cool they were talking about the Izod championship race and they were discussing who they thought would win, about Danica's last race Then they mentioned the green flag had dropped. About 5 minutes later they said there's been a massive crash at Las Vegas and the red flag was out. We were just turning into our driveway. I went in n and the first thing I see is two cars flying into the catchfence, and Will sitting on a wall. Then I saw the tarp and thought "Why the tarp?" (I hadn't seen them used that often so it didn't immediately click. The longer the red went the more I thought, something is really wrong. The fence looks fine." Then the announcement came. I was devestated. I didn't even really follow Indycar at that point but I felt the same way I did when Earnhardt died. Numb then devestated.
This is a beautiful tribute, thanks for making this and posting this.
These are things that when you see it on your own, you are never the same again, to think that a pilot dies in the middle of the race is a shocking blow to reality, to see how the indycar were fired is horrifying, just to see what happened and feel yourself incompetent of not being able to do anything.
Seeing how the pilots feel real fear makes you reconsider, in addition to the fact that only 1 mistake can go to hell, I have seen it both in real life and in online oval racing championships, rest in peace Dan
On this day 10 years ago, I was going through the tv channels and came across to seeing the cars on pit lane and the talk being that of the accident. I stopped on the channel to see what happened because I had forgotten this race was taking place. When I saw a replay of the crash it was one of the worst crashes I had seen. At that point I have already witnessed a lot of Nascar big ones and hard hits but this was different, I really hoped everyone was ok but I was wrong unfortunately.
10 years later, today, this crash is still talked about and videos are made about it like this one. Brock, you are always making fantastic videos and this is no exception. This one was one I couldn't keep my eyes dried though. Keep up the good work Brock, thank you.
“Many people ask me why I always sign off ‘Till we meet again’. Because ‘Goodbye’ is always so final. Goodbye, Dan Wheldon.” - Marty Reid.
One of the saddest, but most powerful pieces of commentary I have ever heard. Definitely a difficult one to watch, but a perspective many of us definitely shared on that day. I remember watching a recap of it on Sportscenter that day, wondering what the results of the Indycar championship were. However, instead of what was supposed to be a bright, joyous day, instead, was marred by tragedy. For Indycar, at the time, it was like an Ayrton Senna or a Dale Earnhardt, competitive on track, but easy to interact with off the track. Twelve years later, I reflect on this because, having heard about his 2011 Indy 500 win, I was amazed that he could pull it off in a, at the time, one off team, with Bryan Herta.
No matter whoever it is, or whereever it is that it occurs at, death in motorsports is still a difficult subject that occurs, even when we all think safety has improved tenfold, and reminds us that as a discipline of sport, it is still an ever-improving and ever-evolving discipline, albeit NASCAR, Indycar, F1, or MotoGP to name a few disciplines of motorsport.
Dan Wheldon is still missed to this day by many, and his contributions to motorsport are forever cherished as well.
RIP Lionheart. 1978-2011.
I missed the start of the race, but I tuned in shortly after the accident. Was a big fan of Dan’s, can’t believe it’s been 10 years already.
Watching this all over again was hard to watch, was hard to not get emotional all over again.
Thank you for this video...i was 10 when this happened and im from europe,and when i watched that race i remember,years later i still find out things about that race...and i remember i was rooting for Dan and Scott...RIP Dan
Great video Dude!!! Reminds me when I was in a Yahoo News chatroom during 9/11. So many emotions were shown that day. I wish I had saved the chat logs.
4:34 Was in the process of moving while listening to the radio call of that race. Your commentary of reactions encapsulated our shock when that happened pretty well. Lol
Tears man, tears. Watching Dan win indy in 05 pushed me to beg my dad to take me the next year. His Las Vegas crash was one of those days where I could take you right to the spot I was when I heard about it. Was harvesting corn with my dad. And we stopped harvest to go home and wait for updates. A lot of tears were shed.
I was 10 years old that day and when the accident happened, I didn't know how to feel about it since I mainly watched Nascar at the time and didn't care about IndyCar all that much except the Indy 500. I was at my grandma's house watching the 2011 rendition of it as I saw the finish, Dan Wheldon's name sticking in my head. Fast forward 10 years and I'm now 20 years old, somewhat both an IndyCar and Nascar fan watching this video and shedding tears (something I rarely do). Thank you for opening a new perspective on this accident for me (and plenty of others) Brock... It means alot...
(p.s I have autism so that's why it gets a bit confusing... I suck at writing...)
the emp lemon/jon bois style edditing is perfect
Wonderfully crafted documentary that captures the raw emotions of that day, like when I go back in my chats to see live reactions to more recent events.
Truly 10/10
Dan Wheldon may have been gone for 10 years now, but like Dale Earnhardt Sr. He’ll never be forgotten one way or another
I remember this day pretty well. Was watching some football and flipped through the channels not long after the crash happened. This wreck devastated me, as Dan Wheldon had been my favorite in the Indycar ranks since the mid 2000s. RIP Dan Wheldon... forever missed.