The loss of Dan Wheldon goes down so hard because not only was he a champion on the track, but he was very human when not racing.
His humanity radiated like a hot stove. He had the uncanny ability to make any individual he was speaking with feel like the only person in the room – genuinely.
Try to find a picture of him with another person that does not show the body language of a close personal friend. You won’t find it.
As a Briton his first goal was to go into Formula One. When that didn’t work out he tested in America and landed a couple of drives with Panther Racing which was trying to hold its’ own when the powerhouse Penske and Ganassi teams moved to IndyCar.
Michael Andretti was getting out of the cockpit for good and his team needed a replacement which turned out to be Wheldon.
When he got his big break, as the new kid on the block, at Andretti Green Racing teammates, Dario Franchitti, Bryan Herta, and Tony Kanaan gave him a hazing which, in the “real world” might have brought a restraining order.
One of the Wheldon’s foibles was a shoe collection worthy of Imelda Marcos (wife of the late President of the Philippines). What his teammates did with these shoes is unrepeatable in family media outlets. He took the hazing in stride and came to give as good as he got. That ability forged a bond which continued through his deal to drive the winning car owned by Bryan Herta at the Indianapolis 500 this year.
In 2005 Wheldon qualified 16th for the Indy 500; a huge disappointment. The usually friendly, big-grinned guy was pensive as he sat all alone, quietly, in a corner of the Honda hospitality unit near Gasoline Alley.
I attempted to approach him, but, his gaze was so far inward he wasn’t looking at me. It wasn’t rude – he was trying to reckon what went wrong. In the end it was nothing as he won the 500 making him the first Briton to win the classic American race since Graham Hill.
Despite the career-changing victory Wheldon saw the handwriting on the wall because of the arrival of teammate, Danica Patrick, who finished fourth. He was almost lost in her slipstream of publicity. Chip Ganassi hired him for the next season.
In 2006 he lost the series title in a tie-breaker to Sam Hornish Jr. And, before the end of 2008 he left Ganassi and returned to Panther. But Panther wasn’t as competitive and couldn’t pay him the salary he had become used to. Panther released him at the end of last year and he was out of job until Bryan Herta Motorsport put him in the car for the one-off ride which he took to at the Indy 500 this year.
Despite of career pressures Wheldon was one of the most accessible drivers to fans and media alike.
As Franchitti said “everyone in the IndyCar series considered Dan a friend.”
Wheldon came to New York as part of a media tour which I chronicled this June in Auto123.com. Even after two Indy500 wins he was the warm and engaging fellow I met in 2003.
I’d like to paraphrase Chip Ganassi who said everyone in racing died a little today.
His humanity radiated like a hot stove. He had the uncanny ability to make any individual he was speaking with feel like the only person in the room – genuinely.
Try to find a picture of him with another person that does not show the body language of a close personal friend. You won’t find it.
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| Lewis Franck with Dan Wheldon. (Photo: Adrian Sussman) |
As a Briton his first goal was to go into Formula One. When that didn’t work out he tested in America and landed a couple of drives with Panther Racing which was trying to hold its’ own when the powerhouse Penske and Ganassi teams moved to IndyCar.
Michael Andretti was getting out of the cockpit for good and his team needed a replacement which turned out to be Wheldon.
When he got his big break, as the new kid on the block, at Andretti Green Racing teammates, Dario Franchitti, Bryan Herta, and Tony Kanaan gave him a hazing which, in the “real world” might have brought a restraining order.
One of the Wheldon’s foibles was a shoe collection worthy of Imelda Marcos (wife of the late President of the Philippines). What his teammates did with these shoes is unrepeatable in family media outlets. He took the hazing in stride and came to give as good as he got. That ability forged a bond which continued through his deal to drive the winning car owned by Bryan Herta at the Indianapolis 500 this year.
In 2005 Wheldon qualified 16th for the Indy 500; a huge disappointment. The usually friendly, big-grinned guy was pensive as he sat all alone, quietly, in a corner of the Honda hospitality unit near Gasoline Alley.
I attempted to approach him, but, his gaze was so far inward he wasn’t looking at me. It wasn’t rude – he was trying to reckon what went wrong. In the end it was nothing as he won the 500 making him the first Briton to win the classic American race since Graham Hill.
Despite the career-changing victory Wheldon saw the handwriting on the wall because of the arrival of teammate, Danica Patrick, who finished fourth. He was almost lost in her slipstream of publicity. Chip Ganassi hired him for the next season.
In 2006 he lost the series title in a tie-breaker to Sam Hornish Jr. And, before the end of 2008 he left Ganassi and returned to Panther. But Panther wasn’t as competitive and couldn’t pay him the salary he had become used to. Panther released him at the end of last year and he was out of job until Bryan Herta Motorsport put him in the car for the one-off ride which he took to at the Indy 500 this year.
Despite of career pressures Wheldon was one of the most accessible drivers to fans and media alike.
As Franchitti said “everyone in the IndyCar series considered Dan a friend.”
Wheldon came to New York as part of a media tour which I chronicled this June in Auto123.com. Even after two Indy500 wins he was the warm and engaging fellow I met in 2003.
I’d like to paraphrase Chip Ganassi who said everyone in racing died a little today.