IndyCar: Why was one vehicle left out of the Dan Wheldon memorial?
On this day in 2011, during the first laps of the IndyCar championship finale at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Dan Wheldon passed away from injuries he sustained in a collision involving fifteen cars.
In the first laps of the season finale at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, two-time Indianapolis 500 winner and IndyCar champion Dan Wheldon was slain in a 15-car collision on October 16, 2011, a Sunday that fell on this day thirteen years ago. The day was meant to conclude in celebration and the crowning of an IndyCar champion.
It seems like a lot longer than 13 years to some people. It appears more like thirteen months to others. You may easily find yourself on either end of the spectrum depending on the day.
The remaining portion of the race was canceled after Wheldon was removed from his vehicle by the trackside safety team, taken to the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, and his death was eventually made public at the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) oval.
The drivers and teams that were still in the race, however, chose to honor Wheldon by performing a three-wide, five-lap salute that was modeled after an Indianapolis 500 start.
34 cars were entered, more than even the Indianapolis 500 and more than any other IndyCar race since 1997. This race served as the last for the Dallara IR-05 chassis.
Pole sitter and race leader Tony Kanaan led the 19 unharmed cars that remained to participate in the salute after 15 cars were involved in the collision.
Nevertheless, one of the fifteen vehicles in the collision sustained relatively little damage and was able to participate in the salute as well. KV Racing Technology – Lotus had provided a spare front wing for James Jakes’ No. 18 Honda for Dale Coyne Racing.
In theory, that should have increased the total to 20 vehicles. But instead, it remained at 19.
2011 saw Wheldon drive the No. 98 Honda for Bryan Herta Autosport to victory in the Indianapolis 500. It was a one-off entry at the time, but for the season finale, that was altered.
In the penultimate race of the season, Wheldon took over the No. 77 Honda for Sam Schmidt Motorsports from Alex Tagliani, who coincidentally was the Indy 500 polesitter, at Kentucky Speedway in order to be ready for the GoDaddy Challenge.
The GoDaddy Challenge meant that if Wheldon won the season finale after starting last on the grid, he and one lucky fan would have split $5 million. Ironically, Wheldon had just signed with Andretti Autosport to drive a GoDaddy-sponsored Chevrolet in the 2012 season on the morning of the Las Vegas race.
For the season finale, the No. 98 Honda was reintroduced, although this time it was driven by Tagliani; Wheldon stayed with Sam Schmidt’s team, which was in technical partnership with Bryan Herta’s squad for the Indianapolis 500.
Ten circuits into the race, Wheldon had already made his way from 34th to 24th place when the accident happened.
When the accident happened, Tagliani was running in sixth place, thus he would have started the five-lap salute on the outside of the second row. Graham Rahal and the other drivers in positions seven through twenty-eight advanced because the No. 98 Honda chose not to compete.
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