IndyCar canceled the remainder of the Izod IndyCar World Championships yesterday after driver Dan Wheldon died following a 15-car wreck on lap 11 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The 19 cars left in the field drove a five-lap tribute to Wheldon following the announcement of his death (THE DAILY). ABC’s Vince Welch reported drivers Dario Franchitti and Tony Kanaan “broke the news" to the other drivers about Wheldon’s death during a drivers-only meeting. Welch: “There was discussion about whether or not they should continue the race. There were drivers on both sides of that fence. At that point, (IndyCar CEO) Randy Bernard came in and said that he understood it would be extremely difficult to make that decision at that time considering what had just happened. He suggested they make a three-wide formation and do the five laps in Dan’s honor. That was unanimously agreed upon by the drivers” (“Izod IndyCar World Championships,” ABC, 10/16). Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network’s Jake Query reported driver Justin Wilson indicated that when the drivers “had that meeting, several drivers did not want to go back out to the race car. It was those that knew Dan Wheldon best that stood forward and said, ‘If the situation was different and Dan Wheldon was one of [us] in this meeting, he’d be demanding that we get in the suit. And that’s why we did it’” (“SpeedCenter,” Speed, 10/16). In L.A., Jim Peltz notes fans in the grandstands “stood and dozens of race-team personnel and safety workers walked to the edge of pit road facing the track, many of them wiping away tears.” A “bagpipes version” of "Amazing Grace" played on the speedway speaker system (L.A. TIMES, 10/17).
UNSAFE TRACK CONDITIONS? In N.Y., Dave Caldwell notes IndyCar “had not raced at Las Vegas since 2000, and drivers had been concerned before the race about safety at the oval, which also hosts NASCAR races.” The open-wheel cars used in IndyCar “travel much faster than stock cars, reaching 220 miles an hour,” and there was “a fear that a ‘pack race’ -- tightly bunched cars at very high speed -- would unfold” (N.Y. TIMES, 10/17). SI.com’s Bruce Martin notes drivers entering the race “feared that with speeds at 225 miles per hour and with a track so smooth and so wide, that it was too easy for all the cars on the track.” Franchitti prior to the news that Wheldon had died said, "I said before we even tested here that this was not a suitable track for us, and we've seen it today. You can't get away from anybody. There's no way to differentiate yourself as a car or a driver” (SI.com, 10/16). Driver Oriol Servia said, "We all had a bad feeling about this place in particular just because of the high banking and how easy it was to go flat. We knew it could happen" (AP, 10/17). But driver James Hinchcliffe said that series officials “understood the risks and did as much as they could to minimize them.” Hinchcliffe: "At the end of the day, the series isn't stupid. They've been around racing a long time. If one small thing goes wrong, it has very bad consequences" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 10/17). Wheldon started last in the 34-car field, as he was part of the $5M Go Daddy IndyCar Challenge, and Bernard said of Wheldon prior to the race, "I hope he can stay out of any carnage coming from the back and make a run at it" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 10/16).
AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE: YAHOO SPORTS' Nick Bromberg wrote the death “sadly adds more intrigue to a series with a lot of unknowns in the future.” With Danica Patrick leaving the circuit to drive full-time in NASCAR, the IndyCar Series “didn't have a driver ready-made to step into Patrick's role as the mainstream recognizable face of the series.” It was “going to be a collaborative effort and a rejuvenated Wheldon … would have been one of those in the collaboration.” Bromberg noted discussion leading up to the Vegas race “centered around how the series would be officiated in the future after a series of rulings that have left drivers increasingly animated.” Bromberg: “Add in an ever fluid schedule … and extremely low television ratings for the races shown on Versus, and it was easy to wonder about IndyCar's future before the green flag dropped on Sunday. Now, with the loss of one of its best people and positive assets, those thoughts are cloudier” (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 10/16).
TRACK OFFERING REFUNDS: In Las Vegas, Jeff Wolf noted the crowd for the race “was estimated to be about 50,000.” Track President Chris Powell in a release said that attendees “can receive a full refund by sending their scanned tickets to the speedway's office.” Powell said that “despite the tragedy, he expects the series to return as scheduled next year” (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 10/17). Meanwhile, IndyCar has “canceled its season-ending banquet” following the death of Wheldon. The series had “planned to hold a celebration for the 2011 season Monday night at Mandalay Bay Resort on the Las Vegas Strip” (AP, 10/17).
