Happy Birthday and RIP.....

[JW1]

Dan Wheldon. You would have been 40 years old today. The racing world will always remember you and what a talented, wonderful person you were. God Bless you, Dan.

 

[TexasRaceLady]

Loved watching him race. Gave it everything.

 

[FLRacingFan]

He'd still look 20-something too.

 

[Greg]

The shear joy he expressed after winning the last 500, was one of the most enjoyable victory lanes ever imo. In real time, and very bittersweet when he left.
The way he laid down on the concrete, the happy wife and everything. He drove great during the last 150 miles and chipped away it was beyond the wildest expections.
His story is too good to ever be forgotten.

 

[wilson89]

Still use him as my profile pic on here for a reason. He was my favorite IndyCar driver and for a younger racing fan who watched Dale Earnhardt Sr. die when I was about 12, the Dan Wheldon crash felt a bit more tragic, to me that is based mostly on the fact that I personally got to see his entire career and a major reason I got into the series was because of him. I remember the 2001 Nascar season was like a giant tribute to Dale until September 11th that was. But with the IndyCar series there really was no closure. For the most part I also have to think the event drove several drivers like Tracy, Scheckter, Buddy Rice and John Andretti away from the sport and ended an era for the series. As much as I still love IndyCar I can't stand to see them drive on tracks like Fontana, Pocono, and even Texas. Because I feel the package they run at those tracks is far to dangerous.

As for Dan I feel that he had a lot of great years and wins ahead of him. I am sure his wife thinks about him and misses him everyday and I feel bad for his two children.