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IndyCar
INDYCAR: Dan Wheldon, In Memoriam
Some of Dan Wheldon's closest friends, competitors and teammates share their thoughts about the enigmatic star who died Sunday.
Dario Franchitti, who shared a tearful tribute to Dan Wheldon, was one of his oldest friends. (IndyCar Series/Chris Jones)
Read from the touching tributes to Dan Wheldon from his closest friends, competitors and teammates as they share their thoughts about the enigmatic star who died Sunday.
RANDY BERNARD (CEO, INDYCAR):
No words can describe my feelings as I reflect on my memories of Dan. His infectious smile, bubbly personality and big heart made Dan one of the most caring people I had ever met. You could never ask for a better ambassador to a sport. Dan represented INDYCAR with the upmost respect and integrity. Dan will not only be immortalized as being a great racer but also a wonderful person. My prayers are with Susie and his two children in this very difficult time.
DARIO FRANCHITTI (No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing):
“I guess right now I’m speechless. You know, one minute you’re joking around during driver intros, and then next Dan’s gone. I told Sebastien Thursday night at the parade at the Strip that I’ve known his dad since he was your size, he was about six years old when I met him. And then I talked to a friend of mine, Jesse Spence that I used to race go-karts with, we were talking about that we’ve known him since he was this little kid…his mouth worked plenty good, but he was just this little kid. The next thing you know, he’s my teammate in IndyCar we had a couple of fall outs over the way but we were friends, and he came to Chip’s team, he was a huge part of the Target team. We put so much pressure on ourselves to win races and championships, it’s what we love to do, it’s what we live for, and then on days like today it doesn’t really matter. We lost, I lost, a good friend, everyone in the IZOD IndyCar Series considered Dan a friend. He was just one of those special, special people. From when he first showed up in INDYCAR and he was kind of brash, and he was a charmer. Then he became this loving, family guy…he was still charming but he had this whole new side to him. With Susie, and the boys…that’s all I’m thinking about, and I’m trying to hold it together.” (Were you thinking about the championship): “I was thinking about that parade lap…first of all, I’d like to thank you to all the fans for showing so much respect for Dan, and also to all the people on the teams, I thought that was a very nice thing. I was thinking about old Dan stories, and things that we did, and in situations like this, as well as always when this happens, I was thinking about some of the fun times we had. But really, right now it’s just sad, it’s just really, really sad. It’s the ugly side of our sport.” (Do you have a favorite memory of Dan): “There’s a few, man, there’s a few. Tony, Bryan and I ganged up on Dan and brought it up to the hotel room to giving him a talking to, and his eyes were about this big. So, we thought it was quite funny, Dan didn’t. And then, the other one that really sticks out in my mind is, I think—Dan’s got quite a bit of Irish, his dad’s family is Irish, and I think a lot of Scottish, especially when he was driving for the Andretti Green at that point, because he’d never buy dinner or drinks or something, and we always bought dinner. We used to joke that he was the little brother you didn’t want. And then he signed for Chip because we were all out in New York, and he says let’s go out to dinner, I’m buying. And we were all like, “What?” And so we ended up going to this restaurant that mind you, was going to give his credit card a beating, and proceeded to order a lot of expensive things, lots of champagne the whole thing, and the bill was about $5000. And I’ll never forget his face, but he did not flinch, he put the card out and he paid, and he said, “That’s for everything you guys have done for me.” I’m going to miss him.”
CHIP GANASSI (owner, Target Chip Ganassi Racing):
“When I first met Dan, he was a young guy and he went to Michael’s team, and his teammates there—Franchitti, Kanaan and Herta—and seeing Franchitti afterward and saying, ‘I don’t know how that Dan does it.’ He was winning races and having all the fun. And then I got to know him a little bit, and when we signed him to come over to our team I figured out why he won all those races. He just had an infectious way about him. He knew he could smell the front, and when he got to sniffing the front, that was it. He won his first race out for us at, well at the 24 Hours of Daytona he won and then he went to Homestead and won. And it was like geez, and you understood what the guy had and he had that special grin. If you talk to Scott Dixon about what Dan to our team when he came, and he brought so much, and I think he taught Dixie how to win, you know what I mean? He made him a better race car driver. And then I remember when he, the car that he stepped out of [Dario Franchitti] stepped in to. And what can you say, we’re all going to miss him, and little bit of everybody in INDYCAR racing died today.”
Sam Schmidt, owner of the No. 77 IndyCar Series team, about driver Dan Wheldon:
“Dan Wheldon was a tremendous competitor, a great racer and an even better person. It was an honor to have him be a part of our team. All of us at Sam Schmidt Motorsports are deeply saddened by his passing. On behalf of everyone at Sam Schmidt Motorsports, our prayers go out to all of his family, especially his wife, Susie, and their two children.”
Bryan Herta, Team Co-Owner:
“Everyone at Bryan Herta Autosport is reeling from the loss of our friend and teammate Dan Wheldon. Dan was the glue that bound our little team together. It was his spark and belief in us that carried us all to Victory Lane at Indianapolis this year, and his legacy within the sport as a tremendous champion and competitor is unquestioned. But more than that, Dan became my little brother from our time together as teammates at AGR. I watched with pride as he developed from the brash young hotshot on the circuit to a man who was a great husband and father, ambassador, friend, champion and hero. Our thoughts and prayers are with Susie and the boys, and all of Dan’s family and fans who are trying to make sense of this terrible loss. We are all lucky and blessed to have had Dan Wheldon influence our lives, and his spirit lives on in each one of us. Godspeed my friend.”
ROGER PENSKE (owner, Penske Racing):
"Today was a sad day for IndyCar and the IndyCar family. Dan was a champion, a wonderful young man and a terrific competitor. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife Susie, his children and his entire family."
HELIO CASTRONEVES (Team Penske; three-time Indianapolis 500 winner):
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to Dan Wheldon's family - what happened today was terrible. It is hard to put into words how sad this is for all us of here. On the track we compete but at the end of the day we are like a big family and today we lost a part of that. I think that the series made a good call to end the race and have the parade laps to honor the life of our fellow driver."
RYAN BRISCOE (Team Penske):
"My thoughts are with Dan's family right now. He has been a good friend and a great competitor for many years and I'm greatly saddened by his loss. I do applaud the decision made by the series to call the race and line the cars up for a few parade laps in Dan's memory. It is truly a sad day for all of us."
WILL POWER (Team Penske):
"What a tragic loss. I'm devastated that we lost Dan Wheldon today. It was a terrible accident and I feel so bad for Dan's family. My thoughts and prayers are with them. Dan was great champion and a great guy. He will definitely be missed."
SCOTT DIXON (Target Chip Ganassi Racing):
"Dan is family and I will miss him badly. Such an amazing person and wonderful family man. We will be with Susie, Sebastian and Oliver for whatever they need. I still can't believe it."
GRAHAM RAHAL (Chip Ganassi Racing): "My heart goes out to the Wheldon family. Dan was an incredible champion, a great friend and someone I will always respect and admire. We have truly lost one of the greatest members of our INDYCAR family."
CHARLIE KIMBALL (Chip Ganassi Racing):
"We lost a special member of our INDYCAR family. Dan was doing exactly what he wanted and died doing what he loved. Our thoughts are with his wife, Susie, and his two children. There are much bigger plans in life than we can ever hope to understand. Dan will be forever missed."
Erik Berkman (President, Honda Performance Development):
“For everyone in the Honda family, this is a day of tragedy and incalcuable loss. For us, Dan was more than a driver, he was a member of the Honda family. But most of all, our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, wife Susie and two young sons. Dan had a passion for motorsports and a wonderful personality that made him a friend to everyone in the racing community. His talent and dedication were an inspiration to us all. We will miss him terribly, and everyone at Honda extends our deepest sympathies to his family, friends and fans across the world.”
From Al Speyer, Executive Director, Firestone Racing:
"The Firestone Racing team is deeply saddened by the death of Dan Wheldon. We have very fond memories of celebrating with Dan at Indianapolis following his win this year, and he was a true champion.
"Recently, we had been working very closely with Dan on the development of the 2012 IndyCar. His passion for the sport was evident every day and he worked endlessly to do the best he could at everything he did. We extend our sympathies to his family, to his team, and to his many friends and fans. He was a talented competitor on the track who will be long remembered by all who had the privilege of working with and knowing him."
Oriol Servia, No. 2 Telemundo Dallara/Honda/Firestone:
“This is incredibly sad. We all know this is part of the sport. Cars are getting safer, tracks are getting safer so fortunately it hasn’t happened in a long time. 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 and if you give us the opportunity, we are drivers and we try to go to the front -- we race each other hard because that’s what we do. We knew if could happen but it’s just really sad. There was no right or wrong thing to do really on how to proceed. It’s the first time ever that we knew that a driver was gone so I think the series did the right thing. Even if you were going to be more careful we were still going to be traveling at a very high speed and in a risky situation. I think Randy’s call was rational. He was saying ‘Listen, you guys are not thinking straight.’ If they had kept us in the car and we still had hope that Dan was going to be okay and they restarted the race sooner you can just focus on what you do. This wasn’t the right way either to finish the race or the season; it feels wrong but there was no right way to deal with the situation. I feel so bad for Susie and their kids. It’s so tough to understand when somebody is gone that quickly. Dan was always a very happy guy; he was always smiling. He was a funny, great person that touched a lot of people. He will be missed.”
James Hinchcliffe, No. 06 Sprott Dallara/Honda/Firestone:
“It’s a black day for the sport. We came in here hoping for a good season-finale and ended up losing a very close friend and a very good racing driver. I think Dan was coming into his second wind as a driver. He had so much success early on and he was getting back into that. It’s going to be hard next year to climb into the new cars every time knowing that if it wasn’t for Dan this thing wouldn’t be what it was. He made such an impact on this sport and will even continue to now. It’s proof that this is still a very dangerous sport. As hard as we work on the safety side, these things are still very possible. It’s tough to put into words what everybody is feeling. There was no right answer on how to deal with this situation in terms of the rest of the race. Deep down we all think Dan would have wanted us to race but out of respect for him we made a decision, right or wrong. We’re going to have to regroup over the winter and head into the first race next year and race the whole year for Dan because all I said, the new car that we all are going to be blessed with the opportunity to race, a lot of that is as good as it is because of Dan. My thoughts are with Susie and the kids.”
STATEMENT FROM ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT
"It is with extreme sorrow that we have lost one of our champion drivers today. Dan was an Indy 500 champion and IndyCar Series champion with Andretti Autosport-and one of our closest competitors. Dan brought such enthusiasm and passion to the sport not often seen in motorsports. We will remember Dan's tremendous racing accomplishments with our team as well his infectious personality. We would like to express our deepest sympathy to Dan's family, racing team and friends today. Dan is one of IndyCar's greatest champions."
IMS' JEFF BELSKUS' STATEMENT ON PASSING OF INDIANAPOLIS 500 WINNER:
“We are incredibly saddened at the passing of Dan Wheldon. He was a great champion of the Indianapolis 500 and a wonderful ambassador for the race, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and all of motorsports. Most importantly, he was a fantastic husband, father and man – a good friend to so many in this sport. His memory will live forever at the Speedway, both through the magnitude of his accomplishments on the track and his magnetism off the track. Our deepest sympathies are extended to his entire family, team and fans.”
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Statement, Bobby Rahal:
“The passing of Dan Wheldon today is a great shame. Dan was a great driver as evidenced by not only his Indianapolis 500 victories, but by his many wins and great performances in the race car. But he was much more than a great driver. He was a good guy, good family man and really seemed to have a bright future not only as a driver but as a television personality as well. We had spoken to him very recently about his prospects as a driver for 2012 with our team and he was very enthusiastic about his future. He will be missed."
Dennis Reinbold, Co-Owner Dreyer & Reinbold Racing:
"Today was a very emotional day. We all lost a friend, and a true champion of the sport. It hurts deeply when something like this happens and our thoughts and prayers are with his entire family during this time."
Robbie Buhl, Co-Owner Dreyer & Reinbold Racing:
"Today was an extremely tragic day. There are no words to express our sorrow over the loss of Dan. He was a Champion and few loved the sport as much as him. Our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Wheldon family."
HVM Racing Owner, Keith Wiggins:
"The IndyCar community - drivers, teams, fans - arrived at the track today to compete and celebrate a championship. Instead, we lost one of the sport's best. Dan Wheldon was a champion on the track and a great ambassador for the sport. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Dan's family. It's in moments like this that you witness the strength of the IndyCar community. Even though we compete against each other week after week, it's like we've lost a member of our own family. We'll go forward into the 2012 season by reflecting on the great memories we have of Dan Wheldon."
Toll HRT V8 Supercars Team Principal Ryan Walkinshaw, who Wheldon was set to drive for next weekend at the Gold Coast 600:
“I considered it a huge honour to spend time with Dan earlier this year at the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis when we met to finalise our agreement for him to join our team for the Gold Coast,” Walkinshaw said. "What grabbed my attention most was Dan’s character, he was an incredible person with a huge passion for life and love for his family. It is a very sad day for the Toll Holden Racing Team but, more importantly, it is one of true sadness for Dan’s family. To them we offer our sincerest condolences.”
NASCAR CHAIRMAN AND CEO BRIAN FRANCE:
“NASCAR offers its deepest sympathies and condolences to the family of Dan Wheldon, his teammates, and the entire IndyCar Series community for their tragic loss today. They will be in our thoughts and prayers during this very difficult time.”
Toll HRT V8 Supercars driver James Courtney, who Wheldon was set to co-drive with at the Gold Coast 600:
“I first met Dan when I moved to Europe in karting in the mid-90s, we knew each other a long time and considered ourselves friends,” Courtney said. “Today is difficult for those of us who have lost a mate but most of all, as a father of a young family, I am struggling with knowing Dan’s wife Susie is now without her partner and their children, Sebastian and Oliver, will grow up without their father. It’s Dan’s family, all of his family, who I truly feel sorry for.”
RANDY BERNARD (CEO, INDYCAR):
No words can describe my feelings as I reflect on my memories of Dan. His infectious smile, bubbly personality and big heart made Dan one of the most caring people I had ever met. You could never ask for a better ambassador to a sport. Dan represented INDYCAR with the upmost respect and integrity. Dan will not only be immortalized as being a great racer but also a wonderful person. My prayers are with Susie and his two children in this very difficult time.
DARIO FRANCHITTI (No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing):
“I guess right now I’m speechless. You know, one minute you’re joking around during driver intros, and then next Dan’s gone. I told Sebastien Thursday night at the parade at the Strip that I’ve known his dad since he was your size, he was about six years old when I met him. And then I talked to a friend of mine, Jesse Spence that I used to race go-karts with, we were talking about that we’ve known him since he was this little kid…his mouth worked plenty good, but he was just this little kid. The next thing you know, he’s my teammate in IndyCar we had a couple of fall outs over the way but we were friends, and he came to Chip’s team, he was a huge part of the Target team. We put so much pressure on ourselves to win races and championships, it’s what we love to do, it’s what we live for, and then on days like today it doesn’t really matter. We lost, I lost, a good friend, everyone in the IZOD IndyCar Series considered Dan a friend. He was just one of those special, special people. From when he first showed up in INDYCAR and he was kind of brash, and he was a charmer. Then he became this loving, family guy…he was still charming but he had this whole new side to him. With Susie, and the boys…that’s all I’m thinking about, and I’m trying to hold it together.” (Were you thinking about the championship): “I was thinking about that parade lap…first of all, I’d like to thank you to all the fans for showing so much respect for Dan, and also to all the people on the teams, I thought that was a very nice thing. I was thinking about old Dan stories, and things that we did, and in situations like this, as well as always when this happens, I was thinking about some of the fun times we had. But really, right now it’s just sad, it’s just really, really sad. It’s the ugly side of our sport.” (Do you have a favorite memory of Dan): “There’s a few, man, there’s a few. Tony, Bryan and I ganged up on Dan and brought it up to the hotel room to giving him a talking to, and his eyes were about this big. So, we thought it was quite funny, Dan didn’t. And then, the other one that really sticks out in my mind is, I think—Dan’s got quite a bit of Irish, his dad’s family is Irish, and I think a lot of Scottish, especially when he was driving for the Andretti Green at that point, because he’d never buy dinner or drinks or something, and we always bought dinner. We used to joke that he was the little brother you didn’t want. And then he signed for Chip because we were all out in New York, and he says let’s go out to dinner, I’m buying. And we were all like, “What?” And so we ended up going to this restaurant that mind you, was going to give his credit card a beating, and proceeded to order a lot of expensive things, lots of champagne the whole thing, and the bill was about $5000. And I’ll never forget his face, but he did not flinch, he put the card out and he paid, and he said, “That’s for everything you guys have done for me.” I’m going to miss him.”
CHIP GANASSI (owner, Target Chip Ganassi Racing):
“When I first met Dan, he was a young guy and he went to Michael’s team, and his teammates there—Franchitti, Kanaan and Herta—and seeing Franchitti afterward and saying, ‘I don’t know how that Dan does it.’ He was winning races and having all the fun. And then I got to know him a little bit, and when we signed him to come over to our team I figured out why he won all those races. He just had an infectious way about him. He knew he could smell the front, and when he got to sniffing the front, that was it. He won his first race out for us at, well at the 24 Hours of Daytona he won and then he went to Homestead and won. And it was like geez, and you understood what the guy had and he had that special grin. If you talk to Scott Dixon about what Dan to our team when he came, and he brought so much, and I think he taught Dixie how to win, you know what I mean? He made him a better race car driver. And then I remember when he, the car that he stepped out of [Dario Franchitti] stepped in to. And what can you say, we’re all going to miss him, and little bit of everybody in INDYCAR racing died today.”
Sam Schmidt, owner of the No. 77 IndyCar Series team, about driver Dan Wheldon:
“Dan Wheldon was a tremendous competitor, a great racer and an even better person. It was an honor to have him be a part of our team. All of us at Sam Schmidt Motorsports are deeply saddened by his passing. On behalf of everyone at Sam Schmidt Motorsports, our prayers go out to all of his family, especially his wife, Susie, and their two children.”
Bryan Herta, Team Co-Owner:
“Everyone at Bryan Herta Autosport is reeling from the loss of our friend and teammate Dan Wheldon. Dan was the glue that bound our little team together. It was his spark and belief in us that carried us all to Victory Lane at Indianapolis this year, and his legacy within the sport as a tremendous champion and competitor is unquestioned. But more than that, Dan became my little brother from our time together as teammates at AGR. I watched with pride as he developed from the brash young hotshot on the circuit to a man who was a great husband and father, ambassador, friend, champion and hero. Our thoughts and prayers are with Susie and the boys, and all of Dan’s family and fans who are trying to make sense of this terrible loss. We are all lucky and blessed to have had Dan Wheldon influence our lives, and his spirit lives on in each one of us. Godspeed my friend.”
ROGER PENSKE (owner, Penske Racing):
"Today was a sad day for IndyCar and the IndyCar family. Dan was a champion, a wonderful young man and a terrific competitor. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife Susie, his children and his entire family."
HELIO CASTRONEVES (Team Penske; three-time Indianapolis 500 winner):
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to Dan Wheldon's family - what happened today was terrible. It is hard to put into words how sad this is for all us of here. On the track we compete but at the end of the day we are like a big family and today we lost a part of that. I think that the series made a good call to end the race and have the parade laps to honor the life of our fellow driver."
RYAN BRISCOE (Team Penske):
"My thoughts are with Dan's family right now. He has been a good friend and a great competitor for many years and I'm greatly saddened by his loss. I do applaud the decision made by the series to call the race and line the cars up for a few parade laps in Dan's memory. It is truly a sad day for all of us."
WILL POWER (Team Penske):
"What a tragic loss. I'm devastated that we lost Dan Wheldon today. It was a terrible accident and I feel so bad for Dan's family. My thoughts and prayers are with them. Dan was great champion and a great guy. He will definitely be missed."
SCOTT DIXON (Target Chip Ganassi Racing):
"Dan is family and I will miss him badly. Such an amazing person and wonderful family man. We will be with Susie, Sebastian and Oliver for whatever they need. I still can't believe it."
GRAHAM RAHAL (Chip Ganassi Racing): "My heart goes out to the Wheldon family. Dan was an incredible champion, a great friend and someone I will always respect and admire. We have truly lost one of the greatest members of our INDYCAR family."
CHARLIE KIMBALL (Chip Ganassi Racing):
"We lost a special member of our INDYCAR family. Dan was doing exactly what he wanted and died doing what he loved. Our thoughts are with his wife, Susie, and his two children. There are much bigger plans in life than we can ever hope to understand. Dan will be forever missed."
Erik Berkman (President, Honda Performance Development):
“For everyone in the Honda family, this is a day of tragedy and incalcuable loss. For us, Dan was more than a driver, he was a member of the Honda family. But most of all, our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, wife Susie and two young sons. Dan had a passion for motorsports and a wonderful personality that made him a friend to everyone in the racing community. His talent and dedication were an inspiration to us all. We will miss him terribly, and everyone at Honda extends our deepest sympathies to his family, friends and fans across the world.”
From Al Speyer, Executive Director, Firestone Racing:
"The Firestone Racing team is deeply saddened by the death of Dan Wheldon. We have very fond memories of celebrating with Dan at Indianapolis following his win this year, and he was a true champion.
"Recently, we had been working very closely with Dan on the development of the 2012 IndyCar. His passion for the sport was evident every day and he worked endlessly to do the best he could at everything he did. We extend our sympathies to his family, to his team, and to his many friends and fans. He was a talented competitor on the track who will be long remembered by all who had the privilege of working with and knowing him."
Oriol Servia, No. 2 Telemundo Dallara/Honda/Firestone:
“This is incredibly sad. We all know this is part of the sport. Cars are getting safer, tracks are getting safer so fortunately it hasn’t happened in a long time. 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 and if you give us the opportunity, we are drivers and we try to go to the front -- we race each other hard because that’s what we do. We knew if could happen but it’s just really sad. There was no right or wrong thing to do really on how to proceed. It’s the first time ever that we knew that a driver was gone so I think the series did the right thing. Even if you were going to be more careful we were still going to be traveling at a very high speed and in a risky situation. I think Randy’s call was rational. He was saying ‘Listen, you guys are not thinking straight.’ If they had kept us in the car and we still had hope that Dan was going to be okay and they restarted the race sooner you can just focus on what you do. This wasn’t the right way either to finish the race or the season; it feels wrong but there was no right way to deal with the situation. I feel so bad for Susie and their kids. It’s so tough to understand when somebody is gone that quickly. Dan was always a very happy guy; he was always smiling. He was a funny, great person that touched a lot of people. He will be missed.”
James Hinchcliffe, No. 06 Sprott Dallara/Honda/Firestone:
“It’s a black day for the sport. We came in here hoping for a good season-finale and ended up losing a very close friend and a very good racing driver. I think Dan was coming into his second wind as a driver. He had so much success early on and he was getting back into that. It’s going to be hard next year to climb into the new cars every time knowing that if it wasn’t for Dan this thing wouldn’t be what it was. He made such an impact on this sport and will even continue to now. It’s proof that this is still a very dangerous sport. As hard as we work on the safety side, these things are still very possible. It’s tough to put into words what everybody is feeling. There was no right answer on how to deal with this situation in terms of the rest of the race. Deep down we all think Dan would have wanted us to race but out of respect for him we made a decision, right or wrong. We’re going to have to regroup over the winter and head into the first race next year and race the whole year for Dan because all I said, the new car that we all are going to be blessed with the opportunity to race, a lot of that is as good as it is because of Dan. My thoughts are with Susie and the kids.”
STATEMENT FROM ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT
"It is with extreme sorrow that we have lost one of our champion drivers today. Dan was an Indy 500 champion and IndyCar Series champion with Andretti Autosport-and one of our closest competitors. Dan brought such enthusiasm and passion to the sport not often seen in motorsports. We will remember Dan's tremendous racing accomplishments with our team as well his infectious personality. We would like to express our deepest sympathy to Dan's family, racing team and friends today. Dan is one of IndyCar's greatest champions."
IMS' JEFF BELSKUS' STATEMENT ON PASSING OF INDIANAPOLIS 500 WINNER:
“We are incredibly saddened at the passing of Dan Wheldon. He was a great champion of the Indianapolis 500 and a wonderful ambassador for the race, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and all of motorsports. Most importantly, he was a fantastic husband, father and man – a good friend to so many in this sport. His memory will live forever at the Speedway, both through the magnitude of his accomplishments on the track and his magnetism off the track. Our deepest sympathies are extended to his entire family, team and fans.”
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Statement, Bobby Rahal:
“The passing of Dan Wheldon today is a great shame. Dan was a great driver as evidenced by not only his Indianapolis 500 victories, but by his many wins and great performances in the race car. But he was much more than a great driver. He was a good guy, good family man and really seemed to have a bright future not only as a driver but as a television personality as well. We had spoken to him very recently about his prospects as a driver for 2012 with our team and he was very enthusiastic about his future. He will be missed."
Dennis Reinbold, Co-Owner Dreyer & Reinbold Racing:
"Today was a very emotional day. We all lost a friend, and a true champion of the sport. It hurts deeply when something like this happens and our thoughts and prayers are with his entire family during this time."
Robbie Buhl, Co-Owner Dreyer & Reinbold Racing:
"Today was an extremely tragic day. There are no words to express our sorrow over the loss of Dan. He was a Champion and few loved the sport as much as him. Our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Wheldon family."
HVM Racing Owner, Keith Wiggins:
"The IndyCar community - drivers, teams, fans - arrived at the track today to compete and celebrate a championship. Instead, we lost one of the sport's best. Dan Wheldon was a champion on the track and a great ambassador for the sport. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Dan's family. It's in moments like this that you witness the strength of the IndyCar community. Even though we compete against each other week after week, it's like we've lost a member of our own family. We'll go forward into the 2012 season by reflecting on the great memories we have of Dan Wheldon."
Toll HRT V8 Supercars Team Principal Ryan Walkinshaw, who Wheldon was set to drive for next weekend at the Gold Coast 600:
“I considered it a huge honour to spend time with Dan earlier this year at the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis when we met to finalise our agreement for him to join our team for the Gold Coast,” Walkinshaw said. "What grabbed my attention most was Dan’s character, he was an incredible person with a huge passion for life and love for his family. It is a very sad day for the Toll Holden Racing Team but, more importantly, it is one of true sadness for Dan’s family. To them we offer our sincerest condolences.”
NASCAR CHAIRMAN AND CEO BRIAN FRANCE:
“NASCAR offers its deepest sympathies and condolences to the family of Dan Wheldon, his teammates, and the entire IndyCar Series community for their tragic loss today. They will be in our thoughts and prayers during this very difficult time.”
Toll HRT V8 Supercars driver James Courtney, who Wheldon was set to co-drive with at the Gold Coast 600:
“I first met Dan when I moved to Europe in karting in the mid-90s, we knew each other a long time and considered ourselves friends,” Courtney said. “Today is difficult for those of us who have lost a mate but most of all, as a father of a young family, I am struggling with knowing Dan’s wife Susie is now without her partner and their children, Sebastian and Oliver, will grow up without their father. It’s Dan’s family, all of his family, who I truly feel sorry for.”
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