very sad to hear

FWIW, here's the video: Link (new window)

Was at the track today in the infield. Most eerie feeling at a racetrack, ever.

Random Name Generator: Was at the track today in the infield. Most eerie feeling at a racetrack, ever.

And also, rest in peace Dan. You were an awesome person.

Godspeed.

shiat. Now I feel bad about wanting 'anybody but Wheldon' to win at Indy.

DNRTFA but I'm going to go ahead and assume Danica Patrick caused the accident. Cause, you know...

styckx: Jesus christ, why in the world would they choose THAT picture to associate with someone losing their lives.

'Cause that's how they lost their life?

EvilMonkeyBoy: DNRTFA but I'm going to go ahead and assume Danica Patrick caused the accident. Cause, you know...

She actually deftly avoided it by a narrow margin.

Bummer! I watched from in front of finish line as he won the Indy 500 this spring.

Suddenly, him lucking into the Indy win this year doesn't seem as bad.

RIP to one of the good guys in the sport.

ArtosRC: Godspeed.

That might have been the problem right there.

On a side note, this is the second time I've watched an Indy car race and someone died in a crash, first one was a CART race if IRC. Hell of a way to go. RIP.

Sad day here in Indianapolis. They keep running the ticker at the bottom of the screen. That was the worst crash I have ever seen. I've only been to one Indy 500. I was in the infield at turn 3 and unless you see it live right in front of your face, you have no farking idea how fast those cars are going. It made me nauseous watching them fly by. I know the drivers realize the stakes of their profession but it's still farking sad when things like this happen.

God needed another driver?

/First NASCAR race I watched, Dale died
//clicked on the race today, just as Dan died
///the gooch, I has it

What do Dan Wheldon and Pink Floyd have in common?

Absolutely tragic. R.I.P Dan.

IIRC, Wheldon had sponsorship problems this year and barely made it into Indy, then won.

R.I.P Dan Wheldon 1978-2011.

:'-(

Still going left

tallguywithglasseson: Jeeze. That sounds fast.

It's fast, but the cars used to be faster. Or well similar cars used to be faster, was in the CART series, and at one point they were hitting 240 in practice at one track and racing at over 230.

Outtaphase: It will change forever, even less ovals. RIP Dan.

That it was an oval isn't really a factor. They've raced on ovals for ages, including the high banks of Michigan. The issue is the cars, because they're all so alike you get them bunching up which on any track is a bad thing.

namegoeshere: God needed another driver?

/First NASCAR race I watched, Dale died
//clicked on the race today, just as Dan died
///the gooch, I has it

Murderer.

Mister Green: Bummer! I watched from in front of finish line as he won the Indy 500 this spring.

Yup,me too. Paddock Penthouse

RIP Indy motor racing series

I've seen conflicting reports...

Ashley Judd tweeted that he was unconscious, but vitals were good.
The medical team was waving off the helicopter right after the crash trying to keep them from getting a close-up shot of what was going on.
Some of the drivers seemed to be talking in absolutes well before the public announcement (and before the driver meeting).
There were also pictures that seemed to show the helmet as being dented or cracked open.

Is this one of those "don't say he's dead at the track" things where everyone kinda knew he was in deep trouble?

coco ebert: Looking at the footage, it seems as though he just got caught up in the accident in front of him. Is his car the one that goes flying up in the back?

correct

He's racing angels now...

/terrible news

coco ebert: . Is his car the one that goes flying up in the back?

Yeah, his was the second car that went ballistic and flew across the track

RIP Dan.

You drive through a traffic jam at 200 mph. and didn't see this coming? I am sure Florida has something to do with this. Look! I'm right!

coco ebert: Is his car the one that goes flying up in the back?

There were 2 or 3 cars that go flying through the air. I couldn't really figure it out based on the announcers describing it when they replayed the crash right at the end of the coverage.

But, from what I can gather, his car went in to the air and turned towards the catch fence. His car hit the catch fence cockpit first and, if I'm right, it hit right on one of the support bars and not in the fencing between the supports.

It looked as though it stopped fairly violently when it hit that support.

I'm pretty sure this is the reason anyone watches nascar

bulldg4life: I've seen conflicting reports...

Ashley Judd tweeted that he was unconscious, but vitals were good.
The medical team was waving off the helicopter right after the crash trying to keep them from getting a close-up shot of what was going on.
Some of the drivers seemed to be talking in absolutes well before the public announcement (and before the driver meeting).
There were also pictures that seemed to show the helmet as being dented or cracked open.

Is this one of those "don't say he's dead at the track" things where everyone kinda knew he was in deep trouble?

I'm guessing nobody tells the WAGs and other assorted hangers on anything overly significant in a situation like that, unless they are the WAG directly involved.

I knew he was in deep trouble as soon as I saw the tarp on the car. That's never, ever a good sign.

MFAWG:
I knew he was in deep trouble as soon as I saw the tarp on the car. That's never, ever a good sign.

There were a couple cars with tarp over the car as it drove back to the infield. And, the announcers explained it as keeping all parts together so they didn't go flying off the back of the truck.

That being said, the tarp looked pretty flat as though all high points of the car had been sheared off.