IndyCar: Remembering those killed in the last decade

By Asher Fair | Jan 2, 2020

LAS VEGAS, NV - OCTOBER 17: A makeshift memorial for Dan Wheldon, driver of the #77 Bowers & Wilkins/Sam Schmidt Motorsports Dallara Honda, is displayed outside Las Vegas Motor Speedway on October 17, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Wheldon was killed during the Las Vegas Indy 300 part of the IZOD IndyCar World Championships presented by Honda at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on October 16, 2011. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images) /

Two drivers lost their lives in IndyCar crashes this past decade, Dan Wheldon at Last Vegas in 2011 and Justin Wilson at Pocono in 2015.

Any form of auto racing is dangerous. With cars traveling at speeds of over 230 miles per hour at the fastest tracks on the schedule, IndyCar is the epitome of risk vs. reward.

Unfortunately, sometimes the risk wins out and drivers are left injured or killed.

Twice in the last decade, the latter was the sadly case. Dan Wheldon, 33, became the first driver to be killed in an IndyCar wreck since Paul Dana was killed back in March of 2006 at Homestead-Miami Speedway when he was killed in a massive 15-car wreck in the 2011 season finale in October at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

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Wheldon’s death was the first in an IndyCar race itself since Greg Moore was killed in October of 1999 at California Speedway. Two deaths, those of Tony Renna and Dana, took place between those two fatalities, both in the 2000s.

Not even four years later, fellow Englishman Justin Wilson was also killed, Wilson, 37, was killed in a total fluke accident when he was hit in the helmet with a nose cone of a car that had spun out in what initially seemed to be a harmless single-car wreck at Pocono Raceway in August of 2015.

Ironically, both were part-time drivers when they were killed after having spent several seasons in full-time competition and winning several races.

Wheldon was a two-time Indianapolis 500 winner, winning the race in 2005 and becoming the first driver to win it after leading only the final lap in 2011 when he passed the wrecked lead car of J.R. Hildebrand just a few hundred feet in front of the checkered flag.

The 2005 series champion lost his full-time ride with Panther Racing after the 2010 season, and it was the rookie Hildebrand who replaced him behind the wheel of the #4 Honda.

His entry in the race at Las Vegas was just his third of the season, and he was competing to win $5 million as a part of the GoDaddy Challenge. Had he won the race from 34th (last), he would have split $5 million with one lucky fan. After the wreck that took his life on lap 11 of 200, the race was abandoned (officially abandoned two laps later).

In the first year of the new manufacturer aero kits in 2015, Honda struggled, and powerhouse Honda team Andretti Autosport brought Wilson on as a part-time driver. Wilson had been a long-time Honda driver and provided a level of experience and feedback that the team and manufacturer could utilize to the fullest.

Wilson was killed after leading laps at Pocono Raceway, and he had just finished in second place at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in the previous race, tying his best finish since he earned what would end up being his final victory at Texas Motor Speedway in June of 2012. This race at Pocono Raceway was the 15th of 16 on the 2015 schedule, and it was Wilson’s sixth.

There is one positive amid such tragedies, however, and it’s one that can’t be understated as IndyCar continues to make improvements to driver safety, most notably with the new Aeroscreen that is slated to be introduced ahead of the 2020 season.

I never like using statistics when it comes to people passing away because I feel that it devalues life in general when you start attaching numbers, percentages, charts, graphs, etc. to tragic circumstances.

However, in this case, the statistic is the silver lining that goes to show just how safe IndyCar has become.

Two fatalities in a decade of competition is tied for the lowest in IndyCar history; there have never been fewer fatalities in a decade than there were in this past one.

There were only two fatalities in the 1980s decade and the 2000s decade as well, so the fact that only two drivers lost their lives throughout the 2010s goes to show just how effective many of the advancements in safety technology have been and continue to be over the years.

Next. Top 10 IndyCar drivers of all-time. dark

Hopefully IndyCar can not just tie but set the record in the 2020s with zero fatalities and tie it in every decade to come. As for those who didn’t make it to this decade, our thoughts and prayers remain with their friends and family, even several years later.