2011 IZOD IndyCar World Championship
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2011 IZOD IndyCar World Championship
| Race details | ||
|---|---|---|
| 17th Round of the 2011 IndyCar Series season | ||
 The layout of Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where the race was held |
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| Date | October 16, 2011 | |
| Official name | IZOD IndyCar World Championship | |
| Location | Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Clark County, Nevada | |
| Course | Oval 1.544 mi / 2.485 km |
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| Distance | 200 laps, 308.800 mi / 496.965 km | |
| Weather | Sunny, hot | |
| Pole | ||
| Driver |  Tony Kanaan |
KV Racing Technology |
| Time | 50.0582, 222.078 mph (357.400 km/h) | |
| Podium | ||
| First |  None, race was abandoned after twelve completed laps |
|
| Second | N/A |
|
| Third | N/A |
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The 2011 IZOD IndyCar World Championship was the final race of the 2011 IZOD IndyCar series schedule. The event took place at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Clark County, Nevada, United States on October 16, 2011. The race was stopped following a major accident triggered by drivers trying to avoid light contact between Wade Cunningham and James Hinchcliffe. Fifteen cars were involved in the wreck, which resulted in the death of 2011 Indianapolis 500 winner and 2005 series champion Dan Wheldon. After a several hour delay, IndyCar elected to cancel the remaining 188 laps of the event after word of Wheldon's death was relayed to the drivers.[1]
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Contents
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Report
Background
The Las Vegas race was added to the schedule for the 2011 season and replaced the event at Homestead-Miami Speedway as the final event of the IndyCar season. The races at Homestead and at the International Speedway Corporation tracks were removed from the schedule following the 2010 season. Las Vegas Motor Speedway was returning to the IndyCar schedule for the first time since 2000 – and the first open-wheel race at the circuit since the Hurricane Relief 400 Champ Car event in 2005 – and none of the drivers in the race had raced at the circuit since it was reconfigured in 2006, which saw a greater degree of banking added to the circuit to encourage side-by-side racing.[2] The race was scheduled for 200 laps around the 1.544 mi (2.485 km) oval, totaling 308.800 mi (496.965 km).
On May 3, 2011, IndyCar president Randy Bernard issued a challenge to the world's top drivers by declaring that a $5,000,000 (USD) prize would be awarded to any driver who was not a regular driver on the IndyCar circuit to enter the race at Las Vegas and start from the back of the grid.[3] He wanted to attract NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers to come to the track, but none took up the challenge. NASCAR's Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, a race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, was scheduled for the night before and may have caused a conflict for drivers that would otherwise have considered racing in both races, though Bernard dismissed the suggestion. Wheldon, who had been driving a part-time schedule after losing his ride at Panther Racing and who had won the Indianapolis 500 already that season, was the only driver to take the challenge. The prize was to be split equally with a fan if he were to win.
Entering the race there was a two-way battle for the IndyCar Championship between Chip Ganassi Racing's Dario Franchitti and Team Penske's Will Power. Franchitti was eighteen points ahead of Power, retaking the championship points lead from him with a second-place finish at Kentucky Speedway two weeks previously. Power was still mathematically in the points race despite a poor finish at Kentucky.
The race's honorary grand marshal was skateboarder Tony Hawk, who gave the command to start engines.
Media coverage
ABC was awarded broadcast television rights for the season finale after several years of the final race airing on Versus. Marty Reid called the lap-by-lap action for ABC with Scott Goodyear and Eddie Cheever as the color commentators. Vince Welch, Jamie Little and Rick DeBruhl were the pit reporters and the network chose Wheldon to be its "in-race reporter", which is the driver the network communicates with at various points of its coverage of IndyCar and NASCAR races.
Radio coverage was provided by the IMS Radio Network as part of their IndyCar series coverage. Mike King called the lap-by-lap action, with Josef Newgarden – who had finished ninth in the Firestone Indy Lights race held prior to the IndyCar race – alongside King as color commentator. Newgarden was filling in for usual color commentator Davey Hamilton, who was competing in the race; Mark Jaynes reported from the backstretch, with Jake Query, Michael Young, and Nick Yeoman on pit road.
Qualifying
Tony Kanaan, driving the #82 GEICO Dallara for KV Racing Technology, qualified on pole for the race and shared the front row with Oriol Servià, driving the #2 Telemundo Dallara for Newman/Haas Racing. Power and Franchitti qualified on Row 9, in seventeenth and eighteenth respectively. Wheldon qualified twenty-ninth, driving the #77 Bowers & Wilkins Dallara for Sam Schmidt Motorsports.[4] Both Wheldon and Buddy Rice, who had qualified on the inside of Row 10, had to start from the rear of the field; Rice due to a penalty in qualifying and Wheldon as part of the $5 million challenge.[3]
Notes:
- ^ – Buddy Rice was moved to the back of the grid after receiving a penalty for running below the white line.[5][6]
- ^ – Dan Wheldon agreed to start the race from thirty-fourth and last place on the grid as part of the organizers' five million dollar challenge.[3]
Scoring when abandoned
Lap 11 incident
Big trouble, contact, and a huge crash up in turn two! Oh, multiple cars involved! Oh my.
Marty Reid's call of the crash on ABC.
We've got two cars that touch, and a car's gotten sideways! Three, four, five cars, maybe six, seven, eight cars involved! As repeated contacts on the outside of turn number two, one car on fire as they roll down the straightaway!
Mike King's call of the crash on the IMS Radio Network.
The accident began on the front stretch, approaching the first turn when James Hinchcliffe was clipped by Wade Cunningham.[7] Cunningham and J. R. Hildebrand then made contact when Cunningham swerved and Hildebrand drove over the rear of his car. Hildebrand's car became airborne and Cunningham collected Jay Howard on the inside and then Townsend Bell on the outside before crashing into the wall. Attempting to avoid the crash ahead, Vitor Meira lost control, spinning inward collecting both Charlie Kimball and E. J. Viso. At the same time Meira lost control, Tomas Scheckter was also attempting to avoid the first crash by rapidly slowing down on the outside. This led to Paul Tracy crashing into the back of Scheckter and a rapidly approaching Pippa Mann to launch over the top of Tracy after jerking to the outside to avoid crashing into Alex Lloyd.
In the pile-up that followed, two cars were launched into the air as they came upon the accident scene. One belonged to Will Power, who struck the catch fence after running over Lloyd's car. The other was Wheldon's vehicle, which was traveling at 220 miles per hour when he came upon the scene. Although he was able to slow his car down to 165 miles per hour, Wheldon's car was launched into the air after running over the back of Kimball's car. The #77 was sent barrel-rolling and flying into the catch fencing on the outside of the second turn and Wheldon's head struck one of the fence posts.[8] A total of fifteen cars were involved in the accident, with the most severe injuries suffered by Wheldon, Power, Hildebrand, and Mann.[9] Wheldon had to be extricated from the vehicle and was airlifted to the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, where he was pronounced dead at 1:54 PM Pacific Daylight Time. His official cause of death was given by the Clark County Coroner as blunt force trauma to the head due to the incident.[10] Mann and Hildebrand were later taken to the hospital for overnight observation, while Power was evaluated and released that day.[9] Tracy, Viso, and Scheckter suffered minor injuries, but were treated at the track. Power later returned to the hospital after complaining of back pain and was diagnosed with a compression fracture in his back.
"I could see within five laps [that] people were starting to do crazy stuff. I love hard racing, but that to me is not really what it's about. One small mistake from somebody [...] right now I'm numb and speechless. One minute you're joking around in driver intros and the next he's gone. He was six years old when I first met him. I told his son Thursday night at the parade on The Strip that I’ve known his dad since he was about your size. And then I talked to a friend of mine, Jesse Spence, that I used to race go-karts with that we’ve known him since he was this little kid. His mouth worked plenty good, but he was just this little kid and the next thing you know he was my teammate in IndyCars. 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. Everybody in the IndyCar Series was Dan's friend."
Dario Franchitti, describing his feelings in the aftermath of the accident.[11]
The caution flag was thrown but track officials elected to throw the red flag after one additional lap had been completed due to the extent of the accident and the damage it caused. Tony Kanaan was scored as the leader, and among the drivers who avoided the crash were Scott Dixon, championship leader Dario Franchitti – who was heard talking with his crew on the radio that the track was completely undriveable as he had run over several pieces of debris under the caution – and Danica Patrick. Track maintenance crew began working to repair the track, which included patching several holes the crashing cars had put in the asphalt and repairing the sections of catch fencing that had been damaged when Wheldon and Power hit the fence.
While track repair work continued, concern began to grow over the condition of Wheldon as word had not been relayed to anyone at the track. As time wore on, the drivers began to worry as well as whether or not the race would be able to continue as the repair work was continuing and the damage was much more extensive than first thought. After two hours had passed Michael Andretti, owner of Andretti Autosport, and several other team owners went into the IndyCar series hauler to find out more information but left with nothing as Andretti reported to ABC after he exited.
Several minutes after Andretti left the hauler, IndyCar Series director Brian Barnhart called all the drivers remaining in the race to an immediate meeting in the Las Vegas Motor Speedway media center. The press was not allowed into the meeting, but it was later assumed that Wheldon's condition was revealed to them and a decision was made whether or not to continue. After the meeting adjourned, Bernard hastily called a press conference to relay the information to the media.
| “ | IndyCar is very sad to announce that Dan Wheldon has passed away from unsurvivable injuries. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family today. IndyCar, its drivers and owners, (have) decided to end the race. In honor of Dan Wheldon, the drivers have decided to do a five-lap salute in his honor. It will take place in approximately ten minutes. Thank you.[12] | ” |
Bernard then left the room without taking any questions from the gathered press corps. Word had been relayed to ABC about what was to take place, but the cameras did not cut into the press briefing until just after Bernard announced Wheldon's death. This left Marty Reid with the responsibility of breaking the news to the television audience, and after Bernard left he told the viewing audience of what happened:
| “ | Alright, we came in late on that, and...(sighs) folks, uh, this is the hardest part of our job...and the last time I had to do this was 2006 with Paul Dana [in race morning warmup], but we have lost Dan Wheldon today here at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Tragic accident on Lap 13 [sic], and Dan Wheldon killed here today at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. There will be a five-lap salute, stay with us...please. | ” |
"The debris we all had to drive through the lap later, it looked like a war scene from [The] Terminator or something. I mean, there were just pieces of metal and car on fire in the middle of the track with no car attached to it and just debris everywhere."
Ryan Briscoe's reaction to driving through the scene of the accident, one lap after the collision.[13]
Of the twenty remaining cars that were not damaged, nineteen of them led by Kanaan, Ed Carpenter, and Power's teammate Ryan Briscoe lined up three abreast – in Indianapolis 500 start formation – six rows deep and left pit road racing at pace lap speed for five laps. The only car that did not participate in the tribute was the Bryan Herta Autosport-fielded car of Alex Tagliani, which Wheldon had won the Indianapolis 500 with, earlier in the year and was withdrawn in his honor.[11] The track took down all the car numbers from the scoring tower and placed Wheldon's car number at the top.[14] "Danny Boy" and "Amazing Grace" were played at varying intervals on the Bagpipes while the cars went around the track.[9][11] Despite already being over their broadcast window, ABC showed the entire five-lap tribute with all announcers silent. ABC went off the air at approximately 6:20 PM ET, although some of its affiliates cut the broadcast off before the tribute was finished.[citation needed]
| “ | People ask me why, when I sign off I say 'until we meet again'. Because goodbye is always so final. Goodbye Dan Wheldon. | ” |
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—Marty Reid's sign-off from the broadcast. |
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As Reid noted in his report, Wheldon's death was the first suffered by an IndyCar driver since Paul Dana was killed in a race morning practice crash at Homestead-Miami in 2006. His death was also the first major racing series fatality at any American motorsports facility since Scott Kalitta was killed at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in New Jersey in 2008, and was the first in-race IndyCar fatality since the death of Greg Moore in the 1999 CART season finale at Auto Club Speedway.
Drivers involved in accident
| Number | Driver | Team | Condition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 77 | Dan Wheldon | Sam Schmidt Motorsports | Airlifted to hospital, suffered fatal blunt force trauma injuries to head. |
| 4 | J. R. Hildebrand | Panther Racing | Bruised sternum, held for overnight observation in hospital and released next day. |
| 30 | Pippa Mann | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Severely burned right hand, held for overnight observation in hospital and released next day. Underwent skin graft surgery on October 26, 2011 to repair damage. |
| 12 | Will Power | Team Penske | Treated at hospital and released same day. During Indy Racing League LLC meetings with teams the week after the Las Vegas tragedy, Power visited Terry Trammell, who diagnosed him with a compression fracture of the fourth thoracic vertebrae. Was ruled out of the V8 Supercar race he was to have participated in, the following weekend. |
| 57 | Tomas Scheckter | Sarah Fisher Racing | Treated at circuit per IndyCar regulations. |
| 8 | Paul Tracy | Dragon Racing | |
| 59 | E. J. Viso | KV Racing Technology | |
| 22 | Townsend Bell | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing | |
| 17 | Wade Cunningham | Sam Schmidt Motorsports | |
| 15 | Jay Howard | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | |
| 18 | James Jakes | Dale Coyne Racing | |
| 83 | Charlie Kimball | Chip Ganassi Racing | |
| 19 | Alex Lloyd | Dale Coyne Racing | |
| 14 | Vitor Meira | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | |
| 44 | Buddy Rice | Panther Racing |
Championship resolution
Franchitti claimed the championship after the accident as no points were awarded and he was the points leader before the race. This was Franchitti's third consecutive championship[11] and fourth overall.[8] As Power suffered severe car damage in the lap 11 crash, Franchitti would have won the championship regardless if the race had continued.
Reactions
At the time of his death, Wheldon had been working with IndyCar officials to develop the ICONIC chassis,[15] with the intention of improving safety in the sport. Planned changes to the chassis include larger cockpits for driver protection and bodywork over the rear wheels to prevent cars from launching off one another in the event of a collision, long a problem in open-wheel racing, regardless of oval or road course, but troublesome on high-speed ovals and tight street circuits with a long straight and a tight turn, similar to the style of many modern road courses.[16]
Prominent figures within the IndyCar fraternity and the wider international motorsport community expressed their condolences to Wheldon and his family.[17] Wheldon had been scheduled to take part in the Gold Coast 600, a round of the V8 Supercars championship, on October 22, racing alongside his friend James Courtney. Upon hearing of Wheldon's death, Courtney described the accident as a sobering reminder of the dangers faced by racing drivers.[18] As the first major international motorsport event after Wheldon's death, organizers of the V8 Supercars series planned a series of tributes to him at the Gold Coast 600.[19] Wheldon's place was taken by another British driver, Darren Turner, an FIA GT1 World Championship competitor. Wheldon's name was left on the car as a mark of respect,[20] while British drivers at the event paid tribute to him with helmet decals, and several other drivers planned individual tributes to Wheldon.[21] Tony Kanaan, who had also been scheduled to race in Australia, announced his withdrawal from the event out of respect for Wheldon. However, Ryan Briscoe, Alex Tagliani, and Hélio Castroneves, all of whom raced at Las Vegas, along with other part-time IndyCar drivers Sébastien Bourdais and Simon Pagenaud, who were not at Las Vegas, will race.[22] Sam Schmidt, for whom Wheldon had been racing at the time of his accident, admitted that the events at Las Vegas Motor Speedway had prompted him to re-evaluate his involvement in motorsports.[23] Similarly, veteran drivers Davey Hamilton[23] and Paul Tracy[24] said they were considering retiring from racing on the back of the accident.
Driver Marco Andretti withdrew from The Celebrity Apprentice, which started taping days after the incident, and was replaced by his father Michael, team principal of Andretti Autosport.[25]
On December 9, 2011, IndyCar decided that they were not going to return to Las Vegas for the 2012 season.[26] Randy Bernard expressed reluctance to return to the speedway following Wheldon's death, despite the insistence of Speedway Motorsports, Inc. president Bruton Smith (who owns the track in Las Vegas as well as three other tracks used by the IndyCar series) for the series to honor its three year contract with the track. As of that date, the investigation into the accident was still ongoing and IndyCar was holding back on the release of its 2012 schedule until that investigation, as well as one into whether or not the series can continue racing on high-banked ovals such as Las Vegas and Texas Motor Speedway in Denton, Texas, one of the IndyCar series' staples since 1997 (although Texas did not have its 2012 IndyCar sanctioning before the Las Vegas race in 2011, the investigation has delayed that).[27] Texas was eventually placed on the 2012 schedule.[25]
The investigation and further announcements also affected NASCAR. The Smith's Food and Drug 350 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series was integrated into the IZOD IndyCar World Championship as the Saturday feature and shared practice and qualifying days. NASCAR does not allow two national series races to be held at the same time, and in order to comply, the Truck feature as part of the IndyCar weekend at Las Vegas was held on Saturday at 12:00 noon PDT in order to ensure the race would end by 4:00 pm (when the Sprint Cup Bank of America 500 broadcast started). As a result of the IndyCar cancellation, announced after NASCAR had established the 2012 schedule, on January 20, 2012, Las Vegas Motor Speedway moved the race meet up two weeks to September 29, 2012, instead of October 12–14, 2012, with the Truck Series as the sole feature event (as was the case from 2006–2010).[28] With Fontana hosting the final race of the 2012 IndyCar Series season, this event will be known as the IZOD IndyCar World Championship,[29] following the contract signed between IndyCar and Izod's parent company Phillips Van Heusen.
Criticism
"A lot of things that happened in this race they are hoping would not happen with these changes. Maybe the scale has tipped a little bit too far to make it more entertaining. They would serve themselves well if they listened to the drivers a little bit more ... and the concerns they voiced."
Former driver Eddie Cheever's criticism of series officials' renewed focus on entertainment.[16]
In the build-up to the race, several drivers expressed unease at the race – with Dario Franchitti, Oriol Servià and Alex Lloyd the most vocal opponents – particularly given the high degree of banking around the circuit;[16] with between 18 and 20 degrees of banking in the corners Las Vegas Motor Speedway has the second-highest corner banking of any circuit on the IndyCar schedule, with only Texas at 24 degrees having steeper banking. Franchitti was quoted as saying that the track was "not suitable" for IndyCar racing,[30] while championship rival Will Power – himself a staunch critic of short-track oval racing – described the race as "an accident waiting to happen".[31]
The field of 34 drivers was the biggest in an IndyCar series race in 14 years. A typical oval track race has 6 to 8 fewer drivers, except for the Indianapolis 500, which normally has a 33-car field.[32] ESPN.com senior motorsports writer Terry Blount wrote: "Obviously more cars presents more danger. They wanted a whole lot of cars cause obviously this is their season finale and they wanted it to be a big deal. Some of the people that were driving in this event yesterday had no business being in it. Some of them had never driven on a track like this. That was a mistake".[30] Chris Powell, president of Las Vegas Motor Speedway, defended the race, saying that the circuit had passed all of the IndyCar Series' accreditation procedures and was deemed suitable for racing. He also went on the record to say that despite the media reporting the concerns of several drivers over the safety of the event, none of those concerns had been raised with him.[33]
1979 Formula One World Champion Jody Scheckter, whose son Tomas was injured in the accident, was highly critical of the series organizers, stating that a serious accident was "inevitable" as "they were basically touching wheels at 220 mph (350 km/h). They all bunch up together so there are thirty-four cars in a small space of track. One person makes a mistake and this happens. You [shouldn't] have to get killed if you make a mistake. It was madness."[34] Former Formula One and IndyCar driver Mark Blundell agreed, claiming that the Las Vegas circuit was unsuitable for IndyCar racing – this was the last race for the Dallara IR05 – while NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson called for the series to leave oval racing altogether,[35] though he clarified his statement by saying that the open-wheel type cars on a resurfaced 1.5 mi (2.4 km) track built for stock cars was a bad idea.[36] However, former champion Mario Andretti said that the accident was a "freakish" one-off incident and that facilities at the circuit were adequate for racing.[37] While he admitted surprise that more drivers were not seriously injured, he also cautioned against what he called "knee-jerk reactions" to the accident, calling for any changes to the sport to be carefully considered before being introduced, rather than being rushed into action. Former FIA President Max Mosley, a long-time advocate of increased safety in motorsport, agreed with Andretti, urging a "calm and scientific" approach to any proposed changes,[38] particularly when asked about the proposed introduction of closed canopies for open-wheel racing cars.[39]
The five million dollar prize was also the subject of criticism in that a driver inexperienced in driving IndyCars would have a higher risk of causing a crash,[2] though Formula One driver Anthony Davidson downplayed the influence of the prize in causing the accident, stating that racing drivers by their nature try to win every race, whether they start from first or last.[34] Many short track races in the United States offer a cash or points bonus where a driver who wins the pole and starts last can collect a cash bonus for winning; this was used at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis in the "Night Before F1" midget car race where the winner of the first feature race started last for the second in a reverse-grid race, and a driver who starts last by winning the first feature, starting last, and winning the second feature wins a cash bonus. Some series offer a point bonus for the driver who makes up the most positions in a race.
In the days following the incident, it was learned that two additional drivers had been approached to try for the $5 million challenge prize. One was NASCAR driver Scott Speed, who previously ran open-wheel Formula One cars for Scuderia Toro Rosso and who had raced on the reconfigured LVMS track in the Craftsman Truck Series for Morgan-Dollar Motorsports in 2008 and for Team Red Bull in the Sprint Cup Series in 2009 and 2010. Speed, in an interview he gave to Inside Edition on October 18, 2011, said that he declined to take the offer saying that the track conditions were too dangerous for Indy-type cars.[40] Finnish media reported that 2007 Formula One World Champion Kimi Räikkönen, who was splitting time between the World Rally Championship and NASCAR in 2011, had also been approached to take part in the race,[41] but Räikkönen rejected the offer as he was not confident of having a competitive car, rather than having concerns over safety.
"The chassis of the [Wheldon's] #77 impacted a post along the right-side of the tub and created a deep defect in the tub that extended from the pedal bulkhead, along the upper border of the tub, and through the cockpit. As the race car passed by, the pole intruded into the cockpit and made contact with the drivers' helmet and head. Dan's injury was limited to his head injury. Dan appeared to suffer two distinct head forces. The first head force created a level of Head Injury Criterion, also known as a HIC number, that normally does not produce any injury. During the initial crash sequence, the accident data recorder measured 12 or 13 impacts. During that timeframe one of those impacts measured a measurable HIC number for Dan – that's the number that does not normally cause injury. The number was low enough. The second force was a physical impact, and it was the second force that caused a non-survivable blunt force injury trauma to Dan's head."
Brian Barnhart, detailing the sequence of events surrounding the accident in the official report on Wheldon's death.[42]
Investigation
Three days after the accident, series organizers announced that the race would be the subject of a full investigation. The other members of the Automobile Competition Committee for the United States (ACCUS), the national governing body of automobile racing in the United States and a member of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), made their resources available for the investigation, which IndyCar officials expect to take several weeks.[43] As all ACCUS/FIA members are participating in the investigation, IndyCar will have full use of the NASCAR R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina. In the meantime, all testing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was cancelled indefinitely; Dario Franchitti and Chip Ganassi Racing had been planning to test the 2012-spec Dallara chassis at the circuit in the week following the race.
Results
The results of the investigation into Wheldon's death were released on December 15, 2011. In a report prepared by crash investigators, it was found that Wheldon's death was caused by an impact with the catch fencing around the circuit.[42] Brian Barnhart further rejected claims that the banking of the circuit contributed to the accident,[44] stating that the banking of the circuit created two ideal racing lines, and that these lines made the location of cars more predictable for other drivers; at the time of the accident, all thirty-four cars had been behaving as expected. The report also revealed that the right front pull rod of the suspension assembly penetrated Wheldon's survival cell, though it did not cause him any injury. The report recommended further investigation of this phenomenon, as it was the first recorded incident of its kind in nine years of the use of the IR03 and later IR05 model chassis, which was being retired at the end of the race. The pull-rod suspension chassis is not being utilised in the DW12.[45]
See also
References
- ^ Bradley, Charles (October 16, 2011). "Wheldon dies from injuries". Autosport (Haymarket Publications). http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/95473. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
- ^ a b Fryer, Jenna (October 18, 2011). "Factors converged in crash that killed Dan Wheldon". Yahoo! News. Associated Press (Yahoo!). http://news.yahoo.com/factors-converged-crash-killed-dan-wheldon-225755544.html. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
- ^ a b c Allen, James (October 16, 2011). "Dan Wheldon". James Allen on F1. James Allen. http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2011/10/dan-wheldon/. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
- ^ "Tony Kanaan takes pole for season finale in Las Vegas". AutoWeek (Crain Communications). October 14, 2011. http://www.autoweek.com/article/20111014/IRL/111019915. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
- ^ a b "IZOD IndyCar World Championship: Qualifications" (PDF). IndyCar Series. IndyCar. October 14, 2011. http://www.indycar.com:8080/var/assets/indycar-results-quals34.pdf. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
- ^ Strang, Simon (October 15, 2011). "Buddy Rice sent to back of Vegas grid after penalty". Autosport (Haymarket Publications). http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/95407. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
- ^ Bradley, Charles (October 16, 2011). "IndyCar finale red-flagged after 13-car accident". Autosport (Haymarket Publications). http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/95471. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
- ^ a b Oreovicz, John (October 17, 2011). "Dan Wheldon's death stuns racing world". ESPN.com (ESPN). http://espn.go.com/racing/indycar/story/_/id/7111348/indycar-series-dan-wheldon-death-stuns-racing-world. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
- ^ a b c "Dan Wheldon dies in huge crash at IndyCar finale". USA Today. Associated Press (David Hunke; Gannett Company). October 16, 2011. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/motor/indycar/story/2011-10-16/las-vegas-300-dan-wheldon-crash/50795256/1. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
- ^ Ritter, Ken (October 17, 2011). "Wheldon died of head injuries". Yahoo! Sports. Associated Press (Yahoo!). http://sports.yahoo.com/irl/news?slug=ap-indycar-lasvegas-wheldonautopsy. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
- ^ a b c d Lewandowski, Dave (October 16, 2011). "Wheldon succumbs to injuries in crash". IndyCar Series (IndyCar). http://www.indycar.com/news/show/55-izod-indycar-series/50911-wheldon-succumbs-to-injuries-in-crash/. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
- ^ "Dan Wheldon dies following IndyCar crash at Vegas". ESPN.com (ESPN). October 17, 2011. http://espn.go.com/racing/indycar/story/_/id/7111712/dan-wheldon-dies-following-indycar-crash-vegas. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
- ^ Clark, Laine (October 17, 2011). "IndyCar drivers want change after fatality". The Sydney Morning Herald. Australian Associated Press (Fairfax Media). http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-sport/wheldon-dies-in-indycar-crash-power-ok-20111017-1ls27.html. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
- ^ "Briton Dan Wheldon dies in IndyCar race in Las Vegas". BBC Sport (BBC). October 17, 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/15330202.stm. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
- ^ Cavin, Curt (October 17, 2011). "Dan Wheldon had been helping IndyCar with safety for 2012". USA Today (David Hunke; Gannett Company). http://www.usatoday.com/sports/motor/indycar/story/2011-10-16/Dan-Wheldon-had-been-helping-IndyCar-with-2012-safety/50798370/1. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
- ^ a b c "Dan Wheldon's death ignites fresh IndyCar danger debate". PerthNow. Agence France-Presse (News Limited). October 18, 2011. http://www.perthnow.com.au/sport/motor-sport/dan-wheldons-death-ignites-fresh-indycar-danger-debate/story-e6frg26l-1226169541811. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
- ^ "Motorsport pays tribute to Dan Wheldon". Autosport (Haymarket Publications). October 16, 2011. http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/95474. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
- ^ "Courtney: Wheldon’s fate a reality check". Speedcafe.com (SpeedCafe). October 17, 2011. http://www.speedcafe.com/2011/10/17/courtney-wheldons-fate-a-reality-check/. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
- ^ "V8s and teams plan tributes to Wheldon". Speedcafe.com (SpeedCafe). October 18, 2011. http://www.speedcafe.com/2011/10/18/v8-supercars-plans-tribute-to-wheldon/. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
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- ^ Miller, Robin (October 19, 2011). "Jimmie Johnson clarifies his oval racing statements". SPEEDTV.com (Speed). http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/indycar-jimmie-johnson-clarifies-his-oval-racing-statements. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
- ^ Bradley, Charles (October 18, 2011). "Mario Andretti says Dan Wheldon’s fatal Indycar crash was "freakish" one-off". Autosport (Haymarket Publications). http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/95493. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
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- ^ "Race Car Driver Says Las Vegas Track Was Too Dangerous". Inside Edition (CBS Television Distribution). October 18, 2011. http://www.insideedition.com/news/7044/race-car-driver-says-las-vegas-track-was-too-dangerous.aspx. Retrieved October 19, 2011.
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IZOD IndyCar World Championship | Next race: 2012 IZOD IndyCar World Championship Auto Club Speedway |
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