Dan Wheldon

Daniel Clive Wheldon (22 June 1978 – 16 October 2011) was a British motor racing driver who won the 2005 IndyCar Series Drivers' Championship for Andretti Green Racing (AGR).

Wheldon was born in the village of Emberton near the town of Olney, Buckinghamshire, England on 22 June 1978.

He was the son of plumber and domestic heat electrician Clive Wheldon and his wife Sue.

Wheldon was of Irish descent.

He had three younger brothers and a sister.

Wheldon's family was connected to motorsport; his father had competed in karting from an early age and his mother acted as Clive's timekeeper.

He went to the Bedford School until he completed his GCSE examinations at the age of 16.

Wheldon attained good reading grades and excelled in cross-country running, rugby and squash.

He was also captain of the school cricket team.

He won the RAC British Cadet Karting Championship three times in 1988, 1989 and 1990.

Wheldon went on to win the British B Junior title driving a Wright chassis in 1992.

He was later advised by Mark Rose and Terry Fullerton as he progressed to the international level.

Wheldon won the 1995 FIA Formula A World Cup with Fullerton's team.

Aged 17, he progressed to car racing, competing in the Formula Vauxhall Junior Championship for Team JLR in 1996, winning the Brands Hatch, Silverstone and Oulton Park races and taking seven top-three results to finish second overall.

The following year, Wheldon was fourth in both the British Formula Ford Championship and the European Formula Ford Championship for Andy Welch Racing, with three victories in the British series.

He was named a finalist for the McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award in 1996 and 1997.

Wheldon improved to third in those two series with the Van Diemen team, driving a Mygale in 1998.

Wheldon began competitive karting at the age of eight and achieved early success, before progressing to open-wheel car racing in the U.S. F2000 National Championship, the Toyota Atlantic Championship and Indy Lights.

He began driving in IndyCar with Panther Racing in 2002.

The following year, Wheldon moved to AGR, finishing as runner-up in the 2004 championship.

He won the Indianapolis 500 in 2005 and 2011, and was co-winner of the 2006 24 Hours of Daytona with Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR).

He won the drivers' title in 2005 with the record for most victories (including that year's Indianapolis 500) during a season.

In the 2006 season, he moved to CGR, tying Sam Hornish Jr.. in points but finishing second because of count-back on the number of victories taken by both drivers.

He was 33 years old and the first driver to die in IndyCar competition since Paul Dana in 2006.

During the 2007 and 2008 seasons, Wheldon's form lowered but he won four additional races to place fourth overall in both years.

He married his long-time personal assistant Susie Behm of Armstrong, British Columbia, in 2008.

They have two children, Sebastian and Oliver, who compete in go-karting events.

Their sons have been supported by Andretti Autosport since 2021.

Wheldon was a guest voice over for the television series Hot Wheels Battle Force 5, and assisted in the physics development for Ignite Game Technologies' online simulation racing game Simraceway.

He partook in philanthropic activities, such as raising money for Alzheimer's disease research, contributed to the Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation, and met unwell children at the Peyton Manning Children's Cancer Hospital in Indianapolis every year.

Wheldon was a spokesperson for the National Guard's Youth Challenge Program, which provides services to vulnerable young Americans.

He returned to Panther Racing for the 2009 and 2010 seasons, failing to win a race but taking a further four podium results during this period.

Wheldon left the team at the conclusion of the season.

He edited and published a coffee table book of photographs of his life, called Lionheart in 2010.

Wheldon began go-kart racing at the age of four but did not partake in competitive racing until he was eight due to age limits.

He drove a self-built 60cc kart during the intervals before switching to a 100cc kart later on.

Wheldon was inspired by racing driver Nigel Mansell, and he was sponsored by All Kart owner Bruno Ferrari and his father helped to better his son's driving ability at Rye House Kart Circuit.

He drove part-time for Bryan Herta Autosport and later Sam Schmidt Motorsports in the 2011 season.

He won his second Indianapolis 500 in May of that year.

At the season-ending IZOD IndyCar World Championship at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Wheldon was killed in a collision with a fence post alongside the circuit on the race's eleventh lap.