Dan Wheldon facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Dan Wheldon
Wheldon in Washington, D.C. in February 2010
Nationality	British
Born	(1978-06-22)22 June 1978 Emberton, Buckinghamshire, England
Died	16 October 2011(2011-10-16) (aged 33) Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
IRL IndyCar Series
Years active	2002–2011
Teams	Chip Ganassi Racing Andretti Green Racing Panther Racing Bryan Herta Autosport Sam Schmidt Motorsports
Starts	128
Wins	16
Poles	5
Best finish	1st in 2005
Previous series
2005–2008 2001 2000 1999	Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series Indy Lights Toyota Atlantic Championship U.S. F2000 National Championship
Championship titles
2005 1999	IndyCar Series Champion U.S. F2000 National Championship
Awards
2003 2005 2006 2011	IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year Indianapolis 500 Winner 24 Hours of Daytona Winner Indianapolis 500 Winner IndyCar Series Most Popular Driver (after his death)

Daniel Clive Wheldon (born June 22, 1978 – died October 16, 2011) was a British race car driver. He was famous for winning the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series championship in 2005. He also won the famous Indianapolis 500 race twice, in 2005 and 2011. Sadly, he passed away at age 33 after a big crash during a race.

Early Life and Racing Start

Dan Wheldon was born in Emberton, a town near Olney, Buckinghamshire, England. He started go-kart racing when he was only four years old!

When he began racing "open-wheel" cars (cars with wheels outside the main body), he had a friendly rivalry with another driver named Jenson Button. Dan decided to move to the United States in 1999. He believed he had a better chance to become a top racer there.

Before reaching the highest level of racing, he spent many years competing in smaller series. These included the U.S. F2000 Championship Series, the Toyota Atlantic series, and the Indy Lights series.

IRL IndyCar Series Career

In 2002, Dan Wheldon joined the top-level IRL IndyCar Series for two races. He drove for Panther Racing. The next year, in 2003, he joined Andretti Green Racing and won the "Rookie of the Year" award. This award goes to the best new driver.

In 2004, Dan won his first IndyCar race in Japan at Twin Ring Motegi. He finished the 2004 season in second place overall, with three wins.

The year 2005 was amazing for Dan. He won the very important Indianapolis 500 race! He also won the entire IndyCar Series championship that year. He won six races in 2005, which was a new record for the most wins in one season.

In 2006, Dan Wheldon started driving for Chip Ganassi Racing. He won the first race of the season at Homestead–Miami Speedway. Later that year, he also won the 24 Hours of Daytona endurance race with his new team.

At the end of the 2006 IndyCar season, Dan was tied for first place in points with Sam Hornish Jr.. However, Sam had won four races that year, while Dan had only won two. Because Sam had more wins, he became the 2006 IndyCar Champion.

The BMW Sauber Formula One team offered Dan a chance to race for them. But they couldn't promise him a full season of racing. So, Dan decided to stay focused on IndyCar racing.

Practicing for the 2007 Indianapolis 500.

On June 22, 2008, Dan Wheldon won his 15th IndyCar Series race at the Iowa Corn Indy 250. He generously donated all of his prize money to help people affected by recent tornadoes and flooding in Iowa.

In September 2008, Dan left Chip Ganassi Racing and went back to Panther Racing. He finished second in the 2009 Indianapolis 500. However, he didn't finish in the top 10 very often in the rest of 2009.

In 2010, he again finished second at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Even though he drove well with Panther Racing, he didn't win any races during his time with them. Panther Racing decided to have J. R. Hildebrand drive for them instead.

In 2011, Dan Wheldon raced in the 2011 Indianapolis 500 with Bryan Herta Autosport. He won the race in an exciting finish after J. R. Hildebrand crashed on the very last turn! It was Dan's first win in three seasons, and he dedicated it to his mother.

Death

On October 16, 2011, Dan Wheldon was involved in a large crash during a race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. His car went into the air and hit a safety fence. He was taken to the hospital by helicopter. Sadly, he passed away from his injuries. He was 33 years old. Dan Wheldon is buried in Clearwater, Florida.

Other Appearances

Dan Wheldon was a guest voice actor in the TV show Hot Wheels Battle Force 5.

Personal Life

Dan Wheldon married Susie Behm in 2008. They had two sons named Sebastian (born in 2009) and Oliver (born in 2011). His family lives in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Motorsports Career Results

IndyCar Series

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Rank	Points
2002	Panther Racing	HMS	PHX	FON	NZR	INDY	TXS	PPIR	RIR	KAN	NSH	MIS	KTY	STL	CHI 10	TXS 15					36th	35
2003	Andretti Green Racing	HMS	PHX	MOT 7	INDY 19	TXS 20	PPIR 19	RIR 8	KAN 21	NSH 4	MIS 20	STL 5	KTY 8	NZR 7	CHI 4	FON 4	TX2 3				11th	312
2004	Andretti Green Racing	HMS 3	PHX 3	MOT 1	INDY 3	TXS 13	RIR 1	KAN 9	NSH 13	MIL 18	MIS 3	KTY 3	PPIR 3	NZR 1	CHI 4	FON 3	TX2 3				2nd	533
2005	Andretti Green Racing	HMS 1	PHX 6	STP 1	MOT 1	INDY 1	TXS 6	RIR 5	KAN 2	NSH 21	MIL 5	MIS 2	KTY 3	PPIR 1	SNM 18	CHI 1	WGL 5	FON 6			1st	618
2006	Chip Ganassi Racing	HMS 1	STP 16	MOT 2	INDY 4	WGL 15	TXS 3	RIR 9	KAN 2	NSH 2	MIL 8	MIS 3	KTY 4	SNM 6	CHI 1						2nda	475
2007	Chip Ganassi Racing	HMS 1	STP 9	MOT 2	KAN 1	INDY 22	MIL 3	TXS 15	IOW 11	RIR 3	WGL 7	NSH 8	MDO 10	MIS 12	KTY 17	SNM 7	DET 3	CHI 13			4th	466
2008	Chip Ganassi Racing	HMS 3	STP 12	|MOT1 4	LBH1 DNP	KAN 1	INDY 12	MIL 4	TXS 4	IOW 1	RIR 4	WGL 24	NSH 2	MDO 17	EDM 7	KTY 5	SNM 4	DET 20	CHI 6		4th	492
	Panther Racing																			SRF2 11
2009	Panther Racing	STP 14	LBH 5	KAN 10	INDY 2	MIL 10	TXS 7	IOW 4	RIR 10	WGL 10	TOR 14	EDM 15	KTY 11	MDO 16	SNM 12	CHI 22	MOT 8	HMS 21			10th	354
2010	Panther Racing	SAO 5	STP 20	ALA 11	LBH 9	KAN 15	INDY 2	TXS 9	IOW 11	WGL 6	TOR 10	EDM 20	MDO 14	SNM 25	CHI 2	KTY 3	MOT 10	HMS 9			9th	388
2011	BHA with Curb Agajanian Sam Schmidt Motorsports	STP	ALA	LBH	SAO	INDY 1	TXS1	TXS2	MIL	IOW	TOR	EDM	MDO	NWH	SNM	BAL	MOT				28th	75
	Sam Schmidt Motorsports																	KTY 14	LVS3 Canc

^a Wheldon lost the title on the tiebreaker. Wheldon won only two races while Sam Hornish Jr. won four, giving him the championship.

¹ Run on same day

² Non-points race

³ Event cancelled after a 15-car incident on Lap 11 involving Wheldon, who later died from his injuries.

Indianapolis 500

(archived)

Images for kids

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  The Dallara IR03 car Wheldon drove to achieve his first IRL victory in the 2004 Indy Japan 300

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  Wheldon celebrating his victory at the 2005 Indy Japan 300

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  Wheldon practicing for the 2010 Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma

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  Wheldon competing for Bryan Herta Autosport at the 2011 Indianapolis 500

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  Dan Wheldon waving during driver introductions shortly before the accident

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  The crash scene just shortly after it began. Dan Wheldon's car, seen at the bottom of the picture, has just left the racing surface.

• 

  A memorial plaque dedicated to Wheldon's memory in 2013

See also

In Spanish: Dan Wheldon para niños