Indy 500 champ dies in fiery crash

LAS VEGAS—British driver Dan Wheldon, a two-time Indianapolis 500 winner, died when his car became caught up in a 15-car pileup, sailed over another vehicle and smashed into a catch fence at IndyCar’s season-ending race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last Sunday (Monday in Manila).

It was IndyCar’s first fatality since Paul Dana was killed at Homestead in 2006 during a crash in a morning warmup. Wheldon won the race.

Wheldon, who came to the United States from England in 1999, won 16 times in his IndyCar career and was the series champion in 2005.

“Things happen in this kind of racing,” said Wade Cunningham, also caught up in the wreck. “It’s so close. Not much room for error. I was near the front of what caused all this, so I’m not thrilled about it. At this point, whose fault it was is kind of immaterial.”

The green flag had barely stopped waving when disaster struck.

Wheldon, driving from the back of the field for a chance at $5 million, was moving through the pack when he drove into a tangle of cars careening off each other in every direction.

Unable to avoid the massive wreck unfolding before him, Wheldon clipped another car and went hurtling through the air, his car bursting into flames as it flew into a fence.

After just 11 laps, the race was over. Two hours later, track officials announced that Wheldon was dead. The Englishman was 33.

“One minute you’re joking around at driver intros and the next, Dan’s gone,” said Scottish driver Dario Franchitti. “I lost, we lost, a good friend. Everybody in the IndyCar series considered him a friend. He was such a good guy. He was a charmer.”

With the speed—close to 225 mph (360 kph) during practice—and a crowded 34-car field, a big worry was aggressive driving early in the 200-lap race.—AP