Dan Wheldon speaks with reporters after finishing second in the 2010 Indianapolis 500 race. (Jeff Roberson / Associated Press / May 30, 2010)
Based on nothing more than one lunch and 90 minutes of interviewing, it is clear that the world of IndyCar racing will be hurting for quite some time. It has lost a tremendous young talent, as well as a tremendous young person.
Yes, Dan Wheldon died doing what he loved to do. Yes, racing cars at speeds in excess of 200 mph is dangerous, and those who do it know it.
Bill Dwyre
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And yes, his death in a fiery 15-car crash Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was so horrific that the word "carnage" kept coming up in news reports.
Those are the boilerplate observations. More appropriate at the moment is a discussion of the person he was.
Wheldon was 33 years old, and a two-time Indianapolis 500 winner, including this year. He flaunted none of that. He looked you in the eye when he shook your hand, he asked questions as well as answered them, and he had a sense of humor that included a taste for others who also had one.
Last Tuesday, Wheldon was on a promotional swing, creating media attention for the unique challenge he was attempting at the Las Vegas race. He would start last in a field of 34 and try to make his way all the way to the front at the end. If he did so, he would share $5 million with a randomly selected fan.
He was quick to put the promotion, and its gimmick aspects, into context.
"I don't need money to be the incentive," he said.
Others in sports' saying that would prompt an eye roll. Wheldon, young, movie-star handsome, and ideally positioned to say something like that and not mean it, really did. After you've done several hundred interviews, it becomes easier to separate the hot dog from the bun.
The interview took place at a Los Angeles restaurant. Wheldon was double-teamed by two sportswriters, both veterans of this and both longtime friends inclined to needle each other between questions. Wheldon seemed to enjoy the shots taken and given by Doug Krikorian, longtime Long Beach Press-Telegram columnist. He kept score and announced it at the end.
He was remarkably less full of himself than most athletes who had accomplished things on his level. Two Indy 500s can turn a walk into a swagger quickly. Wheldon just walked.
With little prompting, he talked much more about others than himself. A situation came up where he had taken over a car from driver Alex Tagliani for a recent race in Kentucky. He was asked why Tagliani would give up that ride.
"Alex is just a nice guy," Wheldon said.
He was asked about the presence of Danica Patrick on the Indy circuit. It was a perfect opportunity to do the macho thing, to openly or subtly put her down or question her ability or place in a testosterone-dominated sport. Instead, he replied with a story.
"She did wonders for all us guys, for getting us in shape," he said. "When she first came on the circuit, we'd wonder why she was so much quicker than we were. Then our teams started leveling with us, explaining that her car was 50 pounds lighter every time she got into it, because she was 50 pounds lighter.
"Pretty soon, we were all in the gym."
He lighted up when he talked about family. He told of his mother's recent diagnosis of Alzheimer's, about how his three brothers and sister wanted nothing to do with racing. He described his father's plumbing and heating business in England, based in the area 40 miles north of London where he came from.
"It's England, after all," Wheldon said, "so he certainly does more work in heating than air conditioning."
And he talked about the blessing for him and his wife, Susie, that he didn't have a regular ride this season on the Indy circuit, despite being the Indy 500 winner.
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