On Sunday, October 16th, 2011, the racing world lost one of their own. Dan Wheldon lost his life in a racing crash at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (NV) during the season finale of the IZOD IndyCar Series. Wheldon won the prestigious Indianapolis 500 earlier this year. He was 33 years old.
“I was saddened to hear about Dan Wheldon,” said Kentucky-native Ben Rhodes, who was racing at Hickory Motor Speedway on the same day in a Late Model event. “I attended the IndyCar race at Kentucky Speedway two weeks ago and saw him race during my off weekend from driving my Late Model. He was an iconic name in motorsports and will be missed. My thoughts are with his family during this time.”