Anyone that knows me knows that I have a deep love of sunglasses. I have multiple pairs in several different shapes, styles, and colors. Yet there is one specific color of sunglasses that I always gravitate back towards. For me, that is white sunglasses. I love them and how they look. But there is another reason that I mainly wear white sunglasses.
I grew up watching a lot of car racing as a kid. My dad was a huge fan of NASCAR, and it always seemed to be on whenever I was down in the basement on a Sunday afternoon. It was from his love of NASCAR and my interest in racing as a young kid that I discovered the Indy Car series. While I did enjoy watching those NASCAR races with my dad on Sundays, I enjoyed Indy Car even more. There was just something about the sheer speed and sleekness of the cars that captured my attention like NASCAR was never able to.
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Not only was the racing exciting and fun to watch, the drivers in the series made Indy Car even better. You had your big characters like Helio Castroneves with his trademark grin, or Juan Pablo Montoya with the bad boy image. Then there were those drivers who were a little quieter, but the audience was able to connect with. One of those such drivers was Dan Wheldon, a British driver also known by the nickname of Lionheart.
Wheldon acquired the nickname Lionheart for the way he drove on the track. Wheldon did not always drive with his head, but very much with his heart like Richard the Lionheart. It also helped that Wheldon was from England, making the Lionheart nickname even more appropriate. Wheldon saw much success from his heartfelt style of driving. He was rookie of the year in his first year in the Indy Car series back in 2003. From there, Wheldon went on to win the Indianapolis 500 in 2005, along with the overall Indy Car Series that year.
Wheldon won the Indianapolis 500 one more time in 2011. He was a popular driver for several years in the Indy Car circuit. Besides being a talented driver, Wheldon was also a personable guy. Like many drivers, Wheldon did a lot of charity work, especially with the Alzheimer Association, and made himself known in his adopted home of St. Petersburg, Florida. Fans liked Wheldon a lot. Many recognized him for his white sunglasses that he always wore.
That was one of the first things I noticed about Wheldon; the white sunglasses he constantly wore outside of the car. Whether it was in interviews or between heats for practice, he had these small rectangular white frame sunglasses over his eyes. It was the one thing that really made Wheldon's appearance memorable. I never thought too much of the white sunglasses, just that they looked pretty cool, until one day in 2011.
On October 16thl 2011, the Indy Car Series held a race in Las Vegas at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It was the final race of the Indy Car season, the IZOD World Championship race. The race started off like any other with the green flag being dropped after all the usual ceremonial fanfare. Yet on merely the 11th lap of that race, tragedy struck.
A 15 car wreck occurred in the straightaway from turn one to turn two. Someone made a move from the top lane of the track down lower where he then hit a car causing a chain reaction. If you've watched a race and seen a big pileup accident, you can tell how a huge wreck like this could occur.
After unavoidable contact with another car, Wheldon's car went airborne for 325 feet before crashing into the track's catchfence. His head hit a pole on the inside of the catchfence before the car got stuck in the fence. Wheldon was killed almost instantly after the second hit into the pole as the head injury was "non-survivable."
Watching that race in my family home's basement, I knew something was wrong when they wouldn't mention Wheldon's condition. My dad and I knew he had been involved in the crash as the announcers had talked about him going airborne earlier. But outside of that, there was little to no mention of him compared to the other drivers. I remember just turning to my dad and asking something along the lines of, "What happened to Wheldon? Why aren't we hearing about him?"
It wasn't until several minutes later when they went back to a feed looking at the fence where Wheldon's car had been. We saw the helicopter come in and air lift him away. That was when we knew it was really bad. About twenty minutes later, the commentary from the ABC announcers switched to a video of then Indy Car Chief Executive Officer Randy Bernard giving a press conference. It was there that he announced the race was being suspended and the drivers would honor Wheldon.
The video then returned to the ABC broadcast team, where the lead announcer said, "We have lost Dan Wheldon today, here at Las Vegas Motor Speedway." That was when I started crying. It was there it became real and the tears slowly ran down my cheeks. Now Wheldon wasn't my favorite driver, but I respected him for all the amazing things he did as both a driver and a person.
This was the first time I had watched a driver die, even though I knew it happened because of how dangerous the sport of racing is. It was a punch to the gut to realize that these drivers give up everything when they step inside the cockpit of those cars. Especially with open air cockpits like those used in Indy Car, any race could potentially be their last. These drivers love this sport so much that they are willing to die for it. That was a powerful message to me when Wheldon passed away five years ago.
Sitting there in the basement with the tribute being aired, I made a silent promise to myself. From that moment on any sunglasses I wore would be the bright white that Wheldon had practically trademarked for himself. It would be like my own tribute to one of the most heartfelt drivers to ever race. I still wear white sunglasses to this day.
Remembering this moment hits me a little harder today than it has any other day since it occured. I now have the privilege to say I can understand to an extent what it's like to be apart of the Indy Car family. I was lucky enough over the past couple years to hang out at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway covering the 500. While there, I saw what the camaraderie among these drivers is like, how they impact not only the fans, but one another. I can only imagine what kind of impact Wheldon would have had if he was still alive today.
So on the 5 year anniversary of this tragic day, I am reminded of why I still wear the white sunglasses. It is for the love of something you are so passionate about that you would die for it. It is for the idea that one lives on and has an impact well past their death. It is also in memory of a man who made the racing world a better place.
I still wear these glasses for you, Dan Wheldon. Each time I am reminded of this, I believe it is you giving me a little nudge to remember. I hope you're enjoying that race track up in the sky. Say hi to Justin Wilson and Bryan Clauson for us. We miss them, too. Racing fans will remember the three of you always for the ultimate sacrifice you made for the sport you loved. I hope one day I can find something I love enough that I will be willing to die for it.
