You have heard the awful news by now. Very early on in the running of the IZOD IndyCar Series season finale at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, a fiery, spectacular, and horrifying crash claimed the life of Dan Wheldon. Wheldon, who won his second Indianapolis 500 in May and was the 2005 Indy Racing League champion, did not have a full-time IndyCar ride and was competing in only his third race of the season. He was the only driver who took up IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard’s $5 million offer to non-full-time IndyCar drivers who would drive in the Las Vegas IndyCar 300 and win the race. No one won the race today.

Wheldon’s No. 77 Sam Schmidt Motorsports machine was one of several cars to get airborne in the crash. LVMS, of course, has SAFER barriers circling the track, but Wheldon sailed above the outside retaining wall and into the catch fence, ripping his car to shreds. Drivers both involved in and fortunate enough to avoid the massive 15-car crash commented on the ferocity of the crash, the impacts multiple cars took, and the dangerous debris field that rained on open cockpits as the winged bullets wheeled through the mess. After officials had red-flagged the race and crews airlifted Wheldon from the track, drivers received word of Wheldon’s fate and Bernard soon gave the official announcement to the world.

 A day that was supposed to be both revolutionary and celebratory for the IndyCar Series and its likely points champion Dario Franchitti turned tragic and solemn. The grief-stricken field paid tribute to Wheldon by turning five laps, three-wide, under caution speed with the No. 77 as the sole number atop the scoring pylon.

And just like that, the visions of the wreath and the milk mustache in Indy Victory Lane just five months ago will never be looked upon in the same way. Wheldon’s season was still marred with an uncertainty uncharacteristic of that of a driver who has just won one of the biggest races in the world. Now a sport assumes that uncertainty, following the death of one of its most popular drivers.

Trevor Bayne’s Daytona 500 was just as unexpected as Wheldon’s Indy 500 triumph. Wheldon took the lead when rookie J.R. Hildebrand crashed on the exit of the final turn of the final lap, leading his only lap of the season. Bayne gained the Daytona 500 lead after his drafting partner, David Ragan, got black-flagged by NASCAR for changing lanes before the start-finish line on a late restart. Bayne, who had turned 20 the day before, went from an obscure Nationwide Series driver plopped into a small-budget, part-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series ride with the Wood Brothers, to the darling David that slay a big money Goliath.

The weeks following both drivers’ popular wins saw each take interesting turns. Early in the following NSCS race at Phoenix, Bayne crashed and finished 40^th. He was supposed to run the entire Nationwide Series schedule and compete for the championship, but he began feeling fatigued and could not see straight. His elbow swelled and he had to drive an entire race with one arm and soon missed several weeks with this mysterious illness that likely was caused by a spider bite.

Bayne returned to both his Cup and NNS rides to encounter lousy luck and limited sponsorship in both. Jack Roush his owner, who also facilitated Bayne’s Sprint Cup ride in the No. 21 Ford, managed to fund Bayne and his NNS teammate Ricky Stenhouse Jr. largely out of his pocket. Despite having stock car racing’s most prestigious trophy to his name, the NASCAR economy was too dry to garner Bayne very much additional funding for either ride. He enters 2012 with a similar scenario: a part-time Cup ride and an unsure situation in the Nationwide Series.

Few doubt that Bayne can succeed in NASCAR. Unfortunately for the youngster, the road to NASCAR success is paved more now with dollars than prestige. He has a few years to get the dollars situation figured out, and, if the windows open at the right times, can still parlay his mind-blowing Daytona 500 win into sustained opportunities. But today’s IndyCar race proved that nothing is for sure.

Wheldon spent almost all of 2011 on the sidelines. He helped broadcast a few IndyCar races on the Versus network. But no funding fell his way for an IndyCar ride, so he found his own wheels. Wheldon gave major input to and tested the next-generation 2012 IndyCar and likely was doing so for his own good. He was highly rumored to be Danica Patrick’s replacement in the Andretti Autosport No. 7 machine, as Patrick is departing the series for NASCAR full-time next year. At 33, Wheldon still had a lot of gas in the tank and certainly something to prove again as a full-time driver. No one thought before today that he would never again have that chance.

Now the IZOD IndyCar Series finds itself at a crossroads. After an exciting season and a whole slate of changes around the bend, it lost one of its biggest names in what supposed to be one of its biggest races. This screams of similarity to the last lap fatal wreck of Dale Earnhardt in the 2001 Daytona 500 – a time, too, where NASCAR was riding a wave of positive momentum and change. Instead of imploding after its season-opening race, NASCAR forged ahead and thrived in the suddenly-large national spotlight. How IndyCar reacts to the increased pressure and interest will define its future. But for now that sport and all of us grieve the loss of a champion, husband, and father and helplessly think about what was and what could have been.

Our thoughts and prayers rest frequently, heavily and emphatically with the Wheldon family and with their large circle of friends in the IndyCar Series. May God bless you all.

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Be sure and listen to Captain Herb Emory, Jason Durden, and me on the Allan Vigil Ford Lincoln Speedshop on Saturdays from 12-1 p.m. (when the Bulldogs aren't on),  on AM-750 and NOW 95.5 FM News/Talk WSB. Feel free to comment on what you see and hear anytime on this blog. 

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