Professional race car driving is a deadly sport. Anybody who engages in the sport of auto racing knows that they are taking their life into their own hands. And it doesn’t matter how experienced or talented a driver may be, even some of the best wheelmen of all time have been killed on the track. Often times, it only takes a slight collision or malfunction for disaster to ensue. Fans and media who are passionate about the sport of auto racing know this for a fact, and they have had to endure some terrible accidents and deaths over the years. Here is a list of the 10 most tragic auto racing deaths of all time.
He was Indy car royalty, but that didn’t prevent racing phenomenon Dan Wheldon from dying tragically in 2011 at a Las Vegas Indy 300 series race. Dead at age 33, the British-born Dan Wheldon was, at the time he was killed, one of Indy’s top drivers, having won the Indianapolis 500 race two times. Equally important, he was one of the best liked guys on the circuit, and a loving father and husband. Tragically, Dan Wheldon was killed at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on October 16, 2011, when his vehicle was involved in a 15 car pile-up on the eleventh lap of a race. Wheldon’s car flew approximately 325 feet into the catch fence, with the cockpit hitting first and Wheldon’s head hitting a pole lining the track. The carnage and ensuing debris led race officials to throw a red flag to stop the race. Today, people are left to wonder what might have been had Dan Wheldon lived longer.
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