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[producer] Ready? Your victory lap.
We did 20 of those.
[producer] "Here you're fast or you're last."
Here you're fast or you're last.
"Here you're fast or you're last."
Here you're fast or you're last.
[producer] Good on that one.
-"A storm is coming." - [laughs]
We're supposed to be cool.
Aren't drivers supposed to be cool?
-"A storm is coming." - [laughs]
I've just got to stop laughing.
-"A storm is coming." - [clears throat]
A storm-- [laughs]
Okay, I'll be serious now.
"A storm is coming."
A storm is coming.
- [crowd roars] - [dramatic music plays]
[announcer] Without doubt the fastest man in the world,
Dan Wheldon.
[chanting] Wheldon! Wheldon! Wheldon!
[David Letterman] Your life changes yet again, doesn't it?
[announcer 2] Winner of the Indianapolis 500,
Dan Wheldon and his beautiful wife Susie.
[producer] "A storm is coming."
[announcer 3] On the high side! Side-by-side!
Who's gonna win it?
[Wheldon] A storm is coming.
[announcer 3] It is Wheldon!
[producer] Good. Next line.
"At over 200 miles an hour, there's no room for error."
[Dan] No shit.
[Dan] Go!
[announcer] Oh, so close. Right there.
[Wheldon] At over 200 mile an hour,
there's no room for error.
[producer] Very good. We got one last line.
"Hi, I'm Dan Wheldon from Emberton, England."
Hi, I'm the good-looking son of a bitch from England.
[laughter]
And a storm is coming.
[boy babbling happily]
Honk-honk. On your right, big boy.
[imitates engine revving]
What motor are you using?
You know I can't say that.
You can't?
- What place you gonna come in? - First.
[boy 1] What place am I gonna get?
[boy 2] Like, last.
[gentle music playing]
[Susie] Boys?
Oliver?
Sebastian?
Come down, please.
[race car engine revving faintly]
I was gonna grab some letters that we could read.
That's from Lord Charles.
[Oliver] Who's Lord Charles?
[Susie] He's the Earl of March.
There's a beautiful letter that Elton John wrote.
Oh, Peyton Manning.
Look at this one.
You guys probably don't know Nancy Reagan,
but she was the wife of a former president.
So when Daddy was racing at Indy,
he had the Presidential Seal
of Ronald Reagan on his car.
- What, our dad? - Mm-hmm.
Nice.
Oliver, do you want to read one?
Sure.
"Dear Ms. Susie Wheldon..."
[bird twitters]
"It is with my deepest sympathy that I wish to express
our most heartfelt thoughts and prayers
from the entire American Honda family of companies.
Dan was the ultimate gentleman and friend to all who met him.
Our most sincere..."
I don't know what that word is.
[Susie] "Our sincere condolences."
"...condolences go out to you and your family.
May you find comfort in our prayers
and knowing how many friends
and lives he touched."
This is kind of too intense, Mom.
Okay, you don't have to be here, buddy.
You wanna go take a break?
Just don't want to hear about death and everything.
Okay.
- Too intense for me. - Okay.
Oliver, come, buddy. Do you wanna sit with me
for a bit longer or are you done?
"We loved your dad..."
- [crowd cheering] - [car horn honking]
[man on TV] That calls for a nice cup of tea!
[boy on TV] I'll put the kettle on!
[man] Hop in!
♪ I'm H-A-P-P-Y! ♪
[dramatic music playing]
[inaudible]
[music intensifies]
[music fades]
[solemn music playing]
[man 1] We had some really good times here.
They're the memories that will last till the day I die.
I was racing, and when Dan was born,
he'd come along to the track.
He used to have a little pedal kart.
Wherever I raced, he was always with me.
I always heard him say, "Dad, could I have a kart?"
For his birthday, we had a kart made for him.
And we used to go down every weekend
and we'd just practice and practice.
[man 2] We're all working on the karts,
and you'd see this Wheldon Plumbers van show up.
This helmet with legs
walks out, a little... I mean, tiny...
[huffs] "What is this?"
He got into this kart and took off.
[engines revving]
[Dario] Lap after lap.
So fast.
"What? Who is that?"
And that was my introduction to Dan Wheldon.
The Lionheart.
He always had the Lionheart on the back of his helmet.
[Dario] Richard Lionheart was about courage
and Dan...
he loved a battle.
[reporter] Out of the 80 drivers that are here,
there's one that really stands out.
His name is Daniel Wheldon.
[Clive] When he put the helmet on,
he dominated.
It was in his blood.
It was always the Wheldons to beat.
[stirring music playing]
[man] All right, ladies and gentlemen,
welcome back for day two
of the United States Pro Kart Series
Quest for the Championship.
We're in the final session for this weekend
and this is the best of the best here.
[kart engines revving]
[dramatic music playing]
[announcer] Kart number one, that's Danny Wheldon,
the young man with lots of potential.
[Clive] Dan was very clever.
He would look at the weakest point of the driver
so you'd know where the best place is to overtake him.
Soon as I sort of got him in my sight,
I thought, "Top of the straight or bottom of the straight,
and that's where I got him."
[announcer] Here comes Sebastian Wheldon.
Wheldon dives right to the inside.
[crowd cheers]
And he has taken over the top spot.
[announcer] What a Cadet's Final
and what a victory for Daniel Wheldon.
Dan was unbeaten for two years.
[announcer] I think it's gonna be Wheldon that takes it.
[reporter] He's quite good, isn't he?
I've had lots of seconds against him.
[young Dan] Just got to not make silly moves,
get as many points as possible,
and go for it in the final.
[Clive] He won the British championship four times.
[announcer] And the British champion, Daniel Wheldon.
- [announcer] Sebastian Wheldon. - [crowd cheers]
Oliver Wheldon.
[Clive] Dan progressed from karting...
[announcer] Out in front, it's number one,
Daniel Wheldon!
I always thought, out of the drivers, that
I was one of the strongest.
And that is what I'm out to prove.
Formula 1 is expensive.
I couldn't afford it.
So Dan wanted to get to IndyCar.
It was the hardest day of my life
seeing him going out of Emberton
with his helmets and his bags
to race in America.
Look, I've done my job.
My job was to get him there.
[music fades]
[Susie] Listen, I know it's a long day,
but we have to get ready for tomorrow.
I'm gonna go check on Sebastian.
[gentle music playing]
[munching softly]
Get your suit and stuff and put it in the laundry room.
All right. And your bag. Empty your bag.
You guys have a big day in front of you tomorrow.
[music darkens]
[man] Racing is the type of sport that,
if you get into it,
it gets in your blood.
It's what you wanna do.
[announcer 1] Andretti.
An Italian name, but an American legend.
[Michael] It started with my father.
[announcer 2] Mario Andretti.
[announcer 3] The greatest race car driver
in the history of the sport.
And then I came along,
made it to the big time at IndyCar.
[announcer 4] He is driving finer
than any other driver in the series.
Michael Andretti, with an incredible
record-breaking year, wins the title.
Big party tonight. Big party tonight.
In 2002, I became a team owner.
We were looking for a good young rookie
that we felt like we could bring up.
[peaceful music playing]
[birds twittering]
[man] I'll just clean up a little bit on the side.
[Clive] You want your son to be the champion.
And to get the attention of Michael Andretti
would be a big deal.
[clippers buzzing]
[reporter] Breaking news this weekend.
This young man, Dan Wheldon. You're gonna get to drive.
How excited are you with this opportunity?
I'm dying to get in the car right now.
I just can't wait to go racing. It's gonna be fantastic.
Dan drove the hell out of that car.
He had instinct, he had quick hands.
[engines revving]
And we thought he'd be perfect
for a rookie that we wanna bring in.
And so we sign a contract.
[man] Well, good morning, everybody.
We are at the Dan Wheldon monument here in St. Petersburg.
As you all know, Andretti Autosports
is very involved in the development world,
and today they're gonna expand that development series.
Michael, who are your new drivers in this team?
Well, we got a couple young hot shoes
that we've been watching since they've been this tall,
and now they're about this tall.
You might know their last name and their father.
I'm gonna bring up Sebastian and Oliver Wheldon.
[crowd applauding and cheering]
These kids are the real deal, I can tell you.
I mean, uh, I've been watching a lot
of what they've been doing in go-karts.
Everywhere they go they're running up front.
We're here to get them through the road to Indy,
and hopefully to IndyCars one day,
so that's the plan.
[shutters clicking]
[man] What's your favorite race you've won?
Last weekend, I won by ten seconds.
[man] And, Oliver, how about you?
Probably the next race I'm gonna win.
[laughter]
I like to be at the front. I'm not the kinda guy
that likes to sit around in fifth or sixth, so...
Thanks for your time. Good luck today.
[reporter 1] How exciting was today for you guys?
It's very exciting especially because my dad
was on Andretti and it was his first team.
And it's my first team that I was pretty much ever on.
[reporter 2] This is what you wanna do?
[boys] Yes.
[reporter 2] Was it hard for you
because of everything
for them to go into racing?
- Um... - As opposed to baseball?
Yeah, you know, it's not really something that I...
- [reporter 3] Swimming? - Yeah. [chuckles]
You know, obviously, that kind of...
thought is there, for sure,
um, but it's not something that is... is...
that I dwell on or I think about a lot.
[reporters speaking faintly]
[inaudible]
[peaceful music playing]
[sobbing softly]
[sniffling]
[sighs, sniffles]
[exhales sharply]
You feel lost, you feel abandoned,
you feel scared, alone,
and then you have these two little faces,
you know, that are, like, looking at you.
And...
Yeah.
You just... you know that you have to
keep going and figure it out.
Racing has taken from me
the most important thing in my entire life.
But it's also given me so much.
I'm sure a lot of people that don't understand the sport,
it's like, "Wait a second.
Your husband passed away in a motor racing accident,
and now you're letting your kids drive.
How do you reconcile that?"
But that's my job,
to help them pursue whatever it is
that makes them happy or fulfills them.
I'm helping them to achieve their dreams,
just like Dan did.
Signing on with Michael Andretti
is an amazing opportunity,
but I always tell them,
"You still have to earn your stripes.
You didn't earn that name
on the back of your suit.
You have to prove that you're good enough
to be there."
[zips duffel bag]
[Michael] From a team standpoint,
it's very important not to only look at the talent,
but you also gotta look at the personalities.
And so we were very careful when we picked our guys.
[cell phone ringing]
Fuck! Sorry.
See, I thought I turned it off.
That's my wife.
- [mouthing] - Michael Andretti calls me
and says, "I bought a team.
Dario's gonna be one of my drivers
and I want to hire you."
And I'm like, "That's awesome."
I'm gonna be teammates with my best friend.
How much better can it get?
I see Michael,
he says, "We hired another driver."
I said, "That's great. So who did you guys hire?"
[Dan] I'm gonna introduce you to big-nose Tony Kanaan.
[affects Brazilian accent] Hi, I am Tony Kanaan
from Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
"Really, man?
Gonna have to put up with that guy?"
[horn beeps]
The cockiest person I've ever met.
Pretty quickly, Dan made his presence felt.
This is gonna be a little interesting, guys.
So, uh, you gotta bear with me.
Bear with me, I'm gonna make some introductions.
He's talking to the boss right now, so...
- This is the famous... - I'm beautiful.
The famous piece.
And look at that. I dropped the microphone.
This is the boss,
so obviously we've got to be nice to him.
- Mr. Andretti. - Better be nice.
Michael said, "I need somebody to come here right now
and work with Dan, a bit of a mentor-type role."
[Dan] This is the new teammate, Mr. Bryan Herta.
Famous in California for his skate shoes and baggy pants.
[Bryan] And he told me my belt was too smart for my shoes.
[chuckles] And I thought,
"That's an odd thing to say to somebody you just met."
He was a kid that wanted to learn.
Dan asked many questions.
"How does this work? What does that do?"
"Are we there yet? Are we there yet?"
And answered few.
[chuckles] Yeah, typical Dan.
I felt bad for Susie. [laughs]
[Michael] Susie worked for Dan's sponsor, Jim Beam,
and she ended up taking care of Dan.
[chuckles]
[Dario] There was Dan doing what Dan did
and there was Susie making sure
he didn't do anything he shouldn't do,
or trying to.
Let's interview Susie.
Put the mic on Susie.
- Ask me anything. - Speak to the camera.
What's Dan Wheldon like to work with?
We could have a one-on-one later,
and I'll really tell you.
I didn't know what I was doing. If I'm honest.
[gentle music playing]
I ended up getting this job in marketing.
They gave me this... Jim Beam account.
And I was coming into the sport really not knowing
much about the IndyCar side of things,
but, you know, Dan was a rookie, too.
We were both navigating through those waters
a little bit at the same time.
I've gotta buy my own dinner tonight,
which is a bit disappointing, but...
I'm working on Susie Behm to take us out.
[Susie] Because I worked with him,
you just pick up on the way that somebody is
and what they expect.
Everything had to be in its place.
Dan was borderline OCD.
I have the hangers all going the same way.
The pants are all kinda hanging without creases.
I even have the shoes in their original boxes.
He had a certain method for everything.
He'd always have a pair of new boots for race day,
and I would always have to de-lace them
and make sure that they were exactly the same length
of shoelace at the very top,
and then re-lace them.
[Dario] With a race, there's so many things
that aren't in your control,
you try and control as much as you can.
[engines revving]
[Tony] We have to do a track map to tell how the car behaves.
Me and Dario, we put a couple notes here.
A couple arrows, some little chicken scratch things.
[Susie] I was trying to find the notes.
Like... Like more engineering notes.
[Bryan] His track maps were just...
filled with words.
Gosh. Like, this is the kind of stuff he'd write.
[dramatic music playing]
You're making me look bad.
[Susie] "The throttle, not the throttle pedal itself.
Does not have a progressive feel to it.
It's more like an on/off switch.
If I have my foot on the throttle 15%,
there's not a 15% response from the engine,
there's only 5%.
If I have 65 throttle input,
there is a 95 response from the engine."
Dan had a great rookie year.
[announcer 1] Dan Wheldon, top 10.
[Michael] And in 2004...
[announcer 2] Dan Wheldon
has notched his first victory.
[Michael] ...he won in Motegi.
He was like, "Oh."
He's got potential.
A lot of potential.
But he did have a massively selfish side.
[helicopter whirring]
[announcer] Ten laps to go in Phoenix.
Dario Franchitti in second place.
[Dario] At Phoenix,
I was racing with Sam Hornish for the win,
and Dan was a lap down.
And he got between Sam and I.
[announcer] Dan Wheldon is a lap behind.
I don't understand what he's doing.
I mean, he needs to let Dario go by.
He stayed there and held me up.
And Dario did not like that.
One of my teammates get in the way.
We had to do a lot of work in that last race there.
[announcer] Dario Franchitti finishes fourth.
[Dario] I was upset after the race.
And rather than go to see the bosses or any of that stuff,
Tony, Bryan, myself and Dan
went and sat down in a hotel room
and had a little discussion.
I remember forcefully telling him,
"This is how we're gonna go racing on this team
and here's why,
and you are not providing
the same level of respect to us
that we are to you."
That actually caught him by surprise.
You know when you go, "Wow, I did not expect that."
I saw him...
sort of...
lost for words.
[camera shutters clicking]
[somber music playing]
[Tony] In St. Pete's, it was like,
"Why don't you get on with the program here
and we'll be stronger together?"
[reporter] Dan?
[Dan] I'm really excited.
And I'm going to try not to hold up my teammates
this weekend, uh, but, uh...
No, I'm really looking forward to it,
and I'm sure you guys will have a good time.
[engines revving]
[announcer 1] The green flag is out
and we are off and racing.
Bryan Herta just came through
the front straight flying.
This is his tenth IndyCar Series race
that he has led in his career.
We go onboard with Dario Franchitti.
Here he goes, looking inside.
And he's got it.
[announcer 2] Dario is masterful.
[announcer 1] Tony Kanaan takes a peek...
[tires squealing]
Darren Manning goes into the tire wall!
[announcer 2] Another fastest lap for Dan Wheldon.
He's been faultless these last five laps.
[announcer 1] The sun has shined
on Andretti Green Racing here today.
The fastest cars in the field, Tony Kanaan, Dario Franchitti,
Bryan Herta, and Dan Wheldon.
Dan Wheldon picks up the victory,
followed closely by Tony Kanaan.
Dario Franchitti and Bryan Herta in third and fourth.
We finished one, two, three, four.
I don't know if it's ever been done.
[cheering]
[announcer 1] Maybe the first time
four teammates finished one through four
in a major event.
[shouting happily]
[announcer 1] Hell yeah!
[Michael] This is a dream.
I'm so proud of this team.
[cheering]
[Tony] I think we both had to say,
"I gotta work with you,
so I might as well try to get along with you."
[Tony] And we started to hang, and I'm like,
"He's still cocky, but I kinda like him."
[Bryan] It was this great moment for the team,
but I was mostly disappointed.
I finished fourth.
I was a little jealous of Dan.
And then my teammates pulled me up on the podium with them.
[cheering]
The resentment melted away right in that moment.
[triumphant music playing]
It just happened we really liked each other.
[cheering]
[music fades]
[Susie whispers] Time to wake up, sweetie.
[Oliver] I have school?
[Susie] No, it's race week.
[both laughing]
[Susie] I can't hold you anymore.
You're too big for me now. [laughs]
[gentle music playing]
[announcer] Everybody in motorsports
has probably already heard about
Oliver and Sebastian Wheldon both getting
the development contract with Andretti Autosport.
Exciting news for them, I'm sure.
Big future in auto racing for both of them.
[woman] I knew I wanted an IndyCar tattoo.
And it was like, who am I gonna get?
And it was Dan.
[Susie] Wow.
I'm always so touched.
I've seen a few tattoos,
but this, by far, is one of the best.
[gentle music playing]
[go-kart engines revving]
[revving]
[man] Okay, guys.
Time to think a little bit more, okay?
On the go-kart,
this is the key that mean win or lose the race.
You have to control the speed on the entry of the turn.
We have to make sure we go earlier on gas,
not overshoot the entry of the turn.
Everybody's clear about turning point over there?
[boys] Yeah.
[Leo] We got a plan?
[both] Yes.
[Leo] We have to go suit up.
[bright string music playing]
[man over PA] Testing, testing, one, two, three. Testing.
[engines revving]
Go on, go on, go on.
[announcer] Oliver Wheldon dives to the inside.
He's got the lead now.
Come on. Defense kick. Okay. Go, go.
No! What are you doing? What are you doing?
[announcer] Wheldon's driving with his rearview mirrors.
He keeps looking over his shoulder
back at Johnson to see where he is.
Johnson gets up alongside him on the short chute ,
he's gonna beat him.
Wheldon kept looking back.
I think that cost him the position, honestly.
Oh, shit.
[Leo] The game changed right now, okay?
We don't expect an easy race anymore, you know?
In your entire life, we win a lot.
You have to be ready to fight.
[engines revving]
[dramatic music playing]
[tires squealing]
[announcer] Sebastian Wheldon able to move up
six spots to fifth.
Now into fourth.
[go-karts crashing]
Oh, we got a huge schlimazel in the Monza.
Big schlimazel involving probably ten karts at least.
Cooper Beasley, Sebastian Wheldon,
Cameron Weinberg and Aidan Lourenco
all out of this session.
And your feature winner in RPG X30 Pro Junior,
number 705, Ayden Ingratta.
[crowd cheers]
[distant engines revving]
[Leo] We are a disaster.
I'm not talking about the boys.
I'm talking about the team.
Our position, you and me, we planning all this.
So we put the kids in this situation.
So, we put the kids in a better condition
or equal condition or worse condition.
[Susie] Like, this and everything that I'm doing
is to put them in a position to perform at their best
and have the best training and experience and all of that.
[Leo] And I'm so happy about that.
The only thing is we're talking about this race.
We, adult, you and me, maybe me
because I have to be more serious with you--
Just say it. Just say, "Listen, they can't go on vacation,
plan that another time."
"I have to change the flight,
- talk with my sister..." - I wish you wouldn't--
"I have to do this. I have to do that."
What else am I doing?
You need to commit,
and the boys have to be close to the track.
[car engines revving]
You understand what I'm trying to say?
[Susie] Yes. I'm never gonna have a vacation.
I'm uprooting my whole life.
- ["Set Him Free" playing] - ♪ Eenie meenie ♪
- ♪ Miney mo ♪ - [kids chattering]
♪ If he hollers ♪
♪ Let him go-o-o ♪
♪ Set him free, yeah... ♪
Let's go eat some poisonous blueberries.
[overlapping chatter]
Look, they're pomegranates.
[boy] Don't eat it!
[chattering]
♪ I found a little baby bird one day ♪
♪ And his luck was almost gone ♪
♪ Tenderly, I picked him up-- ♪
- [song stops] - Shh! Shh.
[distant engines revving]
- Oh, there they are. - [kids yelling]
Wa-- Wave to them.
[song resumes]
[engines revving loudly]
[Oliver] Hi!
[song fades out]
[crowd cheering]
[solemn music playing]
The Indy 500 is the biggest single
sporting event in the world.
It's one the big crown jewels of auto racing.
It changes your life when you win the race.
I've led a lot of those laps all the way up until the end,
but not that 200th.
[Clive] Even as a young racer,
Dan always wanted to win the Indy 500.
That was his aim.
[Dan] There's 500,000 people.
If you win that, no one can ever take that away from you.
It's been a dream of mine.
It's something that I've wanted to be part of
and wanted to win.
We're entering the speedway now.
You know like in the Rocky movie
he has that music to get him going?
In the speedway you don't need that,
'cause whenever you're here, it kind of gets you going.
[engines revving]
[announcer] Dan Wheldon loves to go clothes shopping,
and right now he's speed shopping
'cause he doesn't have enough
to get that car in the front row,
and possibly the front three rows.
Right now he is 12th overall.
[Michael] In the 2005 Indy 500,
Dan qualified 16th,
and his teammates were way far up the grid.
[Dan] I'm obviously very disappointed.
We started the month of May very strong
and slowly worked our way slower and slower.
And there's no-- there's no good reason for it,
and, uh, that's what we've got to look into
and try and find out why.
Indy's too special to me to sit on a time like that.
[announcer] You are looking live at the home
of the greatest spectacle in racing,
the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
And now let's meet the drivers.
I remember he was just spitting mad.
Like, really, really pissed off.
[cheering]
He just... [imitates explosion]
[Michael] He was really disappointed
in the speed of his car.
But I said, "Well, how does the car feel?"
Does it feel good when you're behind other cars?
"Yeah, it feels great."
I'm like, "Don't worry then.
You're gonna be okay."
[engines roaring]
[announcer] It's a spectacle
500 miles in the making.
The 89th Indy 500 is on.
Maybe the hottest driver on the IndyCar circuit right now.
This is Dan Wheldon.
This guy lives the rock star life,
but he is smooth.
Dan's particular forte was superspeedway racing.
And that's not more true on any oval than it is
at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
On paper, it's four corners,
but in reality, in a car going 230 miles an hour,
it's the greatest challenge you'll ever face.
[announcer] Sparks coming off the back of those cars.
And attention to detail is necessary.
And that was right in Dan's wheelhouse.
[announcer] This guy has never seen a slot
too small to pass in.
Dan's style as a driver was precision.
Just that level of miniscule inputs in the steering.
That was where he made the difference.
[announcer] Wheldon started 16th.
Up to fifth place.
I think Dan became good because of the questions.
Now he's taking all of what he learned.
[man] Just be ready.
[Michael] If you watch his hands
on the in-car camera,
he was perfect the whole way.
- [man] Keep that speed up there. - He was relentless.
[announcer] Danica Patrick leads
the Indianapolis 500, but for how long?
Wheldon is coming and coming fast.
[Dan] I'm gonna go for the lead.
- [man] Copy that. - [announcer] There he goes.
[man] Inside, inside. Clear.
And I thought, "Wow, we can win this."
[announcer] The leader now is Dan Wheldon.
Not one person is sitting here
at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
This young man from Emberton, England
started 16th, Scott, 16th.
The checkered flag is out
and the pubs are open in the UK.
Dan Wheldon has just won the Indianapolis 500!
[man over radio] That's my boy!
[cheering]
[announcer] And the celebration has begun.
[Michael] It was like, wow.
I never won it as a driver,
so to win it as a team owner was--
was a great moment.
[announcer] And Michael riding in the car to Victory Lane
with Dan Wheldon.
[Dan]
Here's Clive giving his son a hug.
I cried my eyes out, yeah.
[chuckles]
You got a little emotional in the car.
The tears are still flowing.
Yeah. This has been a dream come true for me. I...
I've loved the Indianapolis 500
ever since I've been a young kid.
[interviewer] There you go, my friend.
[crowd cheers]
[Susie] Amidst all that commotion,
I was right outside that metal fencing.
And he just looked over and we locked eyes,
and he just immediately came over and gave me this huge hug.
[crowd cheering]
You could see the genuine happiness
of what it meant for him to win that race.
[man speaks over PA indistinctly]
[Susie] And he wanted to share it with everybody.
[upbeat rock music playing]
[Dan] I've got a ton of thank yous.
The Jim Beam guys, thanks for my hangover.
- It's, uh... - [audience laughs]
It's absolutely killing me.
I'm gonna blame you, Kanaan,
because you're always part of that.
2005, he kind of won it all.
[announcer] The Indy 500 champ is back home in Victory Lane.
[Dan] After winning the Indianapolis 500,
you somewhat feel greedy.
[announcer] Dan Wheldon out in front.
He's gonna bring this thing home.
And the way I approached that because of that feeling
was to try and just go out and win every race.
[announcer] It's Wheldon on the inside.
Castroneves on the outside.
Somebody wake the Queen 'cause Dan Wheldon
just walked away with the checkered flag!
Your winner, Dan Wheldon.
Making a mess of the front straightaway
here in Homestead, Miami.
Dan Wheldon, once again in Japan.
Thirteenth win for AGR.
It was the Dream Team era.
[announcer] Dario Franchitti!
Bryan Herta!
[Michael] Dan was starting to feel like
he was really a member of our family.
[announcer] Dan Wheldon clinches the championship.
He is saluting the fans.
And at the other end,
we got Tony Kanaan doing donuts.
[cheering]
He's still our little brother.
[Tony] It's hard to describe how cool that was.
Four professional race car drivers.
They're best friends at the same team.
I will never forget, Michael Andretti said to us,
"You probably don't realize how special this is."
[sea birds calling]
Oh, my gosh, you guys.
I thought this was gonna be our forever home.
[Sebastian] I mean, you could've just told Leo no.
- Yeah, but-- - Why didn't you say that?
What if it's important for your guys' journey,
your next step to become drivers?
[Sebastian] It is.
But all my friends live in Miami.
[Oliver] We get to be closer to the track
and we get to drive more.
[Susie] Am I the only one that's stressed out?
We've been here a long time.
It's the longest place I've ever lived
in my entire life.
Daddy really loved St. Pete, and then I moved
when I started working for him at the end of 2005.
Were you like his butler?
No.
At the end of '05,
Dan's first contract was coming to an end.
[Susie] Dan did not back down from change,
and he realized that he would always be considered
the baby of the team.
[gentle music playing]
[man] We're here today to talk about
our 2006 plans.
It's a very exciting day for our team.
I couldn't be happier to be a part of announcing
we're going to have Dan Wheldon driving for us.
- [applause] - [Dan] It's gonna be different,
but there's no doubt in my mind
that this team's capable of
being able to give me that same amount of success.
It was a big decision.
I think it surprised everybody.
That sucked,
because we'd had such a good run together
and we were-- we were still having fun.
All the bands and stuff, they get to the point
where they hate each other.
We were still having fun.
I was with him the entire time. We were really close.
And not once he told me.
[somber music playing]
And I kinda felt like,
"Man I thought we were closer than that."
He never gave us any indication he was gonna leave,
and then he basically told us right before he announced it,
and that one hurt a little bit, for sure.
The bridge was burned when he did that.
[Chip] When Dan became available to us,
it surprised me.
But one thing about Dan,
once his mind's made up, his mind's made up.
[crowd cheering]
What he brought to the team was a spark
that we sorely needed at the time.
I think that took Scott Dixon by surprise.
Hey, everyone. I'm Lauren Bohlander.
I'm Scott Dixon.
- Oh, I'm not Scott Dixon? - No.
Sorry. I'm Dan Wheldon.
[dramatic music playing]
I was just hoping I could keep my job.
And Dan was coming over
with a extreme head of steam and popularity.
He was gonna turn things around.
- This is the whole store? - Mm-hmm.
Can we shut the store, please? Can we shut the store down?
[woman speaks indistinctly on radio]
[laughter]
[Scott] He had this immense confidence on ovals
that shocked you.
He would roll out the pits,
you'd watch the leaderboards and, bam,
he'd go straight to the top.
When I started looking at what he does,
I was like, "Man, this guy does something
totally different to what I do."
[gulls calling]
[Clive] We went to see Dan.
And I just remember looking across the room,
and I saw Susie stroking Dan's head.
And I thought,
"Susie, that wasn't in your contract, was it?"
[chuckles]
[peaceful music playing]
[Susie] I just loved making things happen.
Is that better?
- Is the helmet okay? - Yeah.
[Susie] So that he could focus on what he needed to do.
[man on radio] White flag. White flag.
[man speaking indistinctly]
Inside. Inside. Inside.
Still there.
Still inside.
Still inside. Come on, buddy. Come on, buddy!
[announcer] Wheldon beats Castroneves!
His tenth career win,
second straight here at Homestead.
[man] Nice job!
[Dan] Real proud to be part of
Target Chip Ganassi Racing.
That guy's a race driver, isn't he?
Holy moly.
[Susie] And we were just spending time together
a lot more even outside of work.
There was definitely a shift,
and feelings started to change.
You know, we did cross the line. [chuckles]
It was scary because I really loved my job.
So, when you change that, there's always a risk
that it's not gonna be the same.
[Oliver] It's getting dark.
[Sebastian] Where'd the moon go?
[Oliver] It died.
[Sebastian] Sank into the ocean.
[Oliver] Passed away.
[Susie] We've blurred the boundaries now.
[engines roaring]
[crowd cheering]
[announcer] Back here at Michigan,
right now Dan Wheldon and Dario Franchitti
trying to decide who's going to lead.
And speeds are already 217, 218 plus.
[Dario] I came from the back,
and Dan and I were wheel to wheel.
[announcer] Franchitti retaking the lead
at the line, but this isn't over yet.
We're gonna go three wide into one.
And he was bloody good on those high speed superspeedways
with a very close race.
And I think he misjudged and caught my left rear.
[announcer] Oh, look out! Franchitti's upside down.
Wheldon is involved.
Dixon is involved.
[ominous music playing]
[Susie] I'd seen him wreck before.
But it definitely felt different.
[tires screeching]
[crowd gasps]
[Susie] This is the person that I'm falling in love with
and I want to have a future with.
That could completely be gone.
I'm dying inside.
[Chip] Dan, do you copy?
He'd said something to me after.
"You know, it's not always great to date a driver,
and I want to make sure that you're gonna be okay with it."
It's gonna sound really selfish on his part,
but I always knew that it was
motor racing and then... me.
[solemn music playing]
[go-kart engines revving]
[announcer] Oh, massive impact out of turn number 11.
Big trouble for Sebastian Wheldon.
Right there in the middle of the track,
the karts were piled up on top of each other.
[engine revving]
- [tires screech] - [go-kart thunks]
[Sebastian] Help me!
Somebody!
Help!
[go-kart crunching]
- Help me. No, please-- - You can't. You can't.
- [Sebastian] Can I get on? - No.
[Sebastian scoffs]
[Sebastian whimpers]
[Susie] Their safety is a big part of what I think about.
And as they get into it deeper and deeper,
the stakes get a lot higher,
and this could all go really wrong.
[siren wailing]
I could have waited until they're older.
But it's too late. You can't.
So when do they usually-- for these drivers,
when do they move up to kind of Indy 500 and Formula?
After 16, 17 years?
Eighteen? What's the cutoff?
No. No, they, um...
So in Junior Class, they'll start testing,
like, a Formula car when they're 14.
[Sven] I'm nervous when I think about Dan,
what happened to him.
So, you always hope and pray,
that will never happen to the boys.
It's kind of sad to even go back to that moment,
but I remember Susan and Dan,
they sang "Happy Birthday" for me at 9:00 in the morning.
And I remember telling Dan...
[sniffles]
[somber music playing]
[softly] It's okay.
It's okay.
I know.
[Susie] The dangers of the sport,
it's the big elephant in the room.
Dan and I never spoke about it.
Hi.
My name is Susie Behm,
soon to be Susie Wheldon.
I have never spoken about it with other wives either.
It's not often I cry, but I really wanted to say to you,
that it makes me so proud and happy to call you my wife.
You make me so very happy,
and I hope I do the same for you.
So, thank you.
[Susie] It's just something you do not talk about.
[camera shutter clicking]
And, of course,
the big joke in racing is, like,
once you get married, you, like, slow down
and you're not as good.
So, I'm like, "Oh, my, God." [chuckles]
[reporter] IRL CEO Tony George
and Champ Car World Series co-owner
Kevin Kalkhoven
shook hands to unify the Indy Racing League.
[Bryan] The IRL was formed
as an oval-only championship.
But as time went on,
the series started to evolve,
and it started moving towards
more road courses
and street courses.
And as they added more of those,
they became more important to the overall championship.
[Scott] On ovals, he was very good
at analyzing and understanding,
and his OCD kicked into high gear.
He knew what he needed to do. But with road courses,
there's a lot more variables, different things going on.
The style of driving that would then come in,
it didn't suit him.
[tires squealing]
It's a case of just getting the car
to do what you want it to do on the road courses,
and I haven't been able to achieve that.
[announcer] Look out. Under heavy braking,
somebody's gotta go straight.
A right rear failure on Dan Wheldon's car.
At the same time, Scott is absolutely smashing it.
He's winning everything.
[Chip] He won the Indianapolis 500
and he won the championship.
And some of that was really due
to what he'd learned from Dan
the previous years of them being teammates.
He opened the gate to a totally different dimension for me.
[Dario] Dan's driving was so much about confidence.
And, of course, the more people talked about it,
the more it became mental.
[Dan] It's a sport I'm very passionate about.
It's all I've grown up knowing.
I'd like to be remembered as a winner,
and I want to be considered one of the best drivers of all time.
It's what makes me tick.
My goals are to win, and if I'm not achieving them,
I'm not a happy person and I don't feel successful.
So, winning's all that matters.
It's all that counts.
[Chip] We put some pressure on to make some changes
in the way he did things,
and he wasn't real accepting of that,
and we started to drift apart.
[solemn music playing]
My contract is up.
I've been on Andretti forever.
Chip calls me, and he offers me Dan's spot.
I'm very divided.
What am I gonna tell Dan? But then you go, "Well,
he didn't tell me when he left Andretti."
[announcer] Dan Wheldon in the ten.
[Tony] We go to Kentucky
and we're racing really hard together,
and he did something that we do to other people,
but we never did to each other, ever.
[announcer] Wheldon takes the air off of Tony.
That's a bit of a dirty play, I'll tell you that.
That's not something that you generally see between people
that know each other well and used to be teammates.
[Tony] After the race,
I go, "What was that?"
And he just told me, "Go f..."
and slammed the door on me.
We didn't speak for two years.
I decided at the last minute to stay with Andretti.
Chip had to go back to his fallback which was re-sign Dan.
[Chip] When it came down to it, we said,
"Dan, we'd like to have you. We wanna offer this seat."
- He said-- -"Oh, hey, Chip.
You got the wrong number. Are you trying to reach Tony?
I'm the second choice now?
Then I've already moved on.
I'm going to find somebody else.
Sorry."
[chuckles]
He was a risk-taker, and sometimes it paid off
and sometimes it didn't.
I'm the opposite. I'm always second-guessing
and like, "Oh, my God, is this right?
How is this gonna be two years from now, ten years?"
I think that's one of the things I fell in love with.
[Chip] When Dan left the team,
we offered the drive to Dario Franchitti.
And I took over the 10 car.
I've made worse decisions. [chuckles]
[crowd cheering]
[announcer] Dario will win his second Indianapolis 500
in the bright red Target car, number 10.
That... stung a little bit.
[announcer 1] Tough one for Oliver Wheldon.
It seemed like he was gonna be in a potential fight.
[announcer 2] Wheldon dropping all the way down to 10.
He qualified third, had a bad start,
lost a handful of spots.
Clearly not where he was looking to be
or was expected to be.
[somber music playing]
Do you want me to get you some lunch?
What would you like?
- It's okay. - Are you sure?
Yes, I'm sure.
How did the engine feel? Like you had power?
Or was it just the chassis?
[Oliver speaks indistinctly]
Huh?
[indistinct chatter]
[child whimpers]
[Susie] One day, these boys are gonna say to me,
"I wish our Dad was here and not you.
My mom doesn't know anything,
and if my dad was here it'd be so much better."
[announcer 1] Sebastian Wheldon,
only able move up six spots to 23rd.
[engines revving]
Your times are not bad towards the end.
- I was looking at them. - [clattering]
Are you okay?
Huh? No?
You don't need to be throwing my phone around.
It's just like the dagger to the heart.
But that's their own grief that they're gonna have to learn
to process and navigate and understand.
[Leo] What I can say?
You, Sebastian. Come on, buddy.
You're not thinking.
You're just driving.
You know Dallara?
Why he's sponsoring you? No, you don't know.
We are a disaster.
So, what direction we wanna go?
If you wanna go forward, be professional,
or just hanging around with other guys?
[somber music continues]
I'm a little bit worried because we're losing confidence.
I don't know-- I want to find why.
When you really kind of stop and think about it,
it's like, you know, all these kids are here with their dads.
You know? And it's like, that has to be obvious,
and more obvious to them as they're getting older.
I understand a little bit more, yeah, yeah.
They're trying to process that a little bit.
[Scott] Dan had been humbled through that couple of years.
His move to National Guard Panther Racing, it was iffy.
That team had had its struggles.
But how you deal with those moments
is what shapes you as a person.
Happy Father's Day to you.
You're a new dad. Go home and celebrate.
I hope you'll be interviewing my son in about 18 years.
[Scott] It's how we all mature, right?
And you could definitely see that with Dan.
Married, young family,
but still bigger than life.
Sebastian, here we go. One, two, three, go!
[peaceful music playing]
[Susie] When the boys came along,
you could see the joy and the pride in his eyes.
- Se-bas! - Se-bas!
[laughing]
[Dario] For someone that was so controlled
and buttoned-up in all aspects of life...
[Susie] Oh, is Daddy having an aneurysm?
...the sharp edges that he had, they disappeared.
[laughter]
[Susie] Dan changed.
I felt like he could relax sometimes.
He was just living in the moment
and really enjoying his family.
Is that your favorite toy?
[babbling happily]
[Susie] How do you get inside?
[mewling]
[Susie] This is Seabiscuit and Daddy in go-kart training.
It put things in perspective.
Go, go, go!
[Susie cheers, laughs]
[Dan] Save that for the racetrack.
[Susie] I remember he wrote me a card.
It was like, "Listen, I've never put anything
before racing until now.
We can walk away and do whatever.
I just want you to be happy.
You're more important to me."
I knew how big that was for him to say that.
[Tony] One day in an autograph session, I'm signing...
I look up and see a huge set of teeth.
Dan came and hugged me from behind
and gave me an arm lock, like, whoa.
And that was it. We started talking again.
And we picked up from where we left off.
[inaudible]
He was a content, complete person,
really for the first time since I knew him.
[Leo] You go too fast into the turn,
and your exit is slow compared with him, okay?
He's rolling more speed.
Okay. I can fix that.
- [Leo] You're better here. - [Sebastian] In that turn?
[Leo] Mm-hmm. You have to fix a little,
not that much.
"Dear Mom, I have probably blown any chance I had
at racing because my attitude is very bad and disrespectful.
I miss my dad.
Just watching all the other dads
walking their kids to the grid and it hurts badly.
I would love it if I can change the day with my actions,
if that's okay with you.
Love you."
It's okay to feel those things.
[Sebastian] I want to race.
I want to be better than my dad.
[Susie] I'm not talking about that, sweetheart.
I was just talking about the things
that you were saying about Daddy.
You never said that to me before.
You don't think I think about it and miss him
being there with you and Oliver?
He should be there.
[solemn music playing]
[faint indistinct chatter]
[ping-pong ball clattering]
[Sebastian] Oh... Five-five.
Tony was there was Dan was trying to figure this whole--
Trying to figure himself out.
Oh, yeah.
So, you've seen it all. [laughs]
- [Tony] You were there too. - [Susie] I know.
But it-- you know.
[Oliver] Oh.
[Tony] Do you guys know why it's good to play ping pong?
The quicker you are reflex,
the quicker you're gonna be as a race car driver,
so let's see how good you are. Ready?
[peaceful music playing]
[sighs]
Do you think you lost the race already?
- Yeah. - [Tony] No.
Next!
- Look at your mom. - [Susie] I know. I'm actually--
- For somebody that didn't play. - [Susie laughs]
I'm good at something too.
All their talents don't come only from Dan.
Come on.
- Yeah. Come on. - [laughs]
Come on.
- [straining] - Is that all you got?
I'm only ten!
You-- you shouldn't be talking.
I'm only 46.
Oh, both hands!
Okay.
Come on, the two of you together.
Let's go.
Oh, you were close.
Look, look, look.
[laughter]
[boys laughing]
[Michael] Now, you guys understand what pressure is?
- [Sebastian] Yes. - [Oliver] Tire pressures?
Not tire pressures. [laughs]
Yeah, they know tire pressures.
- Tire pressures. - Woo-hoo!
[Susie] A different kind of pressure.
[Michael] A different kind of pressure, like...
- Like on the... - It's more pressure like
you guys being Dan's son,
a lot of people are gonna be watching you
and eyes are gonna be on you.
I'm sure you guys are gonna feel
a little different than other drivers,
'cause I know I did when I was driving growing up.
A lot of people expected you to win, which is unfair,
because not everybody can win every race.
So, you guys gotta know that when you go out there and do it,
don't worry about what everybody else thinks.
'Cause if you start worrying about what they think,
then it gets your head all messed up.
Do you guys feel like people expect a lot more out of you?
- I don't. - Yeah.
[Michael] You don't? That's good.
Just a little. It's not even--
[Michael] There's nothing wrong with feeling it.
[somber music playing]
[announcer 1] Dan Wheldon running back in 15th position.
Tough weekend for Dan.
[announcer 2] He's just been struggling
to get a handle on things.
[Michael] He loses his ride at Panther.
Dan was a bit on desperate times, for sure.
[birds calling]
[Dario] Dan's out of a ride. I'm like, what?
You've got one of the most talented drivers
of a generation,
and he's out of a ride.
How is this possible
that Dan Wheldon is not gonna drive?
[Scott] It's a pretty fickle business,
so it didn't surprise me that options were changing for Dan.
[Bryan] Later in my career, I started a part-time team.
So, I reached out and said, "Hey, I don't know
if this is gonna be of interest,
but we're gonna run a car at the Indy 500.
Would you consider driving for us?"
We'd only entered one IndyCar race ever.
We were the slowest car in the field.
We crashed in the race.
[announcer] Right in the middle of a turn,
goes off and ends up hitting the wall.
[sighs] I remember thinking,
"Is it the right thing for Dan?"
Dan, you know if you show up in Indianapolis,
you've got a chance at winning.
Could Bryan and his team perform to that level?
He felt a loyalty with Bryan,
and quite honestly,
what did he have to lose at that point?
Dan was like, "Yeah, let's do it."
[Bryan] We'd formed a technical alliance with Sam Schmidt.
We rented a car from them.
It wasn't their best car.
It wasn't their second-best car.
It wasn't their third-best car.
I know for sure it was one of the oldest in the field.
Let's go see Daddy's car.
But you have to be really gentle.
[Oliver] Wait, can I?
- Am I allowed? - Mm-hmm.
[somber music playing]
[Sam] One of the reasons we partnered with Bryan
is because we knew Dan would be driving,
and you either love this place or you're intimidated by it.
And I think he's one of the guys that loved it.
[Susie] Can you even reach the pedals?
I can touch the pedals when I'm right here.
[Bryan] Because of the importance
of the Indianapolis 500, we spend more time preparing
there than any other race.
We're literally there for almost a month.
Every day, even if there was nothing going on on the track,
he'd come in the garage, he'd sit in the car.
Have the guys just adjust the mirror a little bit.
Trim this a little bit here.
"Can we find a little bit of speed here?
Can we tighten up the body fit here?
Can we adjust this mirror?"
His attention to detail,
it was incredibly motivating.
We didn't wanna let him down.
Dan Wheldon, the father of two,
ready to compete at Indianapolis.
Thanks for joining us.
I'm sure my sons are gonna win
many more races than me.
So, hopefully it's Indianapolis.
[Bryan] I'm walking all over. Didn't know where you guys were.
- [Susie] Trying to find you. - Good to see you.
Here's what you might not know.
We were a small team, but your dad would show up
every day at the track.
He'd tell us we're gonna win. He really believed.
And he believed it so much,
that he made us start to believe it,
'cause we didn't really believe it at first.
And he made us believe it.
And then he made us not wanna let him down.
[man] Dan was always my favorite driver
when I was your guys' age.
Dan was a huge inspiration for me
in getting to IndyCars.
Same with me. I was able to take the 26
right when he went to Ganassi. I went into that--
into his seat. So, big shoes to fill for sure.
I think you have to be born with some sort of, um, skill
that was passed down.
And then it's what you do with it, how you mold it.
[Tony] We were happy Dan was in the race,
but he was the underdog.
I mean, such a long shot.
[Dario] Pretty early in the month,
we're all... "What's going on?
How are they looking here?"
[announcer 1] And the next out, Bryan Herta Racing.
[announcer 2 ] He's trying to wring everything he can out,
and that's what Dan Wheldon is so good at.
I just don't think we ever didn't get better.
[announcer 2] Pick up some pace, about 228.7 for Dan Wheldon.
It was like, okay.
Okay, this isn't too bad.
[solemn music playing]
[Dan] We've had a group that
has really brought the fun back to racing for me.
[reporters laughing]
From my perspective, I wanna come together
and just create a headline.
[Bryan] In the garage,
we had a little whiteboard with a to-do list on it.
There's little boxes and you'd check the box
after things were done.
The day before the race,
Dan looked at it and wrote on the bottom,
"Win the Indy 500."
And, uh...
[voice breaks] Now I'm gonna get emotional.
[soft music playing]
Oh, I kept it together for so long. [clears throat]
[Tony] Before the 500,
the four of us went to a very expensive steak house.
[Dario] There was a lot of piss taking,
but then there was a softer side.
It was more sort of, "Hey, we've been through a lot."
And Dan was definitely more thoughtful about
everything that happened.
It was a great moment where Dan acknowledged what we--
that we had helped him.
Something he had never really done in the past.
He said, "Hey, um...
thank you for everything you guys have done for me.
I mean, I've learned a lot.
I'm a better person," and, uh...
that was our last dinner.
Sorry.
I promised I was not gonna do that.
[exhales] Anyway...
I have a picture of us. We took a picture.
I still have it.
We all do. It's a bad picture
because we asked somebody to take it.
It was on the inside of a restaurant
with my phone with no flash.
[soft music continues]
[Dario] It was like, we've been through a lot together
and it's cool that we're here and we're still pals.
[sniffles]
[laughter]
- Oof! [groans] - It's gonna be crazy today.
There's gonna be a lot of people around
- and people that are gonna-- - 'Cause it's the Indy 500.
Yeah. But do you know why else?
It's been ten years since Dad died?
You were just little. You were a baby.
[soft, dramatic music playing]
[Susie] In 2011, I was at the hotel with the boys.
I was just telling Oliver that it's gonna be, like,
really busy this weekend,
and there's probably gonna be cameras and stuff,
- 'cause it's a special year. - Yeah.
[Susie] We got a police escort to the track.
- I'm good. How are you? - You are?
Yeah, not bad. Hanging in there.
- Good luck today. - Good to see you.
[Susie] I wasn't there on track with him
like I normally would be.
[Dan] Where's Susie?
[Susie] I was off with the boys somewhere.
And I really did miss having a role at the track.
Now I'm here just to watch.
[announcer] This is the 10th anniversary of Dan Wheldon.
The Wheldon legacy carries on...
Oh, hi!
[Susie] There's a lot of pomp and circumstance
with the Indy 500.
[announcer] Susie Wheldon and the boys,
Sebastian, age 12, Oliver, age 10.
They love this sport. You can see it in their eyes.
Dan died doing what he loved,
and now those boys are showing that same passion
that Dan had for racing,
and Mom can feel that.
[dramatic music playing]
- [both singing] - [rifles cocking]
[trumpet playing]
- [crowd cheering] - [fireworks booming]
[arena announcer] Ladies and gentlemen, Dan Wheldon.
[crowd cheering]
[Susie] He had something to prove.
Like, "I might not be here full-time with you guys,
but by no means am I done."
[jet engines roaring]
[crowd cheering]
[dramatic music playing]
[man on PA] Drivers, start your engines.
It's gonna get loud on the start.
I love it.
[man] And the green flag waves.
[engines roaring]
[Bryan] From the drop of the green flag,
Dan was right in the mix.
He was locked in.
[announcer] It is Dixon, Servià, Tagliani.
Wheldon has got his foot on the peg right now
trying to make up some time.
You just watch him methodically moving forward.
Which is the biggest thing you want to do in these
500-mile races.
We were racing most closely with the Ganassi cars.
[announcer] Last year's winner, the 10 car of Dario Franchitti.
Number 9 with Scott Dixon.
He is the favorite in the field today.
[Bryan] They were able to go a lap or two longer
on every tank of fuel that we could.
And so I knew that if it turned into
a fuel economy race at the end,
we weren't gonna beat them at that game.
[announcer 1] Yellow flag on the racetrack
and a two-car crash.
[Bryan] There was a caution,
and the leaders all pitted.
[announcer 1] Dario Franchitti has pulled in .
[whirring]
[announcer 2] They're gonna fill it as full as they can.
[announcer 1] They're trying to make this in this last stop.
[Bryan] And I've got a decision to make.
Either we pit with the leaders
and try and bring home a solid top-five finish,
or we risk it all...
and go for a win.
And we stayed out.
[announcer 2] Dan Wheldon's saying, "This is the 500,
I'm not gonna give it up."
[Bryan] We made our pit stop a little bit later,
where we didn't have to save fuel.
[engine revving]
And we were running hard at the end of that race,
chasing everybody down.
[engines revving]
[announcer 1] There is Scott Dixon.
He is out in front and the laps are winding down.
[Scott] I had what we thought was a winning situation,
and we calculated wrong on fuel, so then had to slow down.
[announcer 1] Guess who's now cycled through to second place?
The 10 car of Dario Franchitti.
But it's gonna be very tight on fuel.
I was in the fight.
[announcer 1] Dario's pace has really dropped off.
But we did the fuel stop too far away
to get to the finish. Was like, ugh!
[announcer 1] The last lap for Franchitti.
208. Uh-huh.
Full fuel conservation mode.
And what it's allowing is J. R. Hildebrand to close.
[announcer 2] Driving for Panther.
[Susie] The team that Dan had driven for
for the last two years, now they're leading the race
with two laps to go, and it's like...
okay. [sighs]
[announcer 1] Here comes J. R. Hildebrand.
[man on radio] Bring it home, baby. Bring it home.
Dan's pretty far back.
[Bryan] Dan got up to fourth, and I was thinking,
this would be incredible if we could finish fourth.
And then he passed again.
[announcer 1] Wheldon able to run fast
at the very end of the race.
And as we're running second...
[announcer 1] The white flag is in hand.
Through the final two corners.
Dan Wheldon's chances look like they have faded.
[Sam] He's a quarter of a lap behind.
I was like, damn, so close.
[announcer 1] How fitting for the National Guard car to win.
Listen to the crowd cheer him on.
[crowd cheering]
Half a lap to go and he's the Indy 500 champion.
And then it wasn't so close.
[announcer 1] He's gotta get around the traffic.
J. R. Hildebrand.
- No! - [announcers clamor]
He hit the wall!
[tires screeching]
Is this really even happening?
It's almost like in slow motion how everything happens.
[dramatic string music builds]
[muffled crowd reaction]
[gasping]
[string music swells]
[announcer 1] Dan Wheldon is going to win the race!
Wait a sec, did he get it?
- Yeah! - [squeals] Oh, my God!
Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
I can remember hearing him on the radio say...
[announcer 1] That is unbelievable.
Oh, my God.
Oh, my God!
[announcer 1] Wheldon wins when J. R. Hildebrand hits the wall.
[announcer 2] One of the most stunning finishes
in not just Indy 500 history, but sports history.
[Bryan] It was too much to believe for any of us.
Pandemonium and jumping around and screaming and yelling...
It was just the most incredible emotion
that I've ever really experienced after a race.
[Bryan] We just won the Indy 500.
Can you believe that? I can't--
I mean, you know, we came here to win,
and we kept saying we're here to win, but...
we actually won!
[announcer 1] Dan Wheldon now approaching Victory Lane.
I'm like, "Okay. I need to go get to Victory Lane."
So, I'm running to... to see him.
[crowd cheering]
[announcer 1] Look at Dan. The emotion.
[dramatic music playing]
You see his wife, Susie.
[Susie] I just put my face in the cockpit
and told him I loved him.
[voice breaking] It was a special moment.
[crowd cheering]
It's just an incredible day.
[interviewer] Congratulations.
Dan Wheldon, the winner of the centennial anniversary
Indianapolis 500.
Taking my kids to Disney, baby.
I'm taking my kids to Disney.
[crowd cheering]
Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!
Go see everybody.
Whoo!
[crowd cheering]
[Dan] You know, I doubted myself a little bit.
I think there's times when you do.
[dramatic music continues]
You know, my wife has stuck by me.
She's always given me that inspiration
and the belief that I'm the best out there.
[crowd cheering]
[Bryan] After Dan won the race and he came back to the garage,
the first thing he did is he walked over to that whiteboard
and put a checkmark right on that box.
[music fades]
[Susie] Really long day.
Okay.
It's bedtime for you, Mom.
I know. Let's all settle down now, okay?
- Could I have a hug? - Yeah.
- You have to come to me. - You come to me.
This is what your dad and I used to do.
Okay. I'm gonna squeeze you as much as I love you.
Ready? One, two, three.
[Susie strains, exhales]
And he used to grab me so hard and I couldn't breathe.
I thought he was gonna break my ribs.
[laughs, exclaims]
Oliver, oh, my God!
Oh, I think you might have done something.
Three, two, one.
Okay, okay! [gasps]
- What have I done? - [boys laughing]
You raised us wrong!
[gentle music playing]
[boys laughing]
[music fades]
[go-kart engines revving]
[gentle music playing]
[engines revving]
[announcer] Wheldon down the bottom.
Oliver Wheldon to the lead.
He's having a great run.
[tires screeching]
Sebastian Wheldon has had a great drive.
It's been super impressive to watch here today.
[crowd cheering]
- [Leo] It's about time. - [Susie] Yeah.
[Sam] Winning the Indy 500 was a launching pad
for Dan to re-energize his career.
He was like, "Okay, now I've got myself another
five to ten years in the sport because of this victory."
But in the world of motorsports,
if you want to win one race, that's the Indianapolis 500.
This kid coming out here has won it twice.
[audience cheering]
When will you go back to racing full-time now?
It's nice that you come out of retirement once a year
to win the Indianapolis 500,
but when will you have a regular series ride?
Well, we're working on that with Bryan Herta.
And, you know, there has been some interest.
[Susie] At the time, Randy Bernard
was the president of IndyCar.
He had a professional bull riding background.
[crowd cheering]
[Sam] Randy came in with a mission
to raise the image of IndyCar,
to put more butts in the seats,
put more eyeballs on the screens,
and he's a promoter by nature.
We're reaching out to our fans
each and every way we can, and that's why we did--
if you buy a ticket to any IndyCar Series race,
you get a free ticket to the world--
the IndyCar world championships.
[Sam] He was moving the season finale to Vegas.
I think he was trying anything creatively
to accomplish those goals.
[somber music playing]
[man] With some exciting news about the world championship
in Las Vegas,
here is IndyCar CEO, Randy Bernard.
The IZOD IndyCar Series and GoDaddy
are very proud to announce
that we will give a $5 million challenge
to our Indy 500 winner, Dan Wheldon.
Now, Dan, there's a couple parameters for you.
[Dan chuckles]
You have to start very last of this 30-plus car field,
and you have to win the race.
[Bryan] Randy had this idea
that if Dan could come from last to first,
he and a fan would win $5 million,
and it sounded like a great idea.
I feel at Vegas I'll be able to compete for the win.
Absolutely.
[Leo] So, what's up, guys?
Next month we got a big race.
This is like an Indy 500 for go-karts.
Nice.
It says new venue.
I'm done with language, and I'm done with history.
So you have math and science?
Wait.
[Susie] What?
The race is gonna be at Las Vegas Speedway.
[Oliver gasps] Oh.
Oh. Oh, that's...
- [Susie] What are they saying? - This?
You know what that means then, right?
What a coincidence.
Is it a-- is that what a coincidence is?
[Susie] Well, it's unexpected, for sure.
Do I have to, though, if I didn't want to?
I wanna go.
I think you should ask yourself how you feel about it.
There's a lot attached to that, and I just want to make sure
you guys are okay with that.
I'm okay with that.
Nothing to say, huh?
[Sebastian] No, not really.
Just like any other race.
[Susie] It's at the Speedway.
[Michael] I thought it was the dumbest thing.
Randy Bernard had no experience at all in IndyCars.
There were some gimmicks with having a fast car
like Dan in the back,
but it was more the racetrack itself.
It was very wide,
so it was gonna lend itself to three, four,
maybe even five abreast racing through the corners.
And when you have that many lines of cars going,
eventually somebody's gonna misjudge.
[uneasy music playing]
[Dario] I'd driven Vegas in NASCAR,
and I just was telling them
it's not suitable for an IndyCar.
It's just not suitable.
There's no margin for error.
Somebody zigs and the other one zags at the same time,
you know, you have a massive accident.
- She's probably scared. - Mm-hmm.
[Sebastian] Do you feel sad?
- Yeah. - Mom, give me a hug.
- It's fine. - No. You need a hug, Mom.
It's fine. I just want you guys to be okay, you know?
Mom, I'm gonna be okay, all right?
[Susie sniffles]
[Michael] This is a publicity stunt,
putting our drivers in a dangerous situation.
It's up to the Series to protect us.
You know? And unfortunately, this is what we're gonna do.
It was very frustrating,
but I didn't make it public.
I don't care who wins. I don't care what happens.
Let's just get outta here, you know, in one piece.
[sniffles] Um...
- [Sebastian] Love you, Mom. - Yeah. I love you too.
[plane engine roaring]
- [dramatic music playing] - [engines revving]
[announcer 1] Getting a little race-y here.
[announcer 2] Wow.
[announcer 1] They go three wide through four.
[man on radio]
[announcer 1] That is James Jakes.
- [announcer 2] A big fire. - That really is.
And he is already halfway out of the car.
The car has come apart as it made very hard contact.
The good news is James Jakes is out of the car,
and he looks to be okay.
[reporter] In terms of practice,
it looked like cars were going three wide.
Would you expect to see the same thing in the race?
[driver] No. I expect four wide.
I expect it to be really hairy and, uh, dangerous.
Yeah. This is gonna be one that fans will love
and the drivers will be thankful when it's over.
I didn't want him to do it.
I spoke to him on the Saturday night.
I said to him, "The last thing you want in a race like that
is to be racing from the back.
Don't do the race."
[tense music playing]
[Bryan] Dan wouldn't have pulled out of that race.
It just wouldn't have been in his character to do that.
If you're thinking about going, go,
'cause it's gonna be the weekend of your life.
[Tony] That was the Lionheart.
He didn't walk away from things.
But look...
we all know the risks we take.
[crowd cheering]
[car horns honking]
[Susie] The night before the race,
Dan was like, "Yeah, it's a bit crazy."
I hadn't seen him a lot that weekend just because
I had both the kids, and he was super busy
with appearances and those kinds of things.
Oliver was a little bit restless,
so I was gonna leave,
but Dan was like, "No, I really want you to stay."
Mom, look at this ice cream.
[Susie] And I remember seeing, like, a tattoo place.
[peaceful music playing]
[door bell jingles]
As we got closer, he was like,
"What do you think we should get?" I was like...
He hadn't had any tattoos.
I had had a couple already,
and he had talked about wanting to do something.
Do we like this one?
Yes, Mom, for the hundredth time.
[Susie] My gosh. Do I say that when you're at the racetrack?
But I never thought that he would do it.
I'm like, "You're not gonna get a tattoo."
He's like, "No, let's do this."
Let's do it.
And I'll hold your hand.
[Susie] Your dad held my hand the whole time.
[tattoo machine buzzing]
He went first, and then, of course,
I was like, "Okay, gotta go."
He was like, "Absolutely not."
We both got a tattoo on our wrist of each other's initials.
[peaceful music continues]
[distant birds calling]
[announcer] There's plenty on the line
in the Nevada desert today. 200 laps, 300 miles
at 220-plus miles an hour.
And what an incredible grid we have.
Dario Franchitti trying to win a championship,
and we have Dan Wheldon trying to get $5 million.
[arena announcer] Dan Wheldon!
[tense music playing]
I can't wait for the race.
[Clive] I didn't get much sleep 'cause I was up all night.
I'd opened the French doors and the TV was on on the wall,
and, um, I fell asleep outside.
[Susie] I made my way back to meet him at the car.
[crowd cheering]
We both had our tattoos.
I was like, "Now I'm always there with you."
[announcer] He's got a roulette wheel painted on his helmet.
He's ready to roll the dice.
[Susie] I felt compelled to let him know.
[arena announcer] Are you ready?!
Drivers, start your engines.
- [engines revving loudly] - [dramatic music playing]
[announcer] And the 34th and final car
starting in this field will be driven by Dan Wheldon.
Dan, you're up in the ABC booth, do you have us?
[Dan] I've got you, Scott.
[Scott] Big question everybody wants to know is
can you win and take home the $5 million bonus?
[Dan] Honestly, Scott, I wouldn't be doing this
if I didn't think that I could win.
[Scott] And the speeds we have here,
222 miles an hour.
I mean, just fantastic speeds here today.
You expect that in the race?
[Dan] Absolutely. They'll be a little bit faster,
but there's just gonna be a spectacle.
This is a great way to go out.
[announcer] And the final race
for the championship is green.
[Dario] Things start to get pretty interesting quickly.
[announcer 1] We're already seeing three wide.
Guys touching...
[announcer 1] Oh, so close and they are touching!
Tony Kanaan is leading,
but boy, the action back behind him,
he doesn't know what he's missing.
[announcer 2] He does know what he's missing.
He's glad he's not in the middle of it.
The only plan these drivers have right now
is to make sure they don't make a mistake.
That's a big gnarly mass of cars.
I distinctly remember Dario and Scott
saying something I'd never heard on the radio.
They both said,
"Hey, we're just gonna ride here a little bit
and let some things pan out."
I just remember thinking, hmm.
I never heard that before.
[Dario] There was a championship on the line for me,
but I was just so nervous.
[announcer] Looking for Dan Wheldon.
Started 34th in this field.
He has moved up ten spots.
[Sam] That's when I got on the radio and said, "Man,
uh, this is-- this is crazy,"
but I don't know what you can do at that point
to get people to separate.
I was sitting in my timing stand facing turn one and two.
And so, I saw the initial contact.
[audio halts]
[Bryan] I honestly have a big blank spot around that time.
I don't remember the accident, um,
even though I've seen it. I've seen video of it.
[announcer] My God! There's been a huge collision.
I just don't...
[announcers clamoring]
Shuffle through. Don't remember.
[announcer] Multiple cars involved.
Even, uh...
for, like, several weeks after.
I guess I'm lucky that I don't.
[announcer] Oh, my.
[ominous music playing]
[solemn choral music playing]
[Sam] It was like a bomb went off.
Everything's exploded,
and it's just this mass of chaos and debris.
[helicopter whirring]
[Scott] Normally, you then cycle back around
until they pick up the debris and the cars
and clear up the accident.
I remember the spotter saying,
"I don't know where you should go."
It's like a plane has crashed.
There is so much debris, there's nowhere to go.
Twelve or more cars were just blown to pieces.
I've been in racing for a very long time,
seen many accidents, but nothing on this scale.
Just, it was so many.
[Tony] I didn't even know which car was which
because there was so much carnage.
[announcer] Fifteen cars we now know of involved.
I was like, wow, this is-- this was bad.
[announcer] You see E. J. Viso's car.
He is out of his machine.
There is Pippa Mann.
They are trying to get her out of her car.
It's good to see her able to walk
under her own power.
That is Dan Wheldon's machine.
I woke up, and I'm looking at the TV.
All I heard them say, "We hope Wheldon's all right,"
and I'm thinking, oh, my God, he's had an accident.
And all's I could see, this helicopter.
[announcer] That's not a good sign.
We do not know who is inside that helicopter at this moment.
[Dario] Then that horrible rumor thing starts.
It's this guy, it's that guy, it's so-and-so, it's Dan.
[reporter] IndyCar Series official just confirmed to me
that it was indeed Dan Wheldon
that was taken by air to University Medical Center.
[Scott] And then you start hearing trickles of stories.
That's the worst part. "Oh, yeah. He was awake."
And you're like, okay, that's good news.
And then you run into somebody else,
and they're like, "No, it's really not good."
So your emotions are just... crazy.
[announcer] Dario Franchitti can't celebrate
this championship right now. Doesn't want to.
[Dario] I remember it being quiet.
Which, in my experience, is the worst thing.
When it goes quiet,
you've got a big crowd, and it's just quiet.
To be honest, from that point on, I don't remember.
I don't remember anything. I just, "Pfft."
Shutters came down.
I went to the infield care center,
and it was kind of... chaotic from there.
It becomes clear that things are a bit more serious
when everybody is kind of cleared to go and all the,
you know, wives and girlfriends are leaving,
and you're kind of the last one standing.
At that point, I was like, I'm leaving.
I want to go see my husband.
And we went to the hospital,
the doctor came and he said, "I couldn't save him."
And I just wanted to get up and leave,
and I wanted my kids.
[sniffles]
["Be Free, A Way" by The Flaming Lips playing]
♪ Did God ♪
♪ Make pain ♪
♪ So we can know... ♪
IndyCar is very sad to announce
that Dan Wheldon has passed away
from unsurvivable injury.
Our... Our thoughts and prayers are with his family today.
My life... [sniffles]
...had ended.
[announcer] The number 77.
Dan Wheldon's car number today
has now been put
at the top of the scoring pylon
here at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
["Be Free, A Way" continues playing]
[Susie] We left the hospital and went back to the hotel,
and there was a lot of people around.
♪ ...are empty ♪
[Susie] Every time the door opened,
Sebastian would run over
thinking that it was his dad coming back.
I remember Scott sleeping on the floor.
TK sent me a message and was just like,
"My heart is broken. I can't even come see you.
It's devastating."
We were in a beautiful room,
and you could see the Vegas skyline,
and I remember that moment the sun starts to come up.
♪ The sun shines down... ♪
[Susie] It was almost like a feeling of panic.
I didn't want it to be the next day
because that would be the first day
that I would have for the rest of my life without him.
The first day that I wouldn't be able to hear his voice
or see his face.
Sobbing.
Trying to figure out what's next.
[reporter 1] There was a tragedy in Las Vegas yesterday.
[reporter 2] A collision as big and fiery as we have ever seen
on live television in a sports arena.
[reporter 3] ...has taken the life
of one of car racing's most well-known names.
[reporter 4] Indy 500 champion, Dan Wheldon.
[reporter 3] It happened before thousands
at a motor speedway in Las Vegas.
[GPS voice] Turn right onto South Sammy Davis Jr. Drive.
Continue on Speedway Boulevard for one and a half miles.
[turn signal clicking]
[Oliver] At least the race is not in the track.
Yeah.
It's on the back side.
[music fades]
- I love you, Mom. - I love you too, buddy.
Okay.
- We got a race to win. - I know. I know.
Your dad would be so proud of you to be here.
'Cause it takes a lot of courage
to even show up here, okay?
- I know. - All right? I love you.
- I love you. - Okay.
[Susie groans]
[sniffles, sighs]
[announcer] Ladies and gentlemen,
welcome to the 24th running of the SuperKarts USA
Super Nationals here in Las Vegas.
- [announcer voice fades] - [truck beeping]
[jet engine roars overhead]
[dramatic music playing]
[sniffles]
[sighs] Fuck.
[sniffling]
[sobbing softly]
[crying]
[sobbing]
["About Today" by The National playing]
♪ Today ♪
♪ You were far away... ♪
[Michael] We were ready to sign a contract
the day that he died. It was all done.
It was all agreed upon.
He was gonna be driving for us again.
♪ And I ♪
♪ Didn't ask you why... ♪
[Scott] For Oliver and Sebastian,
this is something that they probably always
would've strived to do,
so I don't know what's right or wrong.
♪ What could I say... ♪
[Scott] But I admire the courage of Susie to support them
in something that has to be extremely tough for her.
♪ Far away... ♪
[Dario] She knows Dan would've wanted the boys to race.
You can't breed tame rabbits from wild ones. [laughs]
[go-kart engines revving]
When they're in that kart, they're closer to Dan
than they are at any other point in their life.
♪ And I just watch you... ♪
Of course that's what it is.
[crowd cheering]
[Leo] Drive like a Wheldon.
♪ How close am I ♪
♪ To losing you ♪
[announcer] Sebastian Wheldon able to move up
six spots to fifth.
[go-kart rattles]
Wheldon the quickest driver early on here.
[music intensifies]
[inaudible]
["About Today" continues playing]
[music softens]
[Susie] Check it out.
Your name's there and everything.
[Oliver] Bro, that suit fits you.
[laughs]
[race car engines revving]
[music fades]
[seat belt clicking]
[engines revving]
[engine roaring]
[dramatic string music playing]
2012 500 comes, and everybody puts on those
dreadful white glasses that Dan wore. [laughs]
[announcer] Dario Franchitti is gonna win the 500.
[Scott] It was a one, two, three finish.
Dario, myself, and TK.
[Tony] Dan's three best friends.
I couldn't believe it.
I'm like, wherever you are, man,
you have more powers than we do now
because you see everything wherever the hell you are.
But stop.
You can't, like-- Really, stop.
You know when it says like all the people
that were a part of the movie? Am I going to be in that?
[producer] It's gonna say cast: Sebastian Wheldon.
- Holy sh-- - [producer] Oliver Wheldon.
Susie Wheldon.
No, she's not in it.
Can we make bloopers in this?
- [producer] Yes. - [Oliver] Let's go!
[indistinct chatter]
[Susie] Do not drop that.
[babbling]
Can I have headphones?
Honey, not up my nose.
How do you feel about, uh, Dan Wheldon being your husband?
Well... [laughs]
Uh...
Speak to the camera.
What's Dan Wheldon like to work with?
Speak right to the camera.
Well...
Could probably have a one-on-one later
and I'll really tell you but, um... it's very good.
[producer] Maybe don't block her face there, Sebastian.
[Sebastian] I love you to pieces.
- [Susie] I love you. - [Sebastian] It's a wrap, guys.
[gentle music playing]
It's been fun, guys. I loved every minute of it.
Later.