Dan Wheldon - Day after Indy 500 win

Here is the story I wrote from Indianapolis, the day after Wheldon won his second Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 29, 2011.


By NICK DETTMANN
Daily News Sports Editor

INDIANAPOLIS – Dan Wheldon's contract with Bryan Herta Autosport expired in hours, at midnight.
Cinderella got home just in the nick of time.
Wheldon stunned a packed Indianapolis Motorspeedway on Sunday when he crossed the finish line a few feet ahead of rookie J.R. Hildebrand's broken race car in the 100th anniversary of the Indianapolis 500.
“A lot of excitement,” said Wheldon moments after the winner's photo shoot on the front straightaway Monday. “It's a huge accomplishment.
“It's a very, very nice feeling and a lot of satisfaction from that.”
The moment Wheldon crossed the yard of bricks at the start-finish line, the debate erupted: Should Hildebrand have slowed down?
“It's very easy to look and say, 'Would you have done that?' Because we weren't in his shoes,” Wheldon said. “For me personally when you do anything around the outside, it's always a huge risk as the race gets older.”
In a wild finish which saw three lead changes in the final four laps, Wheldon emerged as the 18th two-time champion of the race. He won in 2005 with Andretti-Green Racing.
Hildebrand, one of five rookies in the race, was leading going into the final turn of the final lap. He approached a slower car – Charlie Kimball – just as they entered Turn 4. Hildebrand decided to pass Kimball on the outside in the corner instead of slowing down.
Hildebrand got too high, slammed the wall and skidded down the track against the wall. He hoped he was far enough ahead of Wheldon to beat him to the line and said he kept his foot on the gas, but to no avail.
Wheldon only led for a few feet Sunday.
“I caught up to him at the wrong part of the track,” Hildebrand said. “I was going to have to slow down a lot to stay behind him then pull out down the straightaway. So I thought, 'Well, I've been able to make this move around the outside before, so I went to the high side. I think, it was just the end of the stint there, lot of cars running around out there without being swept. I got up there in the marbles and that was it.”
Hildebrand had a 3.8-second lead entering the final lap and said he only knew Wheldon was closing, but wasn't sure how quickly. Hildebrand had a chance to win because Bertrand Baguette had to pull off the track with four laps to go because he was running out of fuel.
“I was hoping for better, but that's racing,” Baguette said. “We tried. We failed.”
At just 23, Hildebrand handled himself with impressive class when bombarded with questions about what happened and his whirlwind of emotions.
“I'm pretending well, I guess,” he said.
Wheldon won the only race he'll likely compete in this season. He is without a full-time job despite winning the 2005 race and the 2005 IndyCar points championship. His contract with Herta's race team expired at midnight Monday.
The Indianapolis 500 has almost become a playground for the driver who will turn 33 next month. In nine career starts at Indy, he has six top-five finishes, including two victories and back-to-back second-place finishes the past two starts.
To add some irony, the car Hildebrand drove was Wheldon's car at Panther Racing in 2009 and 2010. Now the team has finished second at Indy four years in a row.
“We came here with a rookie driver,” said John Barnes, co-owner at Panther Racing. “But I can tell you that he did a great job. He drove to a fuel number I didn't think was attainable. We're so proud of him and the people at Panther and the crew.”
The car Wheldon drove to victory is co-owned by Herta, a former IndyCar driver and teammate of Wheldon when they raced for Andretti-Green (2003 to 2005).
Wheldon was certainly emotional in victory lane as most winners usually are. But for Wheldon, it was no exception. A few weeks ago, his mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.
“I want to say hi to my family back home and my mother,” Wheldon said with his voice quivering in victory lane. “It's just an incredible day.”
Once he gets all his media appearances done, including a visit on the David Letterman show in New York City, Wheldon will return to his life of leisure and unfortunate unemployment.
“I'm sure I'll be back to changing diapers by (Monday),” Wheldon said with a smile. “My wife let me off (Monday) morning.”