@TwinCheckers: I waited by the fence at BMP to talk to him and when he came through all i could see was a bright white smile coming straight at me! He talked to me as long as I wanted and signed a book for me. When he won last year I couldn't have been more proud if it was me! Dan made Indycar personal for me. I wasn't just a fan, I was HIS fan, and will be forever.
@indycar_MN: When I went to Iowa last year, Dan was there as a fan and was going to jump in the Versus booth to commentate the race. When he was chilling on his golf cart chatting with Brian Barnhart about the incident in Milwaukee when Dario hit Will Power's tire in the pits but wasn't penalized, Dan brought me into the conversation. He asked "Young man, what's your opinion on the matter?" Obviously, I'm not going to bad mouth Brian when he's standing right there, so I gave my opinion on the situation and he said thanks. Brian left, but Dan continued to talk to me about racing, the 500, and life in general. The things he said to me in our short 10 minute conversation will stay with me for the rest of my life. The main this was to follow my dreams, and I will certainly do that.
@_alanstewart : I disliked Dan when he first came on the scene. He seemed brash, cocky, bold, precocious, flamboyant. When he went into the booth, I saw (or heard) a different side of Dan. His reaction to winning Indy the second time showed how much he'd matured and appreciated what he'd done. The lasting Images in my mind will be pouring the milk on his head at Indy, and kissing the bricks and rolling to his back with his arms raised. He didn't sulk when he wasn't given a full time ride for the rest of the year. He didn't complain. He taught us all what we should do every waking moment; just live life.
@mtressler13: I met Dan back in 2010 and Indy. He just starts talking to me like a friend instead of just a fan. That made the first impact on me as to what kind of a man he was. Something I will never forget. It starts raining as I am talking to him and he still hangs out to talk instead of running inside like a lot of others do. I then was fortunate enough to meet him last year as well. Another big impact on me is that he remembered who I was. Never expected that. Again it starts raining while we are talking. He looks at me with that one of a kind smile and says "Every time you come around it rains. We need to stop meeting like this." It was amazing to me how humble Dan was when it came to us fans. I don't think he ever truly realized how famous he was. I feel so lucky to have met Dan and I will cherish those moments for the rest of my life.
@King0fSwing: I never met Dan personally, but one of my fondest memories was last years Indy 500. It was the final lap, which of course Wheldon was running 2nd to Hildebrand at the time. I decided to switch my scanner channel over to Wheldon's frequency just to hear what was going on with Dan and his team. All of a sudden, I hear Wheldon's spotter yell "Leader's in the wall! GO!GO! GO!" I could not believe what I just heard! Dan almost sounded as shocked as well! We all know Wheldon made the pass and took his 2nd Indy 500 victory! As he took the checkered flag, you could hear him screaming at the top of his lungs with so much joy, emotion, and pure awesomeness! Hearing his excitement and the shakiness of his voice (he was crying tears of joy), it gave me goosebumps! I've been to nearly 20 Indy 500's and I have never heard so much emotion from one driver, or be moved by one driver period! Dan meant so much to Indycar on and off track. He was as cool on track and he was in the broadcast booth last year. I hope other drivers in the series take note on what Dan meant to Indycar as a driver, ambassador, and what a great man should be. Dan's never really gone, as long as we remember him.
@GL2488: Last year at the Firestone twin 275s, Dan Wheldon was in the booth for the TV broadcast, Wade Cunningham was running Dan's Indy 500 car. It was funny to listen to Dan saying "I hope he brings it home in one piece". At one point Dan is explaining give and take between teammates when two cars almost came together, after that he said "Did I say that teammates need to work together? Maybe they missed that memo." Dan was quick with the humor and is missed!
Randy Collignon (Facebook): Got my pic taken with Dan at a Maxim party at the Indiana State Museum, maybe 2005-06. He is wearing a shirt that says "Live fast Die young"
Daniel Hendy (Facebook): Young man... Unselfish... Very Talented Driver... Undeserving of his life being cut short with such tragedy. Life ends... but Legend lives on... RIP Dan Wheldon
Anthony Schmitt (Facebook): Watched an interview about him and other drivers talking about him and all Dan could say was how gracious he was for being able to do what he loved and at the same time be able to mentor other drivers who sought him out. And also how the other drivers that were interviewed had nothing but nice things to say about him and how he didn't mind helping others. In this day of Ultra egos and bad manners he was definitely a man among boys and girls. RIP Dan Wheldon, you will be missed.
Chelsea Ebaugh (Facebook): Met him for the first time in 2003, and was instantly a fan. I don't remember the year but sometime between 2003-2005 in the Month of May my Dad got Dan to call us (my sister and I) on the phone after the track was closed on day, because we were not able to go, because of school, that was really awesome. I really couldn't believe I was talking to him on the phone! Another memory I have in this time span was when my friend Jessica Bonebrake (Surber at the time) had on a red Jim Beam shirt that she wanted signed by Dan. So when he finally had a chance to come over and sign it he kept freaking out because he wasn't quite sure where to place his hands while trying to sign the shirt. It was a comical moment that we will always cherish.
I got several pictures with him over the years. My sister became very close with Dan especially after Packy Wheeler started "Team Bailey". Dan was constantly asking Bailey when he could drive Team Bailey.
One of the things that I remember the most was on May 10, 2008 Pole Day I believe so the track was pretty crowded and Dan on his way back to the garage made a pit stop to the Alley Cat Compound to see Bailey and also to see everyone else too, but his main concern was Bailey. They had a very special bond and he made a point to say hello to her even if it was only a few seconds because he was late to practice.
I have been very lucky over the years getting to meet the amount of people in racing that I have met, most people never get that opportunity. Hell, Jess it led me to you!
Having said that, Dan didn't care who you were, he was genuine with everyone. That is what I will
remember most about Dan, he had a heart of gold and will forever be missed.
And Lastly a memory from me: I met Dan for the first time in 2004, and I was crazy about him! I did everything in my power to get him to give me some of his time, and he was a good sport about it all. I found creative ways to get him to notice me, and slowly but surly I started to wear him down. I was lucky enough to get to spend a fair bit of time with him, but my favorite memory is when I knew I had finally gotten him to notice. It was at towards the end of the 2004 season, and we were all in Kentucky for the race. I decided that I wanted to go to the Driver autograph session with my good friend Amanda. We got our pics taken with a few of the guys and were just hanging out, because by then 99% of the people there knew us from being around so much. I said I was going to go over and talk to Dan, so I waited in his line, when I got to the front he kind of just laughed at us. We got our pics taken and I was about ready to leave when He said " Why don't you ever call me?" So of course being sarcastic as I am, I replied "Its hard to make a phone call with no number." He promptly grabbed a Hero card and scribbled on it, thinking it was just another hero card, I was about to walk off. The person in line behind me was quite amused and was watching and made it a point to say "I want that card" So when I finally looked down and saw a phone number and little note I practically had a panic attack. That was the real beginning of our wonderful love/ hate show, that those around me still love to make fun of. I am so happy to say that I got to have him in my life. I wouldn't change it for the world! I am also glad to say that I got to watch him grow into an amazing person. I will miss him always, but I know that he is looking down on all of us with that smile that I gave him so much grief about. RIP
I want to thank you all again for sharing with me. I think all of these stories really show what kind of person Dan really was. What a legacy he left behind for us to talk about for years to come. Feel free to keep sharing stories with me in the future, I would love to make this an ongoing memory section!
I Will leave you with the pic of us taken the day of my story:
