Discussion

Dan Wheldon: Unanswerable questions

Why? For what possible reason? Where is the lesson in a sports tragedy like this?

Originally Published: October 17, 2011
By Jeff MacGregor | ESPN.com

Others here will write about what happened Sunday afternoon and about how it happened. They'll write about who Dan Wheldon was and talk about what he meant to auto racing.

I leave them to the work of cause and effect and after-action telemetry. I leave them to thumbnail biography, and to the forensics of sadness. Something went wrong, someone is dead. Now come the columnists and the Greek chorus of social media to lay blame. Can honest sense ever be made of what happened?

What ...

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DAN WHELDON, 1978-2011

Dan Wheldon And Family Dan Wheldon won 16 races in a storied IndyCar Series career, along with two Indianapolis 500s -- including this year's 95th running -- and one title. He was killed on the 11th lap of the Honda Indy 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Oct. 16. He left behind a wife, Susie, and two sons, 2-year-old Sebastian and 6-month-old Oliver.

Columns

• Oreovicz: Unknowns led to fatal crash
• Oreovicz: Remembering the good times
• Little: Wheldon's spirit, humor will live on
• Blount: Safety ideas coming to fore
• Oreovicz: Key questions to answer
• Hinton: More heartbreak for Mario Andretti
• MacGregor: Unanswerable questions
• Newton: Wheldon's death rocks NASCAR
• Oreovicz: Heavy hearts in Las Vegas
• Blount: From celebration to sorrow

News And Tributes

• INDYCAR finding: Wheldon's head struck post
• Barnhart still coping with Wheldon's death
• Tribute to Wheldon at Indy
• Drivers, officials to meet Monday
• Wheldon remembered in Florida service
• Driver meeting called to discuss death
• Wheldon dies after Lap 11 crash
• Wheldon died of head trauma
• NASCAR planning tribute at Talladega
• Expert: Too early to blame fence
• New chassis to be named in honor of Wheldon
• Jimmie Johnson: IndyCar should quit ovals
• Newton: Kahne wanted to accept challenge
• Fans pay tribute to Wheldon
• Conversation: Remembering Dan Wheldon
• Dan Wheldon photo gallery

Video

• ESPN3: Wheldon memorial replay
• Wheldon honored at Indy service
• NASCAR Countdown: Briscoe's emotional tribute
• Sports Reporters: Schaap on Wheldon
• Florida funeral for Wheldon
• NASCAR Now: Wheldon tragedy
• SportsCenter: NASCAR reflects on Wheldon
• A tragedy at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
• Blount and Oreovicz: Sad day for racing
• Schaap: Wheldon remembered
• Jamie Little reports from Las Vegas
• SportsCenter: Wheldon killed in crash

Podcasts

• Wheldon's death stuns motorsports world
• NASCAR drivers react to Vegas tragedy

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