We have indeed raced on in the five years since the crash. We’ve made the sport safer. We’ve watched one of Dan’s closest friends, Tony Kanaan, win the great race that Dan had the privilege of winning twice.
And we’ve all, in our own small way, carried on a portion of his legacy by helping to make the sport he loved and cherished so much a better, more competitive and closer family.
His nickname, “Lionheart”, is one that has stuck with me ever since the crash — I have the decal on my car and I see it every time I get in or get out when I’ve gone down the road. It’s also a quality I’ve tried to embrace.
Dan was never one to follow the crowd, he was strong, he was loyal, and he did it his way — from his 2005 IndyCar championship to his second Indy 500 victory with Bryan Herta — and even to that final race, where he started 34th for a shot at five million dollars, all because it was going to be part of the pageantry of what was supposed to be IndyCar’s most memorable weekend.
It was that, but unfortunately for all the wrong reasons.
But Dan would never have wanted us to look at it that way. He would have wanted us to put a smile on our faces, remember the good times we had with him and carry the sport on in his honor — because if it had been someone else, he would have done the same thing for them.
He also would have wanted us to smile, much in the same way that he always carried that megawatt smile that lit up the space around him for miles on end.
So on this day, five years later, I look back on that Las Vegas race, and yes — it still hurts that Dan isn’t here — but I’m not truly sad anymore.
Instead, I’m smiling thinking about all the fun that Dan is surely having right now watching how we’ve advanced the sport with a car named after him (the DW12) and seen his competitors and friends carry on and succeed in the race and the series he loved so much.
So friends, on this day, smile like he would have wanted us to.
And maybe click on that replay of the 2011 Indianapolis 500 and take in his smile one more time.
We miss you Dan.
Godspeed Lionheart.
The opinions expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Race Chaser Online, the Performance Motorsports Network, Scorpion Radio Group, their sponsors or other contributors.
About the Writer
Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network.
Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s.
The 22-year-old is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.
Email Jacob at: editor@racechaseronline.com
Follow on Twitter: @Speed77Radio or @JacobSeelman77
Email Race Chaser Online: news@racechaseronline.com
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