Indy luminaries bid Wheldon farewell

INDIANAPOLIS -- Dan Wheldon's friends shed a few tears and shared lots of laughs Sunday.

Most of them couldn't bear to say goodbye a week after the two-time Indianapolis 500 winner was killed in a fiery crash at Las Vegas.

The 87-minute memorial service was a fitting tribute to Wheldon's life, with former teammates and bosses providing dozens of stories about the roles Wheldon played -- fierce competitor on the track, comedian off of it, and loving father and husband.

"At first, Dan was pretty much the little brother we didn't want," four-time IndyCar champ Dario Franchitti said, drawing laughter before pausing to collect his thoughts. "And now we'd do anything to have him back. We'll miss you D.W."

With an estimated crowd of 2,000 to 3,000 at Conseco Fieldhouse, it was a shared sentiment on yet another dark day in the racing world.

Hundreds of fans signed two large banners that will be given to Wheldon's wife, Susie, who attended the ceremony but did not speak.

Some of the community's most prominent organizations -- the Colts, Pacers, Indianapolis 500 Festival and Indiana General Assembly Motorsports Caucus -- sent floral arrangements. A few fans wore Wheldon No. 4 shirts from his days with Panther Racing, and others delivered flowers, contributed to the family trust fund or dropped off personal mementoes.

"Thank you for the many wonderful memories," Rebecca Nix wrote on a folded flag with a photo of Wheldon pinned to it.

The day was full of emotion -- from the moment of silence organizers observed in honor of MotoGP rider Marco Simoncelli, who was killed Sunday in a crash at Malaysia, right down to Garth Brooks' final song, "The Dance."

But after touching eulogies from IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard and Indianapolis Motor Speedway President and CEO Jeff Belskus, most speakers interspersed light-hearted moments from Wheldon's life with somber farewells.

Tony Kanaan, the 2004 series champion and one of Wheldon's closest friends, recounted the pranks he, Franchitti and Bryan Herta pulled on Wheldon when the four were teammates with Michael Andretti's team. He remembered stealing the left shoe from each of Wheldon's pairs in Japan and shipping them back to the U.S., the time they threw everything out of the self-proclaimed neat-freak's tidy locker and had to help him clean it up, and the countless times they joked about Wheldon's "tight" racing suit.

Panther Racing's Mike Kitchel recalled the "phone-stealing" game often played with the public relations staff. Wheldon would take the staff's cell phones and send messages to someone from the contact list, setting up meetings, lunches or worse.

But in the end, everyone was emotional.

"Our time together is not over. We have our friends, we have our memories, and one day we'll be together again," Kanaan said. "It is for this reason that I'm not saying goodbye, because goodbye is final. So today, I say see you later."

Some of the sport's biggest names attended the service.

In addition to Franchitti, Kanaan and Herta, those on hand at the memorial included current drivers Marco Andretti, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Graham Rahal; former IndyCar star Sam Hornish Jr.; and three-time Indy winner Johnny Rutherford. Team owners John Barnes, Sarah Fisher and Roger Penske, and speedway chairwoman Mari Hulman George also were in the crowd.

Wheldon's father and siblings sent a videotaped message thanking fans for their support. Country music star Reba McEntire and The Band Perry also performed during the service.

The stage was decorated with a Borg-Warner Trophy and a winner's wreath from the 500, two bottles of milk, symbolic of his two Indy wins, and Wheldon's 2005 points championship trophy.