Emotional ‘The Lionheart’ Paints Portrait of Dan Wheldon

Like many of us that are, oh, I’d say, aged 20 and older, I remember Dan Wheldon‘s 2011 season.

I remember JR Hildebrand smashing into the wall exiting the final corner of the 2011 Indianapolis 500 that May, allowing someone in just as much of an underdog car in Wheldon to win.

I also remember Wheldon’s death at Las Vegas Motor Speedway less than five months later — I just turned 26 this past Saturday (March 30), so I was 13 for both of those.

On March 12, a few weeks back, HBO dropped The Lionheart, named after Wheldon’s nickname, on streaming. This is one of the very few features to center specifically on a driver tragically taken too early: plenty center on still-active or retired drivers (Born Racer, Schumacher, etc) and plenty center around the dangers involved in racing (One By One, Rapid Response, etc), but I don’t think one has been made on a tragedy as recent as this. 2011 truly wasn’t that long ago.

After watching it, I have some thoughts — on an overarching level, it’s an excellently made documentary that strikes a very good balance between Wheldon’s legacy and his sons beginning their own journeys into racing.

I’ll start with the caveat that I, unlike I’m sure many of those who faithfully read and write for this website, did not see that 2011 NTT IndyCar Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway when it aired and unfolded. Probably for the best. The closest I’ve come to seeing something tragic was probably Ryan Newman at Daytona International Speedway back in 2020.

However, I’ve seen 2011’s replays, the “crash autopsy” breakdown report that’s floating around the Internet and all of the background of the drama leading up to a race that shouldn’t have happened.

I think many of us look back on 2011 Las Vegas as the same as the 2015 IndyCar race at Auto Club Speedway that ended with Ryan Briscoe flipping into the infield. I saw that one live and have never been more terrified (or expectant, unfortunately) that I was about to see someone die. The racing — while amazing to watch — was too on that edge for comfort.

I love documentaries that really bring the human element to the forefront. Whereas (though I don’t remember any of Wheldon’s early racing years, because I wasn’t even…