The Lionheart

I am not your typical race fan. I know hardly anything about cars, I can’t tell you what gear a driver is using, how he brakes or what engine he has just from the sound of it. I’ve come to love and appreciate the sounds, sights and smells of racing but what I love are the drivers themselves. I love their passion for winning at all costs. I love seeing grown men so excited to win the Indianapolis 500 that they give big sloppy kisses (Granatelli and Mario), they climb fences, cry even bawl, pour milk over their heads (even when they’ve been told they will stink of milk all day) and have such passion you can’t help but to be pulled in. I became a fan from hearing their stories and then watching them win. It all started with AJ Foyt for me and reading his biography long before I watched him in a race. I am much more invested in the drivers than the cars.

Sunday I planned to watch the documentary, The Lionheart, directed by Laura Brownson, telling the story of Dan Wheldon, his fatal accident and how his family is carrying on his legacy.

I delayed watching it all day. Did I really want to watch? I mean we all know the story. We all lived it in our own ways on that October day in 2011. While I had been watching the Indianapolis 500 since 1985 and had heard of a couple deaths only Scott Brayton’s really hit me. Somewhere around 2006 or 07 I began watching more of the IndyCar series and watched several horrific accidents but everyone walked away. I really wasn’t prepared for that type of accident. It’s an odd thing too, mourning the death of someone you never knew, friends and family don’t really understand how you feel and expect you to move on much quicker than you do.

So with some apprehension I began the documentary. One of the first things you see is Dan Wheldon on what I’m guessing was a media day doing some videos. It’s classic Dan and I loved it. Just after that you see Susie, Sebastian and Oliver reading sympathy cards they received and one boy leaves because it is just too intense. The documentary continues that way with lighthearted scenes followed by heart wrenching scenes.

The documentary simultaneously follows Dan’s career and the career of his boys. Struggles and wins for all of them. I learned a bit more of the back story of Dan’s last year in racing. At the time I didn’t keep up with IndyCar on social media so all my racing information came from the racing coverage. I knew what Randy Bernard was planning for the Las Vegas race and thought it sounded amazing, I had no concerns about it at all, completely oblivious. Unfortunately, Randy didn’t heed the advice or concerns that several people had for racing at Las Vegas. Randy’s job was to bring more eyes to IndyCar, to promote it, he was doing that and that was his driving force. It wasn’t ever meant to put the drivers in extreme situations, but sadly Randy was like me, he hadn’t been in the sport long enough to have the real dangers touch his life and went about his job of promotion. It was tragic but I do not blame Randy for the accident. Randy refused to be interviewed for The Lionheart.

Spoiler- The documentary ends with the boys doing a race in Las Vegas and Susie has their initials tattooed onto her arm just as she did with Dan the night before his race. It is a sweet scene.

I give Susie so much credit for being able to open up and be so vulnerable. It had to be hard and yet what an incredible story to see how the boys have learned to love racing and are moving forward in their racing careers. Telling this story continues Dan’s legacy and I don’t believe it is over. When Sebastian and Oliver become race winners and the Wheldon name is again on the top step of the podium no one will be surprised, but I’m guessing many grown men will once more shed tears. I know I will. IndyCar is all about passion.