(Image Source: The Mirror)

BY MOLLY HULSEY

Indy Car racing lost one of its most promising young talents Sunday, when British driver Dan Whelan was killed in the final race of the Indy season.

The 33-year old two-time Indy 500 winner died after his car was involved in a fiery 15-car wreck. Fellow drivers reacted after the news.

DANICA: “We’re all very sad. He was a friend of all of ours, and he’ll be missed. I just feel for his family.”

ALEX: “I’m angry, I’m sad, I’m so many things.”

DARIO: “Days like today you’re like, ‘Is it worth it?’ No. Absolutely not.

This accident will almost certainly raise questions of safety in IndyCar -- questions that, in a tragic irony, Wheldon had been working to answer for several months.

“Wheldon was chosen to be the development driver of the Izod IndyCar Series' new chassis that will debut in 2012. Among the safety features: Bodywork covering the rear tires to prevent Indy cars from being launched -- as Wheldon was on lap 11 of the IndyCar World Championship.”

ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap reflects on the loss of one of the most popular drivers in the sport.

“If he’d been born 30 or 40 years earlier, in time to compete during IndyCar’s heyday, Wheldon would have been a household name. In a sport now struggling to find its footing, he was a gift: his driving skills matched only by his ability to charm.”

Wheldon was a key personality for a troubled sport, and a blogger at Yahoo!Sports wonders where IndyCar racing can go from here.

“A series struggling for ratings and relevancy outside of the month of May viewed Sunday... as its chance to grab a weekend's worth of headlines. It got them, but in the absolute worst way. Sunday wasn't supposed to be the end of a career and life for a man counted on to be one of the most integral pieces of the series moving forward.”

Several drivers complained after Sunday’s race about the safety of the track, and as KTNV reports, their concern was not a new one.

“Safety has long been a concern for Indy Car Racing, especially at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Yesterday was the first Indy Car event at the Speedway since it was renovated. FLASH One of the signature characteristics: steeper bankings on the turns, which increase speed. NASCAR drivers called the track too dangerous when the changes were made in 2007.”

Wheldon’s death is the seventh in open-wheel racing since 1996, and the first since Paul Dana was killed in 2006. He is the fourth Indy 500 driver to die in the same season he won the championship race. While such tragedies are not common, Sports Illustrated’s Bruce Martin notes - similar crashes have happened before.

"In a cruel twist of irony, the accident was grimly reminiscent of a championship battle … in 1999. On that day... Greg Moore was killed in virtually the same type of impact [crash]... Moore's father, Ric, was at Sunday's race, his first time attending an IndyCar race since his son was killed 12 years ago."

Wheldon left behind a wife, Susie, and two sons -- Sebastian, 2, and Oliver, 6 months.