No, this is not how I expected to begin this column. Not with a Super Bowl rejection, a Club Empire time bomb, trade pacts’ passage, anthropology debates, Urban Land Institute assessments and dysfunctional politics in the mix.
But the death of IndyCar racer Dan Wheldon was blind-siding. Even in the context of that oval, high-rev arena that was his workplace. The one where speed can–and does–kill.
Wheldon was too young, too vibrant, too, well, nice of a guy. Tim Ramsberger, the vice president and general manager of the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, had it about right. “He was a great driver, a champion and a great person–the type of personality you like seeing win in this sport. … What can you say? He was an all-around great guy.”
First Impression
I immediately hearkened back to meeting Wheldon for the first time. It was the spring of 2008 over lunch at St. Petersburg’s Renaissance Vinoy Resort & Golf Club. He was accompanied by his publicist-fiancée Susie Behm. It was for a magazine (Tampa Bay Illustrated) cover story.
The piece, I had assumed, would practically write itself. Your basic foreign-born, fast-lane hot shot and Indy 500 winner who had done the David Letterman show and been nominated as ESPN’s “Hottest Male Athlete.” Think slender, younger Tom Cruise. Plus, he actually lived nearby–on tony Snell Isle.
I was expecting cocky; I got gracious. I was expecting continental; I got home-spun with a clipped British accent. I was expecting preening babe magnet and complementary babe; I got an attractive, pleasantly charming couple.
Even a revealing guilty pleasure–shopping and a burgeoning shoe collection–didn’t measure up to fast-lane type cast.
It was not your basic working lunch. We lingered over desserts.
I was also expecting somebody who merely pivoted out of St. Petersburg. I got an Emberton, England native who loved the steadfast lanes of St. Pete and looked forward to raising a family on Monterey Boulevard.
“I could live anywhere,” he underscored that day. “I choose here. If you ever lived in England, you’d really appreciate this area. It’s pretty. The weather is nice. There are a lot of good restaurants.”
The city reciprocated. Both St. Petersburg and the Honda Grand Prix threw a party in his honor in June after he had won Indy for the second time. This week the city issued an official “resolution of bereavement.”
St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster noted the symbiotic relationship. “He was a member of this community. … He loved St. Pete. This was his home. We adopted him as our favorite racing son. … As a community, we’re just going to lift his family up and make sure they’re supported.”
Dan Wheldon leaves a widow and two sons, the oldest of whom is two. He also leaves a deficit in world class affability. He was, arguably, St. Petersburg’s best-ever ambassador. Another, more tangible legacy: the Dan and Susie Wheldon Suite at All Children’s Hospital, one of his favorite charities–and where both of his children were born.
Reflections
There is also the remnant of foreshadowing and irony from that lunch three and a half years ago.
Wheldon was not one to flaunt fast wheels off the track. He was known for his pedestrian approach to driving around town whether on his scooter or in his black Acura TL.
“I’m relatively relaxed on public roads,” he explained. “Also careful. Especially in St. Pete at night. People try to time the lights. I wait.”
As for the inherent risk that is car racing at 200 mph? Both Dan and Susie addressed it that day.
“People see us zipping around at speeds that are otherwise illegal,” he noted. “That adds to the thrill, of course, but it’s definitely dangerous. The moment you lose respect for speed, you’re in big trouble. I’ve literally seen drivers pass away.”
He said it matter-of-factly but did wax curiously euphemistic about the ultimate down side. As if he couldn’t quite bring himself to use the “k” or “d” words.
For Susie, it was the sharpest of double-edged swords.
“I sometimes get nervous, but Dan is a true competitor at heart,” she said, “and I love watching him do what he enjoys most. You try not to think about the danger factor and what could happen out there.”