E3 Spark Plugs News

IndyCar racer Dan Wheldon was killed in a horrific accident at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Sunday. Photo via www.DanWheldon.com and GP Sports Managment.

E3 Spark Plugs joins the entire racing community in mourning the loss of Indianapolis 500 champion Dan Wheldon, who was killed Sunday in a violent 15-car crash at the Izod IndyCar World Championships finale at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Wheldon was racing as part of a promotion that would have landed a $5 million prize, to be split with a sweepstakes winner, for a series non-regular who won the race. Starting at the back of the 34-car field, Wheldon had worked his way to up some 10 spots by the 12th lap of the 200-lap race when two cars touched in front of him. That touch set of a disastrous chain reaction that would claim 15 cars. Wheldon was unable to slow down before impact. His car launched over the back of another car, turned in midair and slammed into the catch fence. Rescue workers responded quickly and Wheldon was airlifted to a nearby hospital, but doctors were unable to save him.

“Right now I’m numb and speechless,” former teammate and childhood friend Dario Franchitti told reporters. “We put so much pressure on ourselves to win races and championships and today it doesn’t matter.”

Officials suspended the race for more than two hours. When news came that Wheldon didn’t survive the crash, drivers returned to the track only for a five-lap tribute and did not finish the race. Just hours before his death, the 33-year-old reportedly had agreed to a full-time racing deal for 2012. He leaves behind wife Susie, two-year-old son Sebastian and infant son Oliver.

Speedway Sparkplugs mascot from the School Town of Speedway in Indianapolis.

Any time you conduct an Internet search on “spark plugs,” you get a lot of … well, spark plugs, of course. But sometimes, the search results turn up something a little different. This time, we were pleasantly surprised to discover Speedway Schools, home of the Speedway Sparkplugs. This urban school district is located on the west side of Indianapolis, famous for the 101-year-old Indianapolis Motor Speedway (co-founder Carl Fisher’s first step toward his then-ambitious goal of a “horseless city”) and the annual Indy 500, considered one of the three most significant motorsports events in the world.

The “School Town of Speedway” is an independent public school corporation that serves more than 1,500 students in four elementary schools, a junior high school and a high school. Each of the Speedway schools routinely ranks among the highest in Indiana in various areas including standardized and college prep testing, graduation rates and continuation to higher education. Speedway schools also boast award-winning performing arts, extracurricular and athletic programs.

Speaking of athletics, what better mascot for a school called “Speedway” than a spark plug? After all, it’s the ever trusty spark plug that gets the engine fired up in the first place. Speedway High School has teams for baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, cheerleading, men’s and women’s cross country, football, golf, men’s and women’s soccer, softball, men’s and women’s swimming, men’s and  women’s tennis, men’s and women’s track and field, volleyball and wrestling. That’s whole a lotta Sparkplugs action!

E3 Spark Plugs salutes the Speedway Spark Plugs and wishes them a great 2010-2011 school year! Of course, we invite all you seniors, coaches and staff to try E3 car spark plugs, E3 truck spark plugs and E3 motorcycle spark plugs to get you to class and the games. And if you’re in the racing biz, be sure to check visit the E3 Spark Plugs Racing website to see how to get the competitive edge on the tracks.