33-year-old race car driver Dan Wheldon was killed Sunday in a 15-car crash at the IndyCar season finale in Las Vegas, leaving family, friends and racing acquaintances stunned.

“It’s a tremendous blow for this sport and his adopted city,” St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster said. “All I can think about is his wife and children at this time. As a community, we’re just going to lift his family up and make sure they’re supported.

“He was a member of this community. … He loved St. Pete. This was his home. We adopted him as our favourite racing son.”

Wheldon’s car sailed through the air just 11 laps into race, catching fire and slamming into the catch fence outside Turn 2 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

He was taken to University Medical Center in a helicopter. IndyCar announced at 6 p.m. that he was pronounced dead. An autopsy was planned for today.

“What can you say? We’re going to miss him,” said Chip Ganassi, Wheldon’s former car owner. “Everybody in IndyCar died a little today.”

The race was only a few minutes old when Wheldon, who started at the back of the 34-car field and was eligible for a $5 million payday had he won, was caught up toward the tail end of a wreck that started when two cars touched tires.

Several cars burst into flames, including Wheldon’s, and debris was all over the track.

The race was stopped for two hours to clean the track and — in a move believed to be unprecedented in a major race following a driver’s death — the race was not finished.

Instead, drivers took part in a five-lap salute then stopped.

“IndyCar is very sad to announce that Dan Wheldon has passed away from unsurvivable injuries,” IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family today. IndyCar, its drivers and owners, have decided to end the race.”

When drivers returned to the track, Wheldon’s No. 77 was the only one on the towering scoreboard. Dario Franchitti, a former teammate of Wheldon’s, sobbed uncontrollably as he got back into his car for the tribute laps. Over speakers at the track, the song “Danny Boy” blared followed by “Amazing Grace” as hundreds of pit crew workers stood solemnly.

“One minute you’re joking around at driver intros. The next, Dan’s gone,” said Franchitti, whose wife, actor Ashley Judd, had to bring him a box of tissues. “I lost, we lost, a good friend. Everybody in the IndyCar series considered him a friend. He was such a good guy. He was a charmer.”

Wheldon won the IndyCar series title in 2005, a season he started by winning the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg and also captured his first Indy 500. The native of Emberton, England, moved to Snell Isle shortly before winning the St. Petersburg race.

Here is an interview with Danica Patrick, before she heard the news: