(CNN) -- Dan Wheldon brought a bit of England with him when he began driving extremely fast cars in the United States.





"When I first started racing, a lot of the guys said that I raced with a lot of heart, occasionally not my head, but always with a lot of heart, like the way that Richard the Lionheart fought in battle," Wheldon wrote on a sponsor's blog in 2010.





Wheldon placed a small mural of the 12th-century warrior king on his helmet in 1995, before he competed in America, and eventually released "Lionheart," a biographical photo book.





Sunday, Wheldon's fellow IndyCar drivers remembered the heart, competitiveness and growing maturity of the two-time Indianapolis 500 winner, who died in a horrific multi-car wreck at a Las Vegas event.





Wheldon dies in 15-car pileup





A shaken Dario Franchitti, speaking after the canceled Las Vegas Indy 300, said "one minute you're joking around ... the next, Dan's gone."





"We can put so much pressure on ourselves to win races and championships and it's what we love to do," said Franchitti, who knew Wheldon since he was a child. "And it's what we live for. And then on days like today, it doesn't really matter. I lost, we lost ... a good friend."





Franchitti recalled Wheldon's early IndyCar years.





"He was kind of brash, but he was a charmer," Franchitti said. "He became this loving family guy. He was still charming, but he had this whole new side to him."





Wheldon's death must be a catalyst for change





Wheldon, 33, left behind his wife, Susie, and two young boys, Sebastian and Oliver. They live in St. Petersburg, Florida.





Born in Emberton, England, Wheldon raced go-karts at the age of 4. His father was a go-kart racer and his mother was the timer at a local track. He was an IndyCar rookie in 2003 and won his first Indianapolis 500 two years later.





Superstitious, the driver as an adult would tap his race car three times before getting in on the non-gear stick side, according to his IndyCar bio.





After his second Indy 500 victory in May, Wheldon talked with CNN's "American Morning" about serving as a spokesman for the Alzheimer's Association. His mother was diagnosed with the disease in 2009.





Sunday, drivers in Las Vegas did a five-lap salute in Wheldon's memory.





"Amazing Grace" played as the drivers slowly wound their way around the track.





The driver's father-in-law, Sven Behm, told CNN North Carolina affiliate WGHP that he told Wheldon to have a safe race. The competitor assured him vehicles, which routinely reached speeds in excess of 225 miles per hour, had been made safer in recent years.





"He wasn't just a great driver," said Behm. "But he was a great human being. He was always very positive."





CNN "World Sport" anchor Patrick Snell said "Dan Wheldon is a character. ... Extremely popular. Huge respect from his peers."





"There is no question that the world of motorsports has lost one of its favorite sons," Snell said Sunday night.





Twitter reaction to Wheldon's death





Wheldon's tragic passing on Sunday prompted some of motorsport's biggest names to take to Twitter in order to express their condolences and admiration for the British racer.





Marco Andretti made his IndyCar debut in 2006 and the Andretti Autosport driver spoke of his admiration for Wheldon, using his official @MarcoAndretti account to say: "I looked up to you both as a racing driver and a person/friend. You will be forever missed. RIP Dan Wheldon."





Will Power was one of the drivers involved in the multi-car crash which took Wheldon's life. The Australian Team Penske driver said: "Such a sad day... to lose a champion like Dan Wheldon...my thoughts and prayers are with
Who was killed on Sunday? What did a driver recall about Dan Wheldon? Where he was born? What did the driver recall? Where was the Two-time Indy winner born? Who did he liken himself to? Who were killed at Las Vegas race?
Wheldon remembered the heart, competitiveness and growing maturity of the two-time Indianapolis 500 winner, Emberton, England, heart, competitiveness and growing maturity of the two-time Indianapolis 500 winner, England Richard the Lionheart Wheldon
question: Who was killed on Sunday?, answer: Wheldon | question: What did a driver recall about Dan Wheldon?, answer: remembered the heart, competitiveness and growing maturity of the two-time Indianapolis 500 winner, | question: Where he was born?, answer: Emberton, England, | question: What did the driver recall?, answer: heart, competitiveness and growing maturity of the two-time Indianapolis 500 winner, | question: Where was the Two-time Indy winner born?, answer: England | question: Who did he liken himself to?, answer: Richard the Lionheart | question: Who were killed at Las Vegas race?, answer: Wheldon