Wheldon's vehicle rotated and travelled parallel to the catchfence above the concrete wall behind the SAFER barrier alongside the track. He collided with a fence post along his car's right-hand side, creating a deep defect in the chassis that went from the upper pedal bulkhead and through the cockpit. That deformed its roll hoop and the top of the chassis above the fuel cell compartment, which were sheared from the car. The post penetrated the cockpit and struck the lower portion of the right-hand side of Wheldon's helmet in an impact measured at −30Gs lateral, 47Gs longitudinal, and −25Gs vertical to the chassis as he sustained "two distinct impacts" to his head. The race was stopped after one caution lap. He was extricated from his car by the trackside safety team and airlifted to the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada for his critical injuries. Wheldon was pronounced dead on arrival. After input from drivers and team owners, officials declared they would abandon the race. A five-lap, three-wide formation salute was held in Wheldon's honour, along with "Amazing Grace" played on the bagpipes in the background. His No. 77 was displayed alone atop of the scoring pylon.