He returned to Panther Racing for the 2009 and 2010 seasons, failing to win a race but taking a further four podium results during this period. Wheldon left the team at the conclusion of the season. He drove part-time for Bryan Herta Autosport and later Sam Schmidt Motorsports in the 2011 season. He won his second Indianapolis 500 in May of that year. At the season-ending IZOD IndyCar World Championship at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Wheldon was killed in a collision with a fence post alongside the circuit on the race's eleventh lap. He was 33 years old and the first driver to die in IndyCar competition since Paul Dana in 2006, and the last until Justin Wilson in 2015.