Dan Wheldon
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| Daniel Clive Wheldon | |
 Dan Wheldon in Gasoline Alley at Indianapolis in 2007. |
|
| Nationality |  United Kingdom |
| Date of Birth | June 22, 1978 |
| Place of Birth | Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, England |
| 2008 IRL IndyCar Series | |
| Debut season | 2002 |
| Current team | Chip Ganassi Racing, Panther Racing |
| Car No. | 10 |
| Former teams | Panther Racing Andretti Green Racing |
| Starts | 97 |
| Wins | 15 |
| Poles | 5 |
| Best finish | 1st in 2005 |
| Previous series | |
| 2001 2000 1999 |
Indy Lights Toyota Atlantic Championship U.S. Formula Ford 2000 |
| Championship titles | |
| 2005 | IRL IndyCar Series Champion |
| Awards | |
| 2003 | IRL IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year |
Daniel Clive Wheldon (born June 22, 1978 in Emberton, England) is a successful English auto racing driver. The 2005 Indy Racing League champion and Indy 500 winner, Wheldon is nicknamed "Difficult Dan" in the IRL pit lane for his choleric temperament. He currently resides in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Contents |
[edit] Beginnings
Taking up karting at the age of four with funding from his father, Wheldon progressed through the junior ranks of motor racing during his school years. Attending Bedford School until he completed his GCSEs at age 16, he frequently took time off to race. During his early career in open wheel racing, he developed a rivalry with Jenson Button before ultimately leaving the United Kingdom to race in America. The reasoning behind the move was that the level of investment needed to fund his racing career in the UK wasn't able to be provided by his family.[1]Moving to the United States in 1999, he spent several years in lower open-wheeled circuits like the U.S. Ford Formula 2000 series, the Toyota Atlantic series and the Indy Lights series.
[edit] IRL
In 2002, Wheldon moved up to the Indy Racing League (IRL) for two events, with Panther Racing as teammate to Sam Hornish, Jr.. The following year Wheldon joined Andretti Green Racing, taking the spot of Michael Andretti following his retirement, and collected IRL Rookie of the Year honours. In 2004, he won his first IRL race at Twin Ring Motegi in Japan, ultimately finishing as runner-up to teammate Tony Kanaan in the championship with three wins.
He won the 2005 Indianapolis 500 as well as that season's IRL series championship. His six victories in 2005 also broke the record for most victories in one IRL season held by Sam Hornish Jr with 5. His win at Indy was the first for an Englishman since Graham Hill's triumph in 1966. "I was on Letterman, Good Morning America, I probably covered every state in terms of radio interviews, I threw the first pitch out for the Yankees, the Mets, the Cubs. I got in the car for a rest. But in November of 2005, it was announced that he would be driving for Chip Ganassi Racing in the IRL in 2006. Shortly after his first IRL test with Ganassi, he won the 24 Hours of Daytona with Ganassi teammates Scott Dixon and Casey Mears.
He began the season by beating Hélio Castroneves by 14 thousandths of a second at Homestead-Miami, before retiring at St. Petersburg thanks to contact with Sam Hornish Jr under the safety car. At the end of the 2006 IRL season, Wheldon and Sam Hornish Jr. were tied for the lead with each driver having 475 points. In the event of a tie, the driver with the most wins for that particular season is declared the champion. Hornish Jr. had four wins for the 2006 season, to Wheldon's two; therefore Hornish Jr. was declared the 2006 IRL champion.
During the close season he was offered a place in the BMW Sauber Formula 1 team, but declined on discovering he would not be assured a regular drive. "I do want to race in F1. When my contract expires with Chip, I’ll take a serious look at Formula One".[2]
Commenting in 2007 on the perception of him as 'difficult', Wheldon said "I put everything into my racing, and I expect the same back. If I see people who aren't giving it I'm not afraid to say so, but that sometimes comes out a little brash. That could be improved a little bit.
On 22 June 2008, his 30th birthday, he took his 15th career victory in the Indycar series after winning the 2008 Iowa Corn Indy 250 from Hideki Mutoh and Marco Andretti. He donated his winnings to help the victims of the recent tornadoes and flooding which had occurred in Iowa.[3]
Wheldon was released from his drive at Ganassi on September 2, 2008. [4] He will be replaced by Dario Franchitti; "I have enjoyed these last three seasons with Target Chip Ganassi Racing, but will be moving on to pursue a very exciting opportunity for 2009," Wheldon said. It would later turn out to be a return to former team Panther Racing. [5]
[edit] Motorsports career results
[edit] American Open-Wheel
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)
[edit] IndyCar
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Panther |  HMS |
PHX |
FON |
NZR |
INDY |
TXS |
PPIR |
RIR |
KAN |
NSH |
MIS |
KTY |
STL |
CHI 10 |
TX2 15 |
36th | 35 | ||||
| 2003 | Andretti Green | HMS DNS |
PHX DNS |
 MOT 7 |
INDY Ret |
TXS Ret |
PPIR Ret |
RIR 8 |
KAN Ret |
NSH 4 |
MIS Ret |
STL 5 |
KTY 8 |
NZR 7 |
CHI 4 |
FON 4 |
TX2 3 |
11th | 312 | |||
| 2004 | Andretti Green | HMS 3 |
PHX 3 |
MOT 1 |
INDY 3 |
TXS Ret |
RIR 1 |
KAN 9 |
NSH 13 |
MIL Ret |
MIS 3 |
KTY 3 |
PPIR 3 |
NZR 1 |
CHI 4 |
FON 3 |
TX2 3 |
2nd | 533 | |||
| 2005 | Andretti Green | HMS 1 |
PHX 6 |
STP 1 |
MOT 1 |
INDY 1 |
TXS 6 |
RIR 5 |
KAN 2 |
NSH Ret |
MIL 5 |
MIS 2 |
KTY 3 |
PPIR 1 |
SNM Ret |
CHI 1 |
WGL 5 |
FON 6 |
1st | 618 | ||
| 2006 | Ganassi | HMS 1 |
STP Ret |
MOT 2 |
INDY 4 |
WGL Ret |
TXS 3 |
RIR 9 |
KAN 2 |
NSH 2 |
MIL 8 |
MIS 3 |
KTY 4 |
SNM 6 |
CHI 1 |
2nd-TB | 475 | |||||
| 2007 | Ganassi | HMS 1 |
STP 9 |
MOT 2 |
KAN 1 |
INDY Ret |
MIL 3 |
TXS Ret |
IOW 11 |
RIR 3 |
WGL 7 |
NSH 8 |
MDO 10 |
MIS Ret |
KTY Ret |
SNM 7 |
DET 3 |
CHI Ret |
4th | 466 | ||
| 2008 | Ganassi | HMS 3 |
STP 12 |
MOT1 4 |
LBH1 DNP |
KAN 1 |
INDY 12 |
MIL 4 |
TXS 4 |
IOW 1 |
RIR 4 |
WGL Ret |
NSH 2 |
MDO 17 |
 EDM 7 |
KTY 5 |
SNM 4 |
DET 20 |
CHI 6 |
 SRF2 |
4th | 492 |
- * 2008 season in progress
- 1 Run on same day
- 2 Non-points race
| Years | Teams | Races | Poles | Wins | Podiums (Non-win)** |
Top 10s (Non-podium)*** |
Indianapolis 500 Wins |
Championships |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 3 | 97 | 5 | 15 | 22 | 35 | 1 (2005) | 1 (2005) |
- ** Podium (Non-win) indicates 2nd or 3rd place finishes.
- *** Top 10s (Non-podium) indicates 4th through 10th place finishes.
[edit] Indy 500 results
| Year | Chassis | Engine | Start | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Dallara | Honda | 5th | 19th |
| 2004 | Dallara | Honda | 2nd | 3rd |
| 2005 | Dallara | Honda | 16th | 1st |
| 2006 | Dallara | Honda | 3rd | 4th |
| 2007 | Dallara | Honda | 6th | 22nd |
| 2008 | Dallara | Honda | 2nd | 12th |
[edit] References
- ^ "Dan Wheldon: 'Winning at Monaco would be great, but it's nothing next to the Indy 500'".
- ^ Shaw, Simon. "Dan's Indy mood for F1". The Sun. Retrieved on 2007-05-27.
- ^ Gray, Rob. "Indy Corn 250 birthday bash: Wheldon turns 30 with a win", The Des Moines Register (newspaper). Retrieved on 2008-06-27.
- ^ Perez, A.J.. "Goodbye NASCAR: Franchitti headed back to IndyCar Series", USA TODAY (newspaper). Retrieved on 2008-09-02.
- ^ Lewandowski, Dave. "Driver musical chairs", indycar.com. Retrieved on 2008-09-03.
[edit] External links
- IndyCar Profile
- Audio Interview with Dan Wheldon Dan Wheldon talks about his karting days
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Laurent Redon |
IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year 2003 |
Succeeded by Kosuke Matsuura |
| Preceded by Buddy Rice |
Indianapolis 500 Winner 2005 |
Succeeded by Sam Hornish, Jr. |
| Preceded by Tony Kanaan |
IRL IndyCar Series Champion 2005 |
Succeeded by Sam Hornish, Jr. |
| Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates | |
| Sprint Cup Drivers | Reed Sorenson (#41) | Juan Pablo Montoya (#42) |
| Nationwide Series Drivers | Bryan Clauson (#40) | Dario Franchitti/Kyle Krisiloff (#41) |
| IRL Drivers | Scott Dixon (#9) | Dan Wheldon (#10) |
| Grand-Am Telmex #01 team drivers | Scott Pruett | Memo Rojas |
| Other Development Drivers | Brady Bacon | Kevin Hamlin | Alex Lloyd |
| Other | Chip Ganassi | Felix Sabates |
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