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.
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.
He once admitted that he preferred socialising in
America than Britain because "it's easier to get
laid".
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.
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".
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." He is in fourth in the
2007 championship with two wins so far at
Homestead-Miami and Kansas.
