Congratulations to Brit Danny Wheldon who set a few records when winning this season's IndyCar Championship. He comes from Emberton, a village up the road from me where I do bit of cycling and walking.
September 26, 2005
The Times
Briton wraps up Indy title with low-key lap of honour in US
By Kevin Eason
DAN WHELDON will have little time to enjoy his new place in history this morning before he turns his thoughts to a future in Formula One. He may be almost unknown in his homeland, but Wheldon can today lay claim to be Britain’s most successful active racing driver after winning the IndyCar Championship in the United States.
While Jenson Button and David Coulthard were bit-part players in the Formula One World Championship title race last night, Wheldon was already basking in the after-glow of an Indy Racing League (IRL) season in which he has set a record of six victories to win his title and also won the greatest prize in American motor racing, the Indianapolis 500 — a win double achieved only four times in the past 25 years.
Bizarrely, the championship did not come in a blaze of glory but with a practice lap. Under IRL scoring rules, a last-place finish guarantees a driver 12 points and, with a 102-point lead going into the penultimate race weekend of the series, that was all Wheldon needed to make the title a mathematical certainty.
Just finishing a solitary practice lap on the Watkins Glen circuit in New York State was enough.
“I didn’t even have to be at the race,” Wheldon added. “I could have gone home. Even if the race was cancelled I would still be champion as I have such a big points lead.” But he didn’t go home and the party started in style. Only the future remains to be sorted out.
Success has brought the inevitable clamour and the youngster, who had to desert Britain because he could not find a team that wanted him, is now in demand. He has been approached by several Formula One teams and speculation is growing that he will be drafted in by Williams as a replacement for Button, now staying at BAR Honda after resolving his contractual dispute with Sir Frank Williams.
Wheldon has delayed talks with his Andretti Green Racing Team, in the United States, until he has investigated the possibilities. He will not join Formula One at any price. He is the golden boy of motor racing in the US.
Articulate, good-looking and only 27, Wheldon is a sponsor’s dream and his earning power has jumped by leaps and bounds since his Indy 500 victory. He is a sports celebrity, appearing on the coast-to-coast Late Show with David Letterman and pitching the first ball at a New York Mets baseball match.
Now, as IRL champion, the man from Emberton, near Milton Keynes, will be in huge demand and could easily stay in the United States to enjoy a lifestyle that already features three homes and seven cars.
If Wheldon is to race alongside Button and Coulthard, he will want a car that will allow him to challenge for victories and the chance to achieve a double of IndyCar and Formula One titles that has been completed only once before, by Nigel Mansell, who won the Formula One title in 1992 and the IndyCar championship the next year.
“I have been feeling a lot of pressure lately, what with the championship and my contract situation,” Wheldon said. “To have got one of those issues off my shoulders is a very good feeling.
“I’ve probably had maybe 15 approaches from different teams but being approached and actually been offered a deal are two different things.
“The only way you know when a Formula One team are serious is when they ask your weight and your height because they want to know if you can fit in the same car as your team-mate. One team has done that.”
September 26, 2005
The Times
Briton wraps up Indy title with low-key lap of honour in US
By Kevin Eason
DAN WHELDON will have little time to enjoy his new place in history this morning before he turns his thoughts to a future in Formula One. He may be almost unknown in his homeland, but Wheldon can today lay claim to be Britain’s most successful active racing driver after winning the IndyCar Championship in the United States.
While Jenson Button and David Coulthard were bit-part players in the Formula One World Championship title race last night, Wheldon was already basking in the after-glow of an Indy Racing League (IRL) season in which he has set a record of six victories to win his title and also won the greatest prize in American motor racing, the Indianapolis 500 — a win double achieved only four times in the past 25 years.
Bizarrely, the championship did not come in a blaze of glory but with a practice lap. Under IRL scoring rules, a last-place finish guarantees a driver 12 points and, with a 102-point lead going into the penultimate race weekend of the series, that was all Wheldon needed to make the title a mathematical certainty.
Just finishing a solitary practice lap on the Watkins Glen circuit in New York State was enough.
“I didn’t even have to be at the race,” Wheldon added. “I could have gone home. Even if the race was cancelled I would still be champion as I have such a big points lead.” But he didn’t go home and the party started in style. Only the future remains to be sorted out.
Success has brought the inevitable clamour and the youngster, who had to desert Britain because he could not find a team that wanted him, is now in demand. He has been approached by several Formula One teams and speculation is growing that he will be drafted in by Williams as a replacement for Button, now staying at BAR Honda after resolving his contractual dispute with Sir Frank Williams.
Wheldon has delayed talks with his Andretti Green Racing Team, in the United States, until he has investigated the possibilities. He will not join Formula One at any price. He is the golden boy of motor racing in the US.
Articulate, good-looking and only 27, Wheldon is a sponsor’s dream and his earning power has jumped by leaps and bounds since his Indy 500 victory. He is a sports celebrity, appearing on the coast-to-coast Late Show with David Letterman and pitching the first ball at a New York Mets baseball match.
Now, as IRL champion, the man from Emberton, near Milton Keynes, will be in huge demand and could easily stay in the United States to enjoy a lifestyle that already features three homes and seven cars.
If Wheldon is to race alongside Button and Coulthard, he will want a car that will allow him to challenge for victories and the chance to achieve a double of IndyCar and Formula One titles that has been completed only once before, by Nigel Mansell, who won the Formula One title in 1992 and the IndyCar championship the next year.
“I have been feeling a lot of pressure lately, what with the championship and my contract situation,” Wheldon said. “To have got one of those issues off my shoulders is a very good feeling.
“I’ve probably had maybe 15 approaches from different teams but being approached and actually been offered a deal are two different things.
“The only way you know when a Formula One team are serious is when they ask your weight and your height because they want to know if you can fit in the same car as your team-mate. One team has done that.”