Dan Wheldon
Dan Wheldon
Daniel Clive Wheldonwas a British racing driver. He was the 2005 IndyCar Series champion and a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500, having won the race in 2005 and 2011. Wheldon died from severe head injuries shortly after a collision during the IZOD IndyCar World Championship on 16 October 2011 at the age of 33...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionRace Car Driver
Date of Birth22 June 1978
chicago ground hoping lost obviously swing toward
We obviously lost some ground toward the championship, which makes Chicago a very important race, ... I'm hoping we can get back in the swing of things.
looked truth
To tell you the truth, it looked very, very bad.
believe certainly deal driver honda paid personally sure surprised thinks williams
To tell you the truth, I'm surprised Honda paid so much to get Jenson out of his Williams deal because I personally think that if you give me the right time, I can certainly be as good, if not better. I'm sure every driver thinks that, but I certainly believe I can be as good.
beat came difficult everybody great people points together
There are rivalries out there. There's people that want to beat one another. There are people with points to prove. But on a difficult day like today, everybody came together and put on a great show.
defending forward looking package points season start strong win worried
We're not too worried about it because you don't get points for qualifying. We know we've got a strong package and I'm looking forward to defending my win here and start the season off on the right foot.
chased position prefer
To be chased is the position that I prefer to be in,
winning self race
The biggest thing for me is the self-satisfaction of winning the race. I don't care about who gets the most attention. I've achieved something that's very special to me.
car together way
Then as everything, like I say, things started to come together, when things started to go our way, that's when you results started to come. I was no different driver. I was certainly learning every time I went in the car.
race two able
The two championship contenders, Dario Franchitti and Will Power, are starting right next to each other in the middle of the grid. Honestly, if I can be fast enough early in the race to be able to get up there and latch onto those two, it will be pure entertainment. It's going to be a pack race, and you never know how that's going to turn out.
thinking years waiting
I haven't seen it this busy since I've been an IndyCar driver. So I think that's a great kind of thing that's happening for the IndyCar Series, in general, right now. But it's an event that I'm very proud to be part of. I love it. I can't wait to come back next year.
running children dad
The last thing I want my child to see is Dad running around in the middle of the pack. That would really upset me. And that would upset him. I would be embarrassed to take him to school with kids saying, 'Hey, how'd your dad do this weekend?' 'Well, he finished fifth or sixth'.
jobs team race
But I have to say I'm incredibly proud of the Panther Racing National Guard Team, and in my IndyCar career there's not many races where I've honestly left the track feeling that we've executed everything perfectly. And I have to say, I thought they did an absolute phenomenal job. The pit stops were just first class.
thinking race car
When I think of the pace that I drove my first race, everything was happening a million miles an hour. Now when I get in the car everything happens so much slower.
certainly closer good teams
I think you're certainly going to see much closer racing. But, no, these are very good teams in the IRL. I just can't stress how competitive they all are and how close it's going to be.