Wheldon Finishes Second in Joliet; Cites Unprofessionalism of Other Drivers

JOLIET, Illinois - One week ago, at Infineon Raceway, Dan Wheldon’s day ended early and upside down.  This week, at Chicagoland Speedway, he was right-side up.  Wheldon, driving the No. 4 National Guard-sponsored Dallara, finished second in Saturday night’s PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300.

Only 0.0423 of a second separated Wheldon from race winner Dario Franchitti (Team Target Chip Ganassi).

Wheldon started the 200 lap race in seventh position.  By Lap 34, he had pulled his way up into the top five positions, at times driving three-wide, fighting for position.

Ultimately, Wheldon dialed in to Franchitti and proposed the two work together (partly due to other unpredictable drivers) in order to finish 1-2. 

Franchitti accepted.

“To be honest, at the end, the reason I worked so hard with Dario and just tried to stay with him was because he was so clean and professional.  I thought it was the best thing for myself and the team to have the chance at winning,” said Wheldon.

In addition to Franchitti, Wheldon praised third-place finisher Marco Andretti for running a clean race.

He did not, however, hold back when it came to pinpointing whom he felt did not:  “I think Ryan Hunter-Reay and [Mario] Moraes were unprofessional, and they could have hurt somebody to tell you the truth.”

Wheldon is a two-time winner at Chicagoland and he also finished second in this year’s Indianapolis 500. 

Currently, he ranks tenth in the IZOD IndyCar Series’ overall championship standings.

Robyn Lynne Schechter