Aside from a few anxious moments during a mid-race pit stop, the XM Satellite Radio Indy 300 was a Sunday drive for Wheldon. He led 179 of the 200 laps in becoming the first IndyCar Series driver to win three consecutive years at the same racetrack.
“You always want to dominate, ” said Wheldon, who left Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon 6.4993 seconds in his wake. “And I knew at the (Feb. 21-22) test that I had something that was very competitive. But, no, I guess I didn’t think I would dominate like that.
“I think everything kind of went my way to a certain degree. And with the situation that we had in the pits, we were able to not lose too much time because I could get to the front quickly and really not work the tires too much in doing so. “
The extended pit stop, caused when an air gun briefly got caught under a tire, dropped Wheldon to ninth. It might have rattled him in the past. Maybe it’s synergy with the team entering their second season together or growth from the season-long championship battle in which he tied Hornish in points after 14 rounds but was rendered the runner-up based on a tiebreaker (four victories to two), but Wheldon quickly was on the radio to encourage crew members.
“I would have to say (it’s) maturity and confidence in the car, ” acknowledged Wheldon, who was back on the point within 11 laps. “The reason I would say it’s maturity is because when I was at Andretti Green I think Tony (Kanaan) thought he was immature until he saw me. At one particular incident that we had, he found himself calming me down. And he had never seen himself in that position before.
“So I think just with experience you understand the circumstances. I did have a very good car underneath me. And I still had about 90 laps to get to the front. So it wasn’t a big issue. And the biggest thing that I felt last year is sometimes I really tried to force the issue. And I didn’t want to do that again. I wanted to let it come to me. “
It did, in dominating style under the lights.
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