NEWTON, Iowa — It may have been Dan Wheldon’s birthday, but it was the people of Iowa that got the gift.
Wheldon scored his second victory of the season in Sunday’s Iowa Corn Indy 250 presented by Pioneer on the day he celebrated his 30th birthday. Instead of accepting all the gifts for himself, he gave his share of the $35,000 IndyCar Series bonus for winning the race to the victims of recent flooding and tornados in Iowa.
Combine Wheldon’s winning with Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon’s $15,000 bonus for finishing fourth and his $10,000 for the Peak Motor Oil Pole Award, and approximately $60,000 will go to the relief effort.
After going the final 90 laps on one tank of fuel and one set of tires, Wheldon was happy to give something back to the state that is still trying to cope with several natural disasters.
“It was an amazing turnout with the devastation that has gone on in the state of Iowa,” Wheldon said, referring to the capacity crowd of more than 40,000 that attended the race for the second year in a row at Iowa Speedway. “Scott and I certainly learned a great deal from the giving that Target gives to different charities. We wanted to give something back.
“It’s very small in the grand scheme of things, but we were very proud on this day to be able to do something, so hopefully, it put a smile on their faces. The crowd was absolutely unbelievable. It seemed packed and it seemed busy all weekend. Hopefully, it took their minds off some of the devastation and certainly, put a smile on their faces.”
Wheldon and his wife, Susie Behm, were able to see the devastation first hand when they traveled to Iowa earlier in the week.
“My wife and I drove from Chicago to here and we saw the flooding and it was just heartbreaking,” he said. “I thought it was something that Scott (Dixon) and I should do and fortunately, we were able to.”
Wheldon’s 15th-career victory also erases the bitter disappointment he experienced one year ago when he crashed out of the race on the very first lap.
That initial Iowa race was known for its high number of crashes on a track where it was difficult to pass as Dario Franchitti was able to drive to victory.
This was a far more competitive race than last year with nine lead changes among four drivers with Helio Castroneves leading four times for 92 laps, Tony Kanaan in front four times for 71 laps and Wheldon leading the final 61 laps. Third-place finisher Marco Andretti also led once for 26 laps.
There were six caution flags for 57 laps, but there were also long periods of green-flag racing that made this a much more competitive contest than last year.
The pace was fast and furious featuring a battle between Brazilian competitors Castroneves and Kanaan in the early stages. Green-flag racing lasted until the 39th lap when Ed Carpenter smacked the first-turn wall.
“I just started working with my car, working towards the front, but Danica Patrick was doing her normal supreme block job,” Carpenter said. “She is the new Scott Sharp of the series, as far as I’m concerned.
“That is two races in a row and I am over here.”
Wheldon, who started third, was able to keep his car near the front until a restart on lap 112. That is when Wheldon got up in the gray and had to get off the throttle to keep from wrecking his car.
“Tony Kanaan knew I liked the high line and he just moved up,” Wheldon said. “I was so high going in and when he moved up, I had to go in the gray and I thought I was gone, to be honest. Fortunately, I was able to continue.”
When Andretti passed Kanaan for the lead on the 135th lap, there was an Andretti and a Foyt running in the top five as A.J. Foyt IV drove an impressive race.
Mario Moraes spun in the fourth turn on lap 158 with Andretti in the lead and Wheldon in sixth place. When pit road was open two laps later, the contenders all pitted, including Wheldon.
There was another yellow flag 30 laps later when Enrique Bernoldi spun in the fourth turn and went sideways in the middle of the racing groove. On lap 190, most of the top drivers came down pit road.
But Wheldon, Hideki Mutoh and Patrick all decided to stay out and stretch the fuel mileage to the finish. That put Wheldon in the lead on the restart with only one question: Would he have enough to make it to the finish?
“The fuel was a concern, but honestly, when you look at how many yellows we have, there are going to be yellow flags,” Wheldon said. “We were not confident, but we knew the more yellows we had, the more power we could use at the end. But if I pitted, I would lose so much time on the first few laps on new tires, so I had to stay out.
“On long greens, I could work my way to the front, but I’m glad they kept me out because I didn’t like to be on new tires.”
When Kanaan crashed hard in the second-turn wall on lap 212, the caution period was more than enough for Wheldon to make it to the checkered flag.
Wheldon led rookie Mutoh to the checkered flag by .1430 second and won the race at an average speed of 136.007 miles per hour.
“I am very happy to finish second,” Mutoh said. “I am almost there, so maybe next time.”
Andretti was third, followed by Dixon, who now has a 48-point lead over Castroneves in the battle for the IndyCar title.
Foyt finished fifth for his best finish of the season.