KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Dan Wheldon heads to Indianapolis
hoping to upstage a bunch of guys in helmets.
Football helmets, that is. White ones, with blue horseshoes on
the sides.
"It's the home of the Super Bowl champions," Wheldon said
after winning Sunday's IndyCar Series race at Kansas Speedway.
"Hopefully, we can overshadow them with a great race."
Then Wheldon caught himself -- a bit.
"Not to take anything away from the Colts," he said, "because
I like the Colts and Peyton Manning, too."
It would be hard to blame the brash Englishman for his
confidence.
With two wins and a runner-up finish in four races -- and with
the way he dominated the Kansas Lottery Indy 300 before winning
under caution after a late crash -- Wheldon is on a roll headed into
preparations for the Indianapolis 500.
Wheldon already has won there once, in 2005. But he's not
content to leave it at that, or to spend much time savoring his
first victory at Kansas Speedway after two close second-place
finishes.
"Like I've emphasized, now we can start thinking about Indy,"
said Wheldon, who led 177 of 200 laps on Sunday and has led 485 of
700 laps this season for Target Chip Ganassi Racing. "I get
excited about that. That's the one I'm desperate to try and win."
But is Wheldon, whose 2005 win came during his championship
season, the favorite this time around?
"A lot of people have asked me that. I think it's difficult to
say who is the favorite going into Indianapolis," he said. "Do I
think I'm going to be a contender? Absolutely."
False modesty?
"Dan's not really known for his false modesty," driver Dario
Franchitti said with a laugh.
"Indianapolis is a different type of track than these 1½
miles," said Franchitti, who finished a distant second on Sunday.
"The regulations, for sure, are different -- run as little
downforce as we want. I'm hoping we're going to be a little
stronger when it comes to that race with Andretti Green cars. I
think Dan's definitely one of the favorites."
Wheldon won't be the only driver returning to the scene of a
victory, though.
Sam Hornish Jr., the defending IndyCar Series champion, won at
Indy last year on his way to the season title. Buddy Rice has
struggled this year but has the experience of winning in 2004.
And Helio Castroneves, who ran third at Kansas on Sunday, is the
most recent two-time winner with victories in 2001 and 2002.
"I honestly think you could pick 10 to 15 people," Wheldon
said. "That's the thing about Indianapolis. I mean, it wouldn't be
Indianapolis if it was just one of those races where three or four
people could win."
And early-season momentum doesn't always count for much heading
into open-wheel racing's marquee event, as the defending Indy
champion knows all too well.
"In 2002, I won two of the first three races and finished third
in the other one," Hornish said in a telephone interview Monday.
"I've been in the same position as Dan."
Hornish finished 25th in that race, though.
"A month is just such a long time," he said. "You basically
have the first week to be excited, if you come in as the points
leader or winning a lot of races. But after qualifying, then it's
the guy on the pole who has the momentum.
"Obviously, if it's the same guy, then it gives you a lot of
momentum."
But with a month to prepare, a lot can go wrong -- with a
driver's head as well as his or her car.
"It's so long that if one little thing happens to you -- even if
you're the points leader, even if you qualify on the pole -- it can
get in your mind," he said.
Wheldon also acknowledged the emotional strain of having so long
to prepare for the race that matters most to so many racers.
"The biggest thing with Indianapolis, you know, it's very high
pressure," he said. "You have to control yourself emotionally to
be able to not let things fluster you. It can be a detriment to
your month."
And while a previous win at Indy provides its own sort of
confidence, it's no guarantee of future success.
"You have to continue to work hard, because the league's too
competitive just to sit and rest on your laurels," Wheldon said.
"You'll be swallowed up pretty fast."