Wheldon wants #1 despite 'jinx'.

Despite having yet to finalise a new contract with the Andretti-Green team - and being touted as a possible F1 driver with either Williams or BMW next season - recently-crowned Indy Racing League champion Dan Wheldon has said that he will be fighting to run with the #1 plate next season.

Although America tends to favour a system where particular numbers become associated with particular teams or drivers, Wheldon insists that he will be pushing to be allowed to run the #1 as he would had he taken taking the title in Britain. Perhaps uniquely, the IRL reserves the right for its champions to carry the single-digit plate, but only four of the previous ten title-winners had opted to do so.

"In England, if you win the championship, that enables you to run the #1 the following year, and you do it because it takes the value of winning the championship away if you're not going to use the #1," Wheldon said, "That's how it's perceived, certainly with the people I know in Europe, and my intention would be to run it if I'm allowed. I'm going to push for it."

Although, in common with many of his fellow drivers, Wheldon considers himself a superstitious individual, he says that he doesn't fear any bad luck that may come with running the #1. Previous users Scott Sharp (1997), Tony Stewart (1998), Greg Ray (2000) and Scott Dixon (2004) all failed to reclaim the crown the next year, with Dixon, in particular, struggling to defend his title.

"I know it certainly didn't fare well for Scott, but I don't think that was through any fault of his own," Wheldon explained, "That year, things just didn't go their way, and [the Ganassi team] had some bad luck. I don't think that was down to Scott. I'm not afraid."