Wheldon to put 'disappointing' 2006 behind him.
Englishman Dan Wheldon wants to banish all thoughts of 2006 to the back of his mind as he prepares to launch a campaign that he hopes will see him regain the IRL title he won in 2005.
Believing that he and his Target Chip Ganassi Racing team missed too many opportunities last year, Wheldon is confident that the combination of a year's worth of experience with his crew and the fact that the team are using a Dallara chassis for the entire season, including the road and street courses, will enable him to overhaul Marlboro Team Penske and 2006 champion Sam Hornish Jr.
Englishman Dan Wheldon wants to banish all thoughts of 2006 to the back of his mind as he prepares to launch a campaign that he hopes will see him regain the IRL title he won in 2005.
Believing that he and his Target Chip Ganassi Racing team missed too many opportunities last year, Wheldon is confident that the combination of a year's worth of experience with his crew and the fact that the team are using a Dallara chassis for the entire season, including the road and street courses, will enable him to overhaul Marlboro Team Penske and 2006 champion Sam Hornish Jr.
"I've been kind of disappointed with my 2006 season because of all the chances we missed," Wheldon said. "We came so close in so many races including the Indy 500 but just didn't quite get it done in the end. You don't want to tie for a championship. You want to win it outright. This year, we'll do everything not to let those opportunities get away from us."
Wheldon claimed bookend victories at Homestead-Miami and Chicagoland. He's optimistic that he can visit victory lane more often in 2007 after building chemistry with his Dave Higuera-led crew and engineer Andy Brown.
"We know each other a lot better now." Wheldon said. "I'm really eager to get back to Homestead and start the season off. One of the changes that I'm happy about is running the Dallara chassis on road courses this year. I'm more familiar with it, and I feel really confident and comfortable in the car. It'll help in developing my road course driving technique and hopefully will translate with success on the track."
"We feel that this Target team is in a strong position to contend for the IndyCar Series championship," said Mike Hull, the team's managing director. "We have shown well at tests at Daytona and Homestead but that's not a lot of testing, and like everyone else we're waiting to see what the first race of the season holds to see where we really stand. You just can't make assumptions based on the past. This is a new season and everyone has a clean slate."
