His career in Europe stalled and he moved to America where he found fame and fortune in Formula Ford 2000, Toyota Atlantic and Indy Lights where his smooth and fast driving style shone through.
In 2003 he made the step up to Indycar with Andretti Green and it wasn't long before he was into winning ways despite a crash at the Brickyard that saw his car flip. 2004 saw his first victory in the IRL at Motegi and then he joined the ranks of the greats by winning at the Brickyard in 2005, the first Brit to do so since Graham Hill in 1966 and then going on to win the championship
He did get an invite to be a reserve driver for BMW Sauber but it never came to pass with the post going to Robert Kubica and he stayed in Indy with Chip Ganassi Racing. Back to back titles just eluded him as he lost the 2006 title on point countback.
It is ironic that his smooth, fluid style suited the ovals best and he had little success on the road courses that were rapidly making up a majority of the races. He showed his style with several runner up finishes at Indy and, after loosing his full time drive in 2009, he returned as a one-off at the Brickyard to win the race.
His final race at Vegas was another single race where he was to try to win the race from the back to gain a $5,000,000 prize. At the time of the accident he was well on the way to do so having past 10 cars in as many laps. The crash that took his life was not his own, he was just unlucky to be caight in somebody elses mistake.
Perhaps the best way to end this little tribute is to use the words that Marty Reid used when signing off Sky's coverage of the race.
'People ask me why I always sign off by saying till we meet again, it's because goodbye is so final. Goodbye Dan Wheldon'
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