IRL: Wheldon heartache

15th September 2006

Dan Wheldon did all he could to retain his IndyCar crown, but lost the title to Sam Hornish Jr on a tie-break. The Englishman won the final race at the Chicagoland Speedway and grabbed a bonus point for leading the most laps. Yet Hornish’s third meant he matched Wheldon’s tally. The American then claimed the title, as he’d won four races to Wheldon’s two.

“If I had to lose the championship, I was always going to go out fighting. It’s a bittersweet end to the season,” said Wheldon, who blamed his failure on several costly errors earlier in the year.

“What’s frustrating is the amount of points we lost. There was the puncture at Indy, dropping a wheel nut at Texas and tons of others. We didn’t deserve to win simply because we made too many mistakes.”

It was Hornish’s third IndyCar crown, but his first since joining Penske. “It’s a great day and it’s been a great year. We won the Indy 500 and now the title – I’m so excited,” said the new champ.