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Topic: Dan Wheldon

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Daniel Clive Wheldon (born 22 June 1978) is an English auto racing driver. The 2005 Indy Racing League IndyCar Series champion and Indy 500 winner, Wheldon is nicknamed "Difficult Dan" in the IRL pit lane for his choleric temperament. He currently resides in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Wheldon who was born in Emberton, near Olney, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom took up karting at the age of four with funding from his father, he progressed through the junior ranks of motor racing during his school years. Attending Bedford School until he completed his GCSEs at age 16, he frequently took time off to race. During his early career in open wheel racing, he developed a rivalry with Jenson Button before ultimately leaving the United Kingdom to race in America. The reasoning behind the move was that the level of investment needed to fund his racing career in the UK wasn't able to be provided by his family. Moving to the United States in 1999, he spent several years in lower open-wheeled circuits like the U.S. F2000 Championship Series, the Toyota Atlantic series and the Indy Lights series.

In 2002, Wheldon moved up to the IRL IndyCar Series for two events, with Panther Racing as teammate to Sam Hornish, Jr.. The following year Wheldon joined Andretti Green Racing, taking the spot of Michael Andretti following his retirement, and collected league Rookie of the Year honours. In 2004, he won his first IRL race at Twin Ring Motegi in Japan, ultimately finishing as runner-up to teammate Tony Kanaan in the championship with three wins.

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It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Dan Wheldon."