Champion and the Indy race winner, Wheldon will claim the title at Watkins Glen source: irl.racing-live.com Dan Wheldon will join elite company by securing his first IndyCar Series championship when he starts the Watkins Glen Indy Grand Prix presented by Argent Mortgage on Sept. 25. The 27-year-old Englishman will become the 25th driver to win both the Indianapolis 500 and a series championship in the same year - a feat accomplished only four times since 1980. "To have won the Indy 500 and the championship is very special," said Wheldon, the first IndyCar Series driver to accomplish the feat. "The IndyCar Series is a tough series, and I think there's a ton of talented drivers here. To achieve that is a good team effort. Obviously I've had very good cars this year and very fast cars. We've been able to win a lot of races, which is rare in the IndyCar Series nowadays. "My goal coming into this season was to win the Indy 500. When I achieved that, I had to adjust my mindset, and the goals I had for myself. Obviously, winning the championship was the next goal." Wheldon is the first Englishman to accomplish the feat, though the late Jim Clark won the Indianapolis 500 and Formula One championship in 1965. Clark, though, did not score any Formula One points by winning at Indianapolis. Among the drivers who have accomplished the feat are four-time Indianapolis 500 winners A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears and three-time Indianapolis 500 winners Johnny Rutherford, Bobby Unser, Louis Meyer and Wilbur Shaw.
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