7:26 AM
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Dan Wheldon: So far, things haven't been going very well as we've started our pursuit of the GoDaddy IndyCar Challenge this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but I'm confident in the ability of the guys at Sam Schmidt Motorsports to find the problem and get it fixed.
It's actually been a very difficult weekend for us so far. Basically we carried over our problem from Kentucky Speedway, where we just didn't have the speed and never really found it.
But I've been watching these guys work their tails off trying to fix this problem, and I believe they'll turn it around before Sunday's race. As you know, the Challenge is a rather unique promotion.
I'll start 34th in a 34-car field in Sunday's Izod IndyCar World Championships presented by Honda. If I win the race, I'll split a $5 million prize with Ann Babenco of High Bridge, N.J., who was chosen at random.
DIARY 1: Wheldon fired up for shot at $5 millionBut during Thursday's practice session and Friday's practice and qualifying sessions, we were quite a bit off the pace in the No. 77 Bowers & Wilkins Magnolia/William Rast Dallara/Honda. When I say quite a bit, I mean more than 3 mph off the pace.
If we start the race that far off the pace, it's going to be difficult to keep up.
But I have every confidence in Rob Edwards, our team manager, and his group of engineers. Rob has done a very good job of analyzing the problem. He's eliminating issues one by one. Hopefully by the race, we will have changed things enough that we will have discovered what's slowing us down.
It is incredibly frustrating, both for me and them. All the boys are working as hard as possible, but so far we haven't pinpointed what it is.
Part of the reason it's so frustrating is because we'd created so much momentum around Indy, both with my victory in Bryan Herta's car and with Alex Tagliani's pole position in the car we're driving this weekend.
But there are a couple of positives. First, this is essentially the same group of people that combined to win the pole and the race at Indy; we've just switched cars. Alex is in the No. 98 car that I drove at Indy, and I'm in the No. 77 he drove to the pole at Indy.
Second, and this is key, Alex has been fast in the 98 car so far at Vegas. Very fast. He's got the fourth starting position for Sunday's race, so we know we have the potential for a good car. We just haven't found it yet.
So everybody in our garage is trying their best, and they're going about it methodically and professionally, step by step, trying to get to the bottom of it. It's obviously something significant, because I'm so far off the pace. Alex did a 221.330 mph for his two-lap qualifying run. I barely got over 218. So whatever the problem is, it's significant.
That, too, gives me confidence. A difference that large forces you to look at everything. You're that far off, so you need to change everything. You have to be bold in your changes, and that's what Rob is being. When the difference in speed is small, the problem is harder to find. But we're not a little bit off, so it should be easier to define the problem.
I'm impressed by Rob and his guys and how detailed they're being and how hard they're trying, but it's frustrating for everyone. These guys want to win this challenge just as much as I do, so they're giving it everything they have.
Another good thing is that we have a full day Saturday to work on the problem. Right now, all they need is time to take the car apart and check everything. I'm confident they'll find it and we'll get out there Sunday with a car that can move through the field.
This is going to be an amazing show. The two championship contenders, Dario Franchitti and Will Power, are starting right next to each other in the middle of the grid.
Honestly, if I can be fast enough early in the race to be able to get up there and latch onto those two, it will be pure entertainment. It's going to be a pack race, and you never know how that's going to turn out.
We all know what this team can do, and I know what I can do. At the end of the day, I have every confidence I them. We should be good in the race. They've worked hard at this, and they'll figure it out.
As long as I can find some speed and keep up with the pack, I'll do everything I can to put on a show.
It's actually been a very difficult weekend for us so far. Basically we carried over our problem from Kentucky Speedway, where we just didn't have the speed and never really found it.
But I've been watching these guys work their tails off trying to fix this problem, and I believe they'll turn it around before Sunday's race. As you know, the Challenge is a rather unique promotion.
I'll start 34th in a 34-car field in Sunday's Izod IndyCar World Championships presented by Honda. If I win the race, I'll split a $5 million prize with Ann Babenco of High Bridge, N.J., who was chosen at random.
DIARY 1: Wheldon fired up for shot at $5 millionBut during Thursday's practice session and Friday's practice and qualifying sessions, we were quite a bit off the pace in the No. 77 Bowers & Wilkins Magnolia/William Rast Dallara/Honda. When I say quite a bit, I mean more than 3 mph off the pace.
If we start the race that far off the pace, it's going to be difficult to keep up.
But I have every confidence in Rob Edwards, our team manager, and his group of engineers. Rob has done a very good job of analyzing the problem. He's eliminating issues one by one. Hopefully by the race, we will have changed things enough that we will have discovered what's slowing us down.
It is incredibly frustrating, both for me and them. All the boys are working as hard as possible, but so far we haven't pinpointed what it is.
Part of the reason it's so frustrating is because we'd created so much momentum around Indy, both with my victory in Bryan Herta's car and with Alex Tagliani's pole position in the car we're driving this weekend.
But there are a couple of positives. First, this is essentially the same group of people that combined to win the pole and the race at Indy; we've just switched cars. Alex is in the No. 98 car that I drove at Indy, and I'm in the No. 77 he drove to the pole at Indy.
Second, and this is key, Alex has been fast in the 98 car so far at Vegas. Very fast. He's got the fourth starting position for Sunday's race, so we know we have the potential for a good car. We just haven't found it yet.
So everybody in our garage is trying their best, and they're going about it methodically and professionally, step by step, trying to get to the bottom of it. It's obviously something significant, because I'm so far off the pace. Alex did a 221.330 mph for his two-lap qualifying run. I barely got over 218. So whatever the problem is, it's significant.
That, too, gives me confidence. A difference that large forces you to look at everything. You're that far off, so you need to change everything. You have to be bold in your changes, and that's what Rob is being. When the difference in speed is small, the problem is harder to find. But we're not a little bit off, so it should be easier to define the problem.
I'm impressed by Rob and his guys and how detailed they're being and how hard they're trying, but it's frustrating for everyone. These guys want to win this challenge just as much as I do, so they're giving it everything they have.
Another good thing is that we have a full day Saturday to work on the problem. Right now, all they need is time to take the car apart and check everything. I'm confident they'll find it and we'll get out there Sunday with a car that can move through the field.
This is going to be an amazing show. The two championship contenders, Dario Franchitti and Will Power, are starting right next to each other in the middle of the grid.
Honestly, if I can be fast enough early in the race to be able to get up there and latch onto those two, it will be pure entertainment. It's going to be a pack race, and you never know how that's going to turn out.We all know what this team can do, and I know what I can do. At the end of the day, I have every confidence I them. We should be good in the race. They've worked hard at this, and they'll figure it out.
As long as I can find some speed and keep up with the pack, I'll do everything I can to put on a show.
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