MOTEGI, Japan - Dan Wheldon's first IndyCar Series win came last year in Japan - and it was a great relief for host Honda.
The victory by Wheldon at the 2004 Indy Japan 300 in a Honda-powered car was also the first win for the Japanese manufacturer on its home track after six unsuccessful tries - a win by Scott Sharp in a Toyota-powered car in 2003 in the inaugural Indy Racing League event at the Twin Ring Motegi track, and a Toyota victory and four by Fords in the five preceding CART races.
Wheldon, a 26-year-old Englishman, will be among the favorites for Saturday's IRL race at the track Honda built north of Tokyo.
The Indy Japan 300 is the fourth event of the 17-race IndyCar series. In addition to overcoming jet lag, Wheldon said he also will have to overcome the unique challenge of the 1.5-mile Motegi oval.
"What makes it challenging is that one end is open and one end is pretty tight," Wheldon said Wednesday, ahead of today's opening practice session. "It's one of those tracks where to be quick, you have to be on the edge. It's a facility where you also have to have the power and every time we've been here, we've had good power with Honda."
Wheldon, the 2003 IRL rookie of the year, is coming off a victory at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on April 4. He also won the season-opening Toyota Indy 300 at the Homestead-Miami Speedway and leads the 2005 standings.
Last year was a big step for Wheldon. He won three races and finished second to friend and Andretti Green Racing teammate Tony Kanaan in the points.
In St. Petersburg, Wheldon led an unprecedented 1-2-3-4 sweep by the AGR team that included Kanaan, Dario Franchitti and Bryan Herta following behind.
Kanaan, second in the standings, 24 points behind Wheldon, will be looking to keep the pressure on his teammate in Saturday's 200-lap race.
Sam Hornish Jr., who won the XM Satellite Radio Indy 200 at Phoenix International Raceway on March 19, also will be among the favorites.
Local fans, meanwhile, will be hoping for a strong performance by Japanese driver Kosuke Matsuura, who finished eighth here last year.
"I'm very excited," said Matsuura. "Last year before the race it was crazy as I had to meet with someone every three or four minutes. I'll be more used to it this year."
For Saturday's race, the Motegi track has been revamped with the installation of 4,184 feet of SAFER barrier. Motegi is the first track outside the United States to install the energy-absorbing Steel and Foam Energy Reduction System that now lines most U.S. ovals.
Indy 500 car on display
The Honda-powered Panoz G-Force car that Buddy Rice drove to victory last May in the Indianapolis 500 will be displayed in Japan. The car, owned by Rahal Letterman Racing, has been shipped to the Twin Ring Motegi racetrack in the same condition in which it finished the 500-mile race.
It will be on view in the Honda Collection Hall, which details with artifacts and memorabilia the history of the Honda Motor Co., which built the track.
ASA SPEED TRUCK CHALLENGE SERIES: Matt Jaskol is following the path many American open-wheel drivers are taking in search of fame and fortune: He's moving to NASCAR.
Jaskol, 20, announced this week that he is leaving Richie Hearn's Star Mazda team to focus on the ASA series and a possible career in NASCAR.
"I'll be concentrating full time on the ASA Speed Truck ride," said Jaskol, who is leading that series' points standings after three races. "The support and the follow-through, basically, is just not there in open-wheel right at this minute."
Jaskol joins a growing list of disillusioned open-wheel drivers - including Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman, Robby Gordon and Kasey Kahne - who switched to NASCAR.
Just two years ago, Jaskol was considered one of the most promising young American drivers when he was a finalist in the 2003 Red Bull Driver Search - a program started to identify and groom American drivers for a potential career in Formula One racing. Last year, with the funding of Red Bull, Jaskol won four races and finished fourth in the final standings in the Formula BMW USA series.
