Dan Wheldon celebrated his 30th birthday by notching his second victory of the season, the Iowa Corn Indy 250 at Iowa Speedway.
Wheldon took the lead out of a caution flag with 60 laps to go after his team made the decision not to pit. The move paid off, as Wheldon held off Andretti Green Racing drivers Hideki Mutoh and Marco Andretti down the stretch.
"What a great day for Target Chip Ganassi Racing and a great birthday present for myself," Wheldon said. "It was a good call not to do it (pit), but Chip's (Ganassi) not here, so if they had called me in, I don't think I would have come in anyway."
Wheldon's win gave Target Chip Ganassi Racing its fifth win in nine IndyCar Series events this season. Wheldon and teammate Scott Dixon, who finished fourth, plan to donate their combined winnings (approximately $60,000) to the victims of Iowa's recent floods and tornados.
"My wife and I drove from Chicago to here and we saw the flooding and it was just heartbreaking," Wheldon said. "I thought it was something that Scott (Dixon) and I should do and fortunately, we were able to."
Mutoh, the leader in the Bombadier Rookie of the Year standings, picked up his first top-five finish.
"I am very happy to finish second." Mutoh said. "I am almost there so maybe next time."
Andretti had his best finish since also placing third in the Indy 500.
Dixon remains the IndyCar Series points leader, holding a 48-point advantage over Team Penske's Helio Castroneves. Castroneves led a race-high 92 laps but a pit stop to replace a cut tire late in the race cost him two laps and resulted in a 14th-place finish.
