Helio Castroneves of Brazil cheers with the crowd during the IRL Indy 500 Parade on Saturday. He has the pole for today's race.

Indianapolis ? As a kid growing up in England, you’d think Dan Wheldon would have daydreamed about racing at Monte Carlo, Monza or, most likely, the British Grand Prix.

You’d be wrong.

The race – the place – that captured his imagination early and never let go is an ocean away from Formula One.

From the first time he heard fellow Brit Nigel Mansell rave about the Indianapolis 500, Wheldon wanted to race here. When he came to the Brickyard as a spectator in 1999, well, that sealed it.

“I’ve just been addicted ever since,” he said. “For me, this race is fantastic. It’s very, very enjoyable.

“Obviously, you get to perform in front of a lot of fans, and that’s a big part of this race, along with the history and tradition. That’s the two biggest things that draw everybody to the Indianapolis 500.

“Without the fans, you wouldn’t be able to display such a good show. And without the history and tradition, it wouldn’t be such a great race.”

Wheldon’s place in Indy’s rich tradition is already secure. He won the race in 2005 – the first British champion since Graham Hill in 1966 – and was a flat tire away from repeating last year. He also finished third in 2004.

But he doesn’t want to be one of those drivers with one Indy title to his name. He wants to be like the Unsers and Rick Mears and A.J. Foyt, multiple winners at the Brickyard.

“The self-satisfaction I got out of winning this race was enough to tide me over for a long time,” he said.

“But by the same token, I think it makes me even more motivated to win.”

He arrived in Indy at the beginning of the month as a heavy favorite with Target Chip Ganassi teammate Scott Dixon.

Wheldon had just won in Kansas, his second victory in an IndyCar season only four races old, and had led 485 of 700 laps this season.

He didn’t have quite the same speed during qualifying and wound up on the outside of the second row for today’s race. But that means little.

“He does this transformation from practice to the race that once the race starts, he’s total focus,” team owner Chip Ganassi said. “He’s got one thing on his mind, and that’s to get to the front. And the second thing on his mind is to stay at the front.”

That pretty much sums up his career, too. After coming up through the Formula Ford system in Great Britain, he moved to the United States in 1999 and switched to Indy cars.

He landed a full-time ride with Andretti Green Racing, replacing an injured Dario Franchitti at the 2003 Indianapolis 500, and wound up as rookie of the year with nine top-10 finishes. He won three races the next year, vaulting him to a second-place finish in the points standings.

He pulled off a double in 2005, winning Indy and the series title, and is quick to credit car owner Michael Andretti and teammates Franchitti, Tony Kanaan and Bryan Herta.

“They did everything in their power to give me the fastest learning curve possible,” Wheldon said. “Because of that, I was able to reach a good level very quickly.”

At the end of 2005, though, Wheldon left the team and signed with Ganassi – a decision that baffled more than a few people.

Andretti Green was one of the IRL’s top teams while Ganassi was going through a bit of a struggle.

But it quickly turned around last year.

“We hadn’t had a win in a while. I needed somebody we could rally around and rebuild our team around,” Ganassi said. “He was the spark that lit the fire. He was the impetus for that effort.”

Wheldon won two races last year and finished in the top 10 in all but two of his 14 starts. He actually tied Sam Hornish in the points race but lost the title because Hornish had two more wins – including Indy, where Wheldon led for 148 laps only to be forced into an unscheduled pit stop with 16 laps to go after his tire was punctured.

He never regained the lead.

“It’s not just this track I’m comfortable with. I think I’m comfortable at a lot of other tracks we go, and with that comes confidence,” he said. “There’s been some (victories) that we’ve given away, and I think as time goes by, we’ll eliminate that number.”

If he does, Wheldon might generate some of that buzz the IRL so desperately needs.

With bright blue eyes, a winning smile and fashionably streaked blond hair, he might be the only driver as photogenic as Danica Patrick. He’s friendly and engaging, with just enough brashness to make him interesting.

Being the center of attention has occasionally weighed on Patrick, and Wheldon said he’d have no problem lightening her load.

“It’s a positive for everybody involved,” he said. “It builds you up, it builds the league up and that can only be good.”

If he stays in the IRL, that is.

Several Indy drivers have made the jump to NASCAR, including Juan Pablo Montoya, who is in his first year driving for Ganassi’s stock car team after a detour through Formula One. Joining them intrigues him, Wheldon admits.

“I love driving race cars,” he said. “(But) our offseason is about five months, and with the in-season testing ban, you’re really not in the car very much. Being in NASCAR, that would give me the ability to be in a race car throughout the year.

That’s a decision for another time, though. “If I achieve my dreams of winning the Indianapolis 500 and the championship with a different team … you never know,” he said. “We’ll just have to see. I’m very focused, particularly on the Indianapolis 500, right now.”