Trackside: Dan's the man on sad day

Forget serial losers like Tim Henman and the England rugby team - Dan Wheldon (pictured) is one of England's current great sporting champions - and he hardly gets any mention here in Britain.

Yesterday Wheldon got his defence of the American Indy Racing League championship title off to a winning start with new team Chip Ganassi Racing.

But it was the way he conducted himself on such a sombre day that really impressed.

Hemelgarn Racing rookie Paul Dana died after a practice session crash earlier that day. The accident happened after driver Ed Carpenter spun out and came to a halt during practice. Dana was unable to avoid the hazard and both drivers were taken to hospital. The Hemelgarn driver died later that day and Carpenter is recovering from his injuries.

Dana made his name as a motorsport journalist. Last year he fulfilled a lifelong ambition to compete on the IRL stage and had followed up those starts with a new sponsor and team.

Hours after the crash the race got under way as drivers forced themselves to concentrate on the battle on the track. And it was here that Wheldon reaffirmed his credentials as one of the world's top racing drivers.

Wheldon won the 2005 Indy Racing League and is looking to repeat the feat with new team Chip Ganassi racing. He is also looking for a second win in the Indianapolis 500. Wheldon won the most prestigious race in American motor sport last year - the first Englishman to do so since Graham Hill in 1966.

He courted a Formula One drive for 2006 but spurned an offer from BMW as it only guaranteed him a place on the test team. He is actively hunting a race seat for 2007.

At the end of the Miami race the crowd were treated to the kind of racing that you never see in Formula One. Wheldon bravely held the outside line of the oval alongside Castroneves for lap after lap at over 200 mph, occasionally even touching. With ten laps left the Englishman dropped briefly behind but drew back alongside on the final lap for just long enough to inch past Castroneves at the flag.

He also pipped woman driver Danica Patrick to the post - but she has recently come back to win the third round of the 2008 Indy 500 - making her the first woman ever to do so.

Afterwards Wheldon climbed from his Team Ganassi car into a respectfully quietened victory lane. When asked what it meant to win on his first outing for his new team, Wheldon, to his credit, paid tribute to Paul Dana.

His win was the mark of a great sportsman - and his conduct was the manner of a great man. Trackside will be keeping a close eye on Dan Wheldon's progress this year.

We had a huge response to our Formula One championship poll - thanks to everyone who took part. Here's how you ranked the championship contenders:

1. Kimi Raikkonen, 29 per cent
2. Fernando Alonso, 24 per cent
3. Michael Schumacher, 23 per cent
4. Jenson Button, 18 per cent
5. Someone else, 3 per cent

You'll have to get up early for this weekend's racing action. The Australian Grand Prix is on ITV1 at 4am UK time. The final round of the A1 Grand Prix championship is live from Shanghai at 6am on Sky Sports.

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