Dan Wheldon hasn't passed up many opportunities during the off-season to hone his road racing skills through karting competition. This week, he's competing on the half-mile Sprint track during Daytona KartWeek By Cometic Gasket.
Wheldon, who drives for Panther Racing and lives in St. Petersburg, Fla., loves racing karts whenever he gets the opportunity in his schedule.
"Any kart race that I can do, I will try to do and when you've got one going on at Daytona, that's certainly one that you want to compete in," Wheldon said. "It's like all of these kart races, it's very competitive.
"It's very nice to spend Christmas with my wife and my son, but she knows that if I sit at home too long that I will probably drive her mad. You don't get the time to do this as much as you would like. Anytime that you do get time, you definitely want to utilize it."
Wheldon has been behind the wheel at Daytona before turning laps in both IZOD IndyCar Series testing as well as competing in the Rolex 24 At Daytona.
He has a strong passion for karting and believes it's a great developmental series for anybody interested in racing.
"I think it is the only way that people start nowadays," Wheldon said. "Whether it's on a road course in a go-kart or whether they race on some dirt, I think karting is the stepping stone to any form of motorsport. It's very competitive in America. I think America is a great place to start a karting career.
"From what I've seen, there's huge competition but there's also a very nice atmosphere. I think that it's a great environment for children to grow up in but also where they can learn the fundamentals of racing and learn how to respect people and share great family time."