Sunday was Dan Wheldon’s 30th birthday. His rivals provided plenty of gifts.

Under glorious sunny skies at Iowa Speedway, Scott Dixon had a rare off day (he finished fourth), Tony Kanaan crashed, and Helio Castroneves faded.

And the rest of the IndyCar field, led by rookie Hideki Mutoh, simply didn’t have the speed to beat Wheldon. It all added up to victory in the second running of the Iowa Corn Indy 250, Wheldon’s second win of the season and the fifth for Target Chip Ganassi Racing in 2008.