Wheldon can rival best, claims engineer.

Eddie Jones reckons that new IndyCar Series champion Dan Wheldon can join the ranks of legends such as AJ Foyt, Rick Mears, Al Unser and Johnny Rutherford, and he's a man that ought to know.

It is an analysis not to be taken lightly as, in 30-plus years of motorsport, Jones has been a successful driver, mechanic, designer, chief engineer and company executive. For the past two-and-a-half years, he's been Wheldon's race engineer on the #26 Klein Tools/Jim Beam Dallara/Honda/Firestone for Andretti Green Racing.

"I don't see a weakness in Dan," Jones said, "We've raced on all sorts of tracks, and I honestly think he could emerge as the best of his generation. That's how good I think he is."

At the tracks, Jones and Wheldon communicate well and work hard. After hours, they're often found together raising a glass to their efforts. They have forged a winning combination.

"On a personal level, we clicked from the start," said the long-time engineer, who inherited Wheldon as part-student part-comrade after Michael Andretti retired from the cockpit during 2003, "I could recognise his talent.

"I suppose what helps is that I've been in racing for a long, long time. My father was involved in it and I grew up with it. I have experience at every level of racing, so I appreciate what the driver is dealing with all the time. I was able to relate to Dan in his early stages and some of the difficulties of performing at this level of racing - the highest level. Sometimes it wasn't easy for him as talented as he is and always was. So I think I was perhaps able to help during some of the difficult stages.

"He recognised and appreciated how I was helping him, and that just strengthened our bond. He came to realise and believe I was someone he could always trust; I never mislead him in any way. Many of my decisions are wrong, and I never hide anything from Dan, and I'll always admit that was clearly the wrong thing to do. He appreciates that. All in all, our real honesty with each other has paid dividends."

It is a partnership, though Wheldon garners the headlines and is in line for the big-dollar contract. However, that's fine with Jones, who has been associated with Andretti Green Racing and its forbearer Team Green since 1997 in Indy Lights with drivers such as Greg Ray, Chris Simmons, Naoki Hattori and Jonny Kane.

Jones became Andretti's race engineer in 2001 and has helped Wheldon develop through wildly successful seasons - 2003 Bombardier Rookie of the Year, series runner-up to team-mate Tony Kanaan in 2004, and the double of Indianapolis 500 and series champion this year.

Their professional and personal relationship, with the girding of trust and respect, also has developed. Sure, the ultra competitive Wheldon is demanding. He wants a perfect car every practice, qualifying and race. More often than not, aided by the #26 crew, they quickly zero in on the solution more than a compromise, and the results are clear - a series-record six victories and 15 races led, and the pacesetter in laps led were some of the tangible rewards this year.

"Having been a driver myself, I realise how frustrating it can be at times," said Jones, who noted that Wheldon accomplished the feats without the aid of one pole position, "And I'm quite able to judge when Dan is blowing off steam because he has to at that moment. I always tell him 'direct your frustration at me, not the crew. I can take it on the chin'. And I know it's not personal. Then we calmly approach the solution to what's frustrating us and him.

"There are some events where we've certainly had good luck and good results. But I think it's been particularly rewarding that there were other events where Dan has gone out and won them - beaten the whole field - and actually come from behind to do so. Like Indy."

Wheldon, not one to shy from the spotlight, is humbled by the analysis. Only four years ago he was the kid who had the minor-league pedigree but couldn't convince a team to take a chance. Now he's on top of the world - with a lot of help from his friends.

"I think he's the only guy I've had a relationship with where I actually don't even need to tell him how the car is," said the 27-year old, who is unwinding this autumn with a few karting events in the United States and South America after the gruelling 17-race IndyCar Series season.

"Eddie can get a pretty good idea just from my expressions and my demeanour, and I think he is certainly more confident about going down our own set-up path now, whereas before we perhaps wouldn't have ventured off in such a direct way. I mean, we really sometimes go our own route. It takes confidence to do that and trust in not just me but the other people involved in the team.

"I think everybody has the confidence in me to know that if it isn't right, we can go back to another set-up and it's not going to take me a while to feel it out. I can get on it pretty quickly. Likewise, if it's good, Eddie and I can keep improving on it and make it even better to the point in some races where it's been dominant, like Pikes Peak. We certainly went our own route kind of at that track, and it paid off for us. There's been some times where it does bite you, too. Fortunately with the experience together, we've been able to limit that."