But it took an aggressive move by Brazilian teammate Tony Kanaan just nine laps from the end to make the sweep possible in the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
Rookie Ryan Briscoe, a 23-year-old Australian driving for Chip Ganassi Racing, was out front and seemingly on the way to his first IRL victory before a pair of late caution flags on the 2.9km, 14-turn temporary road circuit in downtown St. Petersburg.
Kanaan, the defending series champion, took advantage of a restart on the 84th of 100 laps to move from fourth to second, bumping past Briscoe's teammate Darren Manning and then moving past Wheldon to the runner-up spot.
Two-time series champ Sam Hornish Jr., who started the day leading the points standings, and rookie Tomas Engle then collided on the 87th lap, bringing out the fifth and final caution flag of the race and putting Kanaan right behind Briscoe for the final restart on lap 92.
As the green flag waved, Kanaan began harassing the young leader, feinting first to the outside, then the inside and finally trying to move pst Briscoe on the inside as they went into turn 10. The rookie turned into Kanaan, then careered into a tire wall.
The contact didn't damage Kanaan's car, but it did slow him enough to allow Wheldon to shoot past into the lead. The 26-year-old Englishman then held off his teammate, pulling away to a 1.45-second victory.
He and Kanaan were followed across the line by Scotsman Dario Franchitti and pole winner Bryan Herta.
Briscoe, a former Formula One test driver who has now crashed out of each of his first three IRL starts, led a race-high 43 laps but wound up 14th in the 21-car field.
The sweep of the top four spots for the team co-owned by former racing star Michael Andretti, Kim Green and Kevin Savoree made it a perfect day for AGR.
A division of the team also promoted the first non-oval race in IRL history, which appeared to be a huge success, drawing an enthusiastic crowd estimated at more than 30,000 on a sparkling, cool Florida day.
Wheldon, who took over the series lead, earned his second victory in three starts this season and the fifth of his IRL career.
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