David Wessel

**David** Michael **Wessel** (born 13 June 1997) is an American professional racing driver, currently competing for Swift Autosport in the Champ Car World Series, where he is a two time race winner.

## Early Years

Wessel was born in Asbury Park, New Jersey, the youngest of three children by John and Marie Wessel. John is a local dentist, while Marie works as the manager of a local financial institution.

## Champ Car career

### 2020

Wessel was announced as the driver of the #14 Phantom Motors Honda. He would pair alongside the 2017 Indycar World Champion, Andrew Draco, who would drive the #13 for the season. Wessel would replace Stefan Montana, following Montana's sponsors leaving the team at the end of 2019.

Wessel's Champ Car debut came at the Grand Prix of Australia in Phillip Island, where he impressed. While his champion teammate failed to finish, Wessel crossed the finish line in sixth in his first race, losing out by under a second to Nicole Liechti who finished fifth. At the second race of the season in Motegi, Wessel would find himself being the one not finishing the race, being classified in 22nd following an early crash. A seventh place finish at Brno would help balance out the start of the season.

Upon the series' return to the U.S. for the first time in the season, Wessel found himself on the backfoot and having to learn on the fly. A 16th place result at St. Pete was followed by 14th at Homestead-Miami, and a 13th at his first Indianapolis 500. Compared to his teammate, Draco, Draco had four top 5 finishes in the first six races, with a third place at the Indianapolis 500 buoying him into the points lead. Wessel, who was one of several contending for rookie of the year honors, was behind both Natalia Kirichenko, and Keisha Fox, who also both had podiums to their credit in the first six races. Wessel would get his first series podium with a third place at Texas, finishing behind Draco, who finished second, and Cristine Espinoza.

The European leg of the season would another rough patch for Wessel in his rookie season. At Valkenburg, Wessel's day was hampered by contact with the concrete retaining wall, leaving him with another 16th place finish. He would lead most of the race at Lausitz before having his gearbox let go on a restart, relegating him to 19th. Two more good races would fall Wessel's way after the series made it's second return to the North American continent. Wessel finished sixth at Toronto, before scoring a superb second place finish behind Isabel Espinoza at Belle Isle.

Wessel would then experience his longest drought without a top 10 in the season, beginning with a 32nd place finish at Pocono. An 11th at Watkins Glen would follow suit, with Kentucky being a last place finish, and Richmond only being good for 15th. The drought would end at Mid-Ohio thanks to a strategy call. Wessel held the lead late after many front runners pit for tires and fuel. Wessel dove into pit lane with less than five to go for only fuel, and held on to win his first career Champ Car race, ahead of his teammate, Draco, and Cat Devil Racing's Camyron Jackson. The win would be Wessel's last highlight of the 2020 season, with a 17th at New Hampshire, 22nd at Road America, 10th at the Indianapolis road course, and a 25th to finish the season at Fontana.

### 2022

Wessel was announced as a driver for Swift Autosport for the 2022 season, with initial reports indicating he was likely to move down to the second tier IndyCar Series, before the team restructured its plans and kept him in Champ Car for the 2022 season. He would be driving the #50, with Chevrolet engines for the first time, and would pair alongside Kaylee Zappa.