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Dan Wheldon's sons race at IMS to open IndyCar/NASCAR race weekend

Oliver and Sebastian Wheldon, whose late father Dan won the Indy 500 in 2005 and 2011, raced around the IMS road course Tuesday.

SPEEDWAY, Ind. — Dan Wheldon's legacy lives on at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as another race weekend nears at the "Brickyard."

The two-time Indy 500 winner's sons, Sebastian and Oliver, took to the IMS road course in go-karts Tuesday before both IndyCar and NASCAR race on the circuit this weekend.

"It's awesome, because we got to drive our karts around the Brickyard. It was cool because we got to go flat through the chicane," Sebastian said.

"It was really fun. The track's ... I like it a lot. The IndyCars, seems pretty fast in an IndyCar. I really like the corners, they're nice and smooth," Oliver said.

The brothers were waved across the famous Yard of Bricks by another Indy 500 winner, Scott Dixon, as they headed down the front straight at IMS, a place where their father made history twice by winning The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

The moment was not lost on the young racers, with a little sibling rivalry added for good measure. 

RELATED: 10 years later: Susie Wheldon is more than a survivor as she keeps her husband's legacy alive

"It felt good, especially seeing how he was able to win this race and, hopefully, I can do it one day as well," Sebastian said.

"I'll do it the first time I get it in an IndyCar," said Oliver, who was just two months old when his dad won his second Indy 500 in 2011. Dan Wheldon died in a crash during the season finale at Las Vegas just five months later.

Credit: AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File
FILE - In this May 30, 2011 file photo, IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon, of England, poses with his family, wife Susie, left, holding Oliver, and Sebastian, right, next to the Borg-Warner Trophy during the traditional winners photo of the Indianapolis 500 auto race champion on the start/finish line at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis. Wheldon died Sunday, Oct. 16, 2011 in a fiery 15-car wreck at Las Vegas Motor Speedway when his car flew over another on Lap 13 and smashed into the wall just outside turn 2. He was 33.

In an interview with 13Sports director Dave Calabro in May 2021, 10 years after Wheldon's second triumph at Indianapolis, his widow Susie said the decision to race is the boys' alone.

"I am here to support their dreams," she said. "I find a lot of comfort at the track with my boys. I don't know how to explain it."

Last year, the brothers signed junior driver development deals with Andretti Autosport to pursue their racing careers. 

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