Sebastian and Oliver were only two and a half and seven-months-old, respectively, when their father—British race car driver Dan Wheldon—tragically died at the age of 33 during a horrific 15-car pileup at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2011.
Despite the tragedy, the two-time Indianapolis 500 winner’s sons—now 15 and 12—decided at an early age that they still wanted to follow in their father’s footsteps. Mr. Wheldon’s widow, Susie, reflected on their boys’ decision during a recent conversation with Time Magazine.
Although Ms. Wheldon never tried to prevent them from joining racing, she admitted that she has questioned their pursuit of the sport along the way.
“I have asked them, ‘Is this something you want to do?’ to the point where they’re just like, ‘Stop asking, mom,'” she recalled.
“I wanted them to know that this is not the only way that they can feel close to their dad or connect with their dad,” she added. “That was important for me, for them to know that.”
Following in Their Father’s Footsteps
In a full circle moment, Sebastian and Oliver signed with Andretti Global, formerly known as Andretti Autosport, in 2021.
The motorsports organization, which is owned by former racing driver Michael Andretti, son of racing legend Mario Andretti, is the same team that Mr. Wheldon was signed to from 2003 to 2005—although it was then called Andretti Green Racing.
Oliver joined the Skip Barber Formula Racing Series, in which Sebastian clinched the championship title in 2023. He earned a $100,000 advancement prize, swiftly moving up the ranks to the junior circuit.
Today, Ms. Wheldon says she still occasionally grapples with whether or not she made the right decision. “There are definitely doubts in my mind. So many times, I ask, ‘Is this the right thing? Is this the right path? Am I making a mistake?'” she said.
“But I think you get those little nudges,” she added. “Seeing them win on the racetrack, or seeing them overcome an obstacle, those kinds of things are a nudge that lets you know you are on the right path.”
In a recent interview with People, she shared that her faith has also helped her navigate the entire experience. “I pray a lot,” she said.
“I pray for their safety, for them to do well. As they got older, and as they were moving up through the ranks, obviously it got more dangerous,” she noted. “Certainly it’s more competitive, and you get faster and it’s serious. It’s not for everybody.”
Overall, Ms. Wheldon said she enjoyed really “great moments at the track” with her boys.
“These years that I’m spending with them, they’re really, really special,” she told Time. “I know that it’s not the traditional model. I’m trying to enjoy all of it because I know it goes so fast.”
“It’s really been a blessing to be with them on this journey,” she continued. “What they’re doing, what we’re preparing for, is something extraordinary as well. It’s a sacrifice. But it’ll also have a big reward, hopefully.”
‘The Lionheart’
Ms. Wheldon and her children’s story is at the center of a new film, called “The Lionheart”—a nickname Mr. Wheldon earned for his fearless racing tenacity.
The documentary—presented by HBO Sports Documentaries and co-produced by Time Studios Production and Stardust Frames Production—delves into Mr. Wheldon’s incredible legacy, following his sons’ decisions to “work through their loss the only way they know how: getting behind the wheel to race,” per HBO.
Ms. Wheldon told Time Magazine that she was approached “a few times” in the past regarding creating a documentary about her late husband. However, she shared that she wasn’t quite ready mentally and emotionally to participate in such a project.
“The timing didn’t feel right,” she said. “I was in the midst of my grief and raising two small kids. I really didn’t know what the journey would be.”
As time went on, however, she had a change of heart. “There was one thing that I was very adamant about. I did not want the story to end at Dan’s accident,” she said. “Because it’s not the end. The boys are a big part of his legacy. He’s here.”
The film’s director, Laura Brownson, described her decision to make “The Lionheart,” telling People that she was initially drawn to the idea after reading an article about the Wheldon boys’ decision to take up racing after their father’s tragic death.
“I knew of Dan’s larger-than-life personality and tragic passing, but it had never dawned on me that I might want to tell his story until seeing that article,” she explained.
“Suddenly, with the layer of the boys’ on-going story, I saw a much more relatable film, moving beyond the realm of motorsport, and touching on universal themes of familial legacy, fathers and sons, mothers and sons, risk-taking, loss, and love,” she added.
The mother of “two risk-taking boys” herself, Ms. Brownson, said she related to Ms. Wheldon’s “palpable dilemma” of allowing Sebastian and Oliver to race. She noted that she wanted to better understand why they would pursue the very thing that took their father from them. More importantly, she queried, “Why would Susie let them?”
“What I came to learn is that they race because when behind the wheel, it’s the closest they will ever get to Dan,” Ms. Brownson shared. “From my perspective, it’s extraordinarily brave of her to push aside her own fear, and allow them to drive.”
From The Epoch Times
