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Late IndyCar champion Dan Wheldon's young sons honored at Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

PALMETTO, Fla. – The sons of the late IndyCar series champion Dan Wheldon had perhaps the best day ever with a birthday cake and a few laps around the track on Thursday at Grand Prix of St. Petersburg media day.

Sebastian, 6, wearing in fire suit and a helmet honoring his late father, a two-time Indianapolis 500-winner and former IndyCar series champion, led the pace laps before the fifth-annual pro/am kart race at Andersen RacePark.

Oliver, 4, celebrated his birthday with a cake and a serenade. Behind him was a large framed photograph of his father dousing himself in milk after his last Indy 500 win in 2011.

The Wheldons still reside in St. Petersburg – where Dan relocated in 1999 in search of a break in North America and won the inaugural IndyCar event in 2005 – and have remained a visible facet of the race after his death in the final event of the 2011 IndyCar season at Vegas Motor Speedway.

Gregarious and wielding an ever-present sly smile, Wheldon considered himself a local and was embraced as such by the populous. And as a doting dad, he would have enjoyed Thursday very much.

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