IndyCar: Susie Wheldon looking to support young drivers through Karting Challenge

"Dan obviously had two big passions in life and that was his family and racing," said Susie Wheldon, who supports the event in honor of her late husband. "He did a lot of these karting events in the off-season – he really loved being around back in his roots and really mentoring these young kids that were coming up through the ranks. I'd love to be able to offer some kind of a scholarship to help one of the kids in need of help – there are so many talented karters but it's so incredibly expensive and a lot of times they run out of budget and they don't have the opportunity.

"I'm looking at ways that I can expand and carry on Dan's legacy, and that's something I'm interested in doing and working towards as well."

The inaugural Dan Wheldon Memorial Pro-Am Karting Challenge raised more than $100,000, and this year's event will once again help the Wheldon family make donations to a number of causes that were important to the two-time Indy 500 winner.

"This event is benefiting the Alzheimer's Association in its second year, which is something that obviously our family is really passionate about, too," she explained. "Unfortunately, Dan's mother Sue lost her battle with Alzheimer's in April, and we are really committed to the cause. Obviously, we're hoping to expand our scope of just the funds that we receive. Also I'm doing two donations in terms of some money will go towards research. I was lucky enough to raise enough money last year to establish the Sue Wheldon fund within the Alzheimer's Association.

"We also want to support the families of the caregivers who are caring for the people with Alzheimer's. This year I'm also going to be donating a portion to the Florida Golf Course Chapter which is in my local area, St. Pete, and we're just really impressed and pleased with how the event has gone and continues to grow. Hopefully we can carry it on for a few more years."

Once she works out the finer points of the karting scholarship, Wheldon says she would welcome seeing some of its recipients return to compete at the charity event after they've hopefully gone onto careers in IndyCar or other series.

"I would love for that to happen, and like I said, Dan loved being around karting in the off-season and was so supportive of what it did for his career, so I would love to be able to give somebody an opportunity like that, too," she said.

"I'd love to tie it back in so they can come back once they've hopefully become a big star in the racing world and just come back and be a part of our event. And our oldest son, Sebastian, just started racing, so he'll be pacing the field this year, just one lap around. Hopefully, if that carries on for years to come he'll be able to actually drive in it and that would be really special."