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ST. PETERSBURG — Mayor Bill Foster called race car driver Dan Wheldon's death Sunday a "tremendous blow" to his home city.
His fondest memory of Wheldon was after the driver won the Indianapolis 500 in May. Under Foster, the city of St. Petersburg hosted a celebration and issued a proclamation naming the day in honor of him. Wheldon had also won the Indy 500 in 2005.
Foster called Wheldon a "super dad" and proud resident.
"It's a tremendous blow for this sport and his adopted city. All I can think about is his wife and children at this time. As a community, we're just going to lift his family up and make sure they're supported," Foster said.
Wheldon was a member of the mayor's Sports Alliance, which develops sports-related events in St. Petersburg, and was helping the group try to attract a go-kart race to the city, Foster said.
"He was a member of this community. He was very active in the Sports Alliance. He loved St. Pete. This was his home. We adopted him as our favorite racing son," Foster said.
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