As my colleague Dave Caldwell reports, Mr. Wheldon is probably the most famous driver to die in an American race since Dale Earnhardt, an icon of the sport who died on the last lap of the Daytona 500 in 2001.
"Nobody says Nico Rosberg is only in F1 because his dad was a famous racing driver who funded his karting career and helped him get into F1.
"Unfortunately, he is probably the most famous driver of all time so it has a certain weight, which we also understand," Hembery said.
Although not originally campaigned in the blue, yellow and red livery of the Penske Sunoco team and its most famous driver, Mark Donohue, the car is scheduled to cross the block in this configuration, and is expected to bring between $3.25 million and $4 million dollars.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., who is 35, has been the most famous driver in Nascar, and most beloved by fans, over the past eight years, and yet he has almost vanished from sight in Nascar winner circles.
"A lot of famous drivers were long-standing friends of Ayrton's so it's completely understandable they went to Ayrton's, but I just felt he was being neglected.
"Once you change your habits, it's going to make it tough for us to get them back in the mode" of spending, said Richard Petty, who was one of Nascar's most famous drivers and now owns a team.
But this week FOTA was confident it had lined up a credible series of races with enough circuits, famous drivers and loyal sponsors to threaten F1's monopoly.
I have a Q&A with Mario Andretti, one of the greatest and most famous drivers of all time, who was recently appointed as the ambassador of the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, where the U.S. Grand Prix will take place in November.
These races are their showcases, and they would love to leave the more famous drivers in the dust.
