Andretti Global announced Feb. 7 that junior development driver Oliver Wheldon will make his car racing debut in the 2024 Skip Barber Race Series with continued support from Gainbridge and Group 1001.

Wheldon, 12, the son of the late, two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon, joins the Skip Barber Race Series after a successful start in karting saw him score championship titles in the SKUSA Winter Series (2020, 2022) and the Rok Cup FWT (2020, 2021). The younger Wheldon joins the Skip Barber Race Series field just one year after brother Sebastian, also an Andretti development driver, won the 2023 championship title awarding him a $100,000 scholarship to compete in the USF Junior Championship.

"I am super excited to race with Skip Barber in 2024,” Oliver Wheldon said. “This will help me a lot with becoming a better driver and learning to feel more comfortable in the car after making the leap from karts. I can also lean on my brother Sebastian for advice, as he won the championship last year. I want to thank Andretti and Gainbridge for their continued support. I’m really looking forward to my first year in cars.”

Oliver Wheldon joins a long list of Andretti drivers to train with Skip Barber, including his father, Michael and Marco Andretti, Bryan Herta, current Andretti NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers Colton Herta and Kyle Kirkwood and current Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti drivers Jordan and Ricky Taylor. With international racing experience, celebrated skill and the firm belief that competitive race car driving was teachable, Skip Barber founded his legendary racing school in 1975. Since that first class, over 400,000 students have become graduates and champions.

“It’s been exciting to watch Oliver grow as a driver as he’s worked his way through the karting ranks, and we’re confident that this is the right time for him to take the next step into car racing,” Andretti Global President J-F Thormann said.