Massive Justin Wilson Charity Auction

Big fund raising effort for Justin Wilson's kids and wife. Who will be next? With no canopies on the IndyCars it can happen anytime, and the tears will flow again.

The volume of domestic and international support for the wife and children of the late Formula 1 and IndyCar driver Justin Wilson is growing at an incredible rate. In what could be the biggest fundraising effort to date, Devin Werig, the CEO of eBay, and IndyCar driver Graham Rahal, have united to create a massive auction of motor racing memorabilia that will go directly to the Wilson Children's Fund.

Rahal led an identical eBay auction in 2011 to benefit the wife and children of Dan Wheldon using premium motor racing memorabilia which raised $590,000. Rahal's auction for Wilson, who served as his teammate in 2008, has a goal of raising $1 million or more for the Briton's family. An international network of drivers, teams, and manufacturers from IndyCar to Formula 1 to the FIA World Endurance Championship has offered to donate driving gear, bodywork, and other high-value memorabilia.

Possibly the most heartwarming news to come out of Sonoma is the grid of drivers from Sunday's GoPro Grand Prix will donate their race-worn helmets for auction at the completion of the race. That unprecedented move will launch the eBay auction, and with Werig's help, auction fees and other costs associated with the charity fundraising effort will be waived.

"Yes, we're gonna do it," Rahal told RACER. "Scott Dixon has been very influential [in IndyCar]. AJ Allmendinger is going to lead the charge [in NASCAR]. I think Courtney [Force] is going to lead the charge on the NHRA front. The folks at Red Bull Racing, Mercedes [in F1] everyone else has been extremely helpful overseas. I think it's going to start in about two weeks from today. eBay has been excellent. I spoke with Stefan Wilson and he's been on board."

With the increased reach of social media during the span between Wheldon's passing and Wilson's death, the chance to secure the Wilson daughters' financial future is rather significant.

Rahal's eBay auction follows a number of efforts to raise funds for Wilson's family. The first charitable efforts established by the Verizon IndyCar Series produced memorial stickers and t-shirts commemorating Wilson, and all proceeds go the Wilson Children's Fund. In only a half-day at Sonoma Raceway, all of the t-shirts and stickers sold out.

Racecar driver-turned-artist Aaron Justus, who regularly works with RACER on design projects, updated a t-shirt he was commissioned by Wilson to create and is selling with the blessing of the Wilson family to support the Children's Fund. In approximately 18 hours since the link went live and sales started, more than 1000 t-shirts have been sold.

Honda and Honda Performance Development announced their intent to donate up to $55,000 in a unique initiative where each lap completed by a Honda-powered driver during Sunday's Go Pro Grand Prix of Sonoma will see the Japanese manufacturer contribute $50 to the Children's Fund.

And tributes to the great man in the form of stickers have spread from NASCAR to the Mazda MX-5 Cup to the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Rahal, who sits second in the Verizon IndyCar Series championship that will be settled this weekend, expects to have all of the details for the eBay auction established in the coming days. racer.com