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IndyCar
INDYCAR: Justin Wilson In High Demand
With IndyCar ace Justin Wilson linked to at least six drives in 2012, the lanky Englishman finds himself with some tough choices to make.
Wilson helped the minnows at Dale Coyne Racing to score their first win in 2009 after decades of trying. (LAT)
If all of the rumors are true, Justin Wilson will drive for A.J. Foyt, Bobby Rahal, Dreyer & Reinbold, Michael Andretti, Michael Shank and a new Lotus team--built specifically for the 33-year-old Briton--next year.
While the concept of filling one-quarter of the grid with Justin Wilson clones would be an interesting sight to behold, the six-time Indy car race winner tells SPEED.com he's trying to narrow the list of opportunities to those that will give him the best shot at returning to Victory Lane.
“I’ve had some interesting phone calls of late," he said. "Right now, there’s not much I can really talk about, but it has proven to be an interesting off-season so far and many teams are clearly working hard to improve their programs—their competitive situation for next season. I’m weighing what’s best to do right now; it’s 10:30 p.m. right now, and I’m up talking with my wife Julia about which direction to take...”
Renowned for his technical abilities and racecraft, Wilson's services have been in high demand--despite a season-ending back injury he suffered at Mid-Ohio--with new engines and chassis on the horizon.
With chassis setup and development experience from a season spent in F1 and his years in Champ Car, the tools Wilson possesses, like many of the current drivers that had open-wheel careers prior to joining the IZOD IndyCar Series, are proving to be rather appealing.
“I’m fortunate to have driven for teams and in series where you’re always developing and always having to build information to improve the car. It would be fair to say that some of what I have to offer outside of the normal duties of competing for a team during a 17-round championship is of interest to teams that also need a driver to help build the setup book for the new car. I think we’re seeing an interest in the guys who’ve bridged the different Indy car series and can bring all of that diverse knowledge to the table.”
With the playing field being leveled with the new chassis, Wilson also sees the value in hiring an open-wheel veteran at a time when teams are jockeying to gain a technical advantage.
“There are a lot of great drivers who’ve come up in the IndyCar Series, or the IRL as it were, and no disrespect to them, but I think for some teams, looking to a driver who has experience in a spec car like the current Dallara and has raced or maybe developed cars that weren’t spec is a serious asset. Having the best of both worlds is something that will help. I think you’ll see some teams looking very strong next year based on how they’ve gone about forming their team and how they developed the new car. That’s the big race to win in the off-season, as I see it.”
As Wilson continues to weigh his current offers, he says he’d like to take his time but knows a competitive driver market won’t afford a long grace period.
“That’s always the dilemma. There’s one offer that has a time limit on it, and some of the others haven’t crystalized fully yet, so you naturally want to wait for all your offers to become clear before you make a decision, even though that isn’t always possible. You have choices on which engine package you believe will be most advantageous to use, for example, and trying to work out what’s best to lean towards is hard at the moment. You don’t want to miss out on the best opportunity, but the offers don’t always come at the same time.
“It would be nice if you have five ready offers in front of you to pick from, but as I mentioned, some of them take time to develop. Right now, the mindset is not to rush into anything, but I also know I have to make a decision fairly soon. It’s interesting days ahead, for sure.”
Marshall Pruett is SPEED.com's Auto Racing Editor, covering IndyCar and sports cars. He also contributes to Road & Track and Racecar Engineering. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.
While the concept of filling one-quarter of the grid with Justin Wilson clones would be an interesting sight to behold, the six-time Indy car race winner tells SPEED.com he's trying to narrow the list of opportunities to those that will give him the best shot at returning to Victory Lane.
“I’ve had some interesting phone calls of late," he said. "Right now, there’s not much I can really talk about, but it has proven to be an interesting off-season so far and many teams are clearly working hard to improve their programs—their competitive situation for next season. I’m weighing what’s best to do right now; it’s 10:30 p.m. right now, and I’m up talking with my wife Julia about which direction to take...”
Renowned for his technical abilities and racecraft, Wilson's services have been in high demand--despite a season-ending back injury he suffered at Mid-Ohio--with new engines and chassis on the horizon.
With chassis setup and development experience from a season spent in F1 and his years in Champ Car, the tools Wilson possesses, like many of the current drivers that had open-wheel careers prior to joining the IZOD IndyCar Series, are proving to be rather appealing.
“I’m fortunate to have driven for teams and in series where you’re always developing and always having to build information to improve the car. It would be fair to say that some of what I have to offer outside of the normal duties of competing for a team during a 17-round championship is of interest to teams that also need a driver to help build the setup book for the new car. I think we’re seeing an interest in the guys who’ve bridged the different Indy car series and can bring all of that diverse knowledge to the table.”
With the playing field being leveled with the new chassis, Wilson also sees the value in hiring an open-wheel veteran at a time when teams are jockeying to gain a technical advantage.
“There are a lot of great drivers who’ve come up in the IndyCar Series, or the IRL as it were, and no disrespect to them, but I think for some teams, looking to a driver who has experience in a spec car like the current Dallara and has raced or maybe developed cars that weren’t spec is a serious asset. Having the best of both worlds is something that will help. I think you’ll see some teams looking very strong next year based on how they’ve gone about forming their team and how they developed the new car. That’s the big race to win in the off-season, as I see it.”
As Wilson continues to weigh his current offers, he says he’d like to take his time but knows a competitive driver market won’t afford a long grace period.
“That’s always the dilemma. There’s one offer that has a time limit on it, and some of the others haven’t crystalized fully yet, so you naturally want to wait for all your offers to become clear before you make a decision, even though that isn’t always possible. You have choices on which engine package you believe will be most advantageous to use, for example, and trying to work out what’s best to lean towards is hard at the moment. You don’t want to miss out on the best opportunity, but the offers don’t always come at the same time.
“It would be nice if you have five ready offers in front of you to pick from, but as I mentioned, some of them take time to develop. Right now, the mindset is not to rush into anything, but I also know I have to make a decision fairly soon. It’s interesting days ahead, for sure.”
Marshall Pruett is SPEED.com's Auto Racing Editor, covering IndyCar and sports cars. He also contributes to Road & Track and Racecar Engineering. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.
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