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MILLER: A Win for Wilson
Written by: Robin Miller   
04/06/2009
Indianapolis, IN
 
He doesn't have a fancy motorhome, a posse or a PR machine. Hell, up until a couple months ago, Justin Wilson didn't even have a ride in the IndyCar series.

But what the lanky Brit does have is some massive talent, an indomitable spirit and the best attitude of any race driver on this planet. In these days of egos run amok, self-serving mommas boys and drivers so out of touch with reality, the 6-4 Wilson stands out even more than he does in the team photo.
Fans, the press, and even Dale Coyne Racing's competitors wanted to see Justin Wilson score a fairy tale win at St. Pete on Sunday. 3rd was the best he could do, but the story is no less powerful. (LAT) » More Photos
He's a hard-core racer, fair and fast, who drives as clean as he talks and seldom puts a wheel wrong. Instead of making excuses, he makes things happen and wrings the most of his situation. He's good with the media and even better with the fans. And he truly appreciates the opportunity to make a living driving a race car.

That was evident again Sunday afternoon in the Honda Grand Prix of St. Pete. After sticking Dale Coyne's car on the front row, JWill grabbed the season opener by its nick. He'd driven a marvelous race, leading 52 laps (including the first 34 on those tricky alternate tires Firestone brought) and holding onto the top spot on cold tires following his final pit stop.

It was going to be one of the best feel good stories in recent open wheel history: the proven driver nobody seemed to want on the team nobody has ever won for was 14 laps away from a victory for the ages. Up and down pit road, even people on other teams were quietly pulling for the Sonny's Bar-B-Q Special. Justice for Justin sounded like a good headline.

But, because of all the amateur driving and 28 laps of caution, the never-ending parade of restarts finally bit the leader. He got passed by Ryan Briscoe and Ryan Hunter-Reay on Lap 87 diving into Turn 1 and had to settle for third place.

When the 30-year-old veteran rolled to a stop, he didn't throw his helmet or stomp away. He climbed out and shook hands with a couple of his crewmen: "Sorry guys, I didn't get off that last corner like I had been on that one restart and he (Briscoe) got a great run on me."

Yep, this ex-Formula One shoe and CART winner almost apologized for finishing on the podium in Coyne's car. He'd just driven his heart out for two hours and he was consoling his new crew.
Wilson led more laps than anyone on his way to the podium. With more funding, the team could be steady visitors to the top of the finishing order. (LAT) » More Photos
He'd beaten the big buck teams of Ganassi (Dario Franchitti), Andretti-Green (Tony Kanaan) and Penske (Will Power) and the one that cut him loose (Newman/Haas/Lanigan) in this perennial shoestring operation.

"Justin drove his ass off, he was very impressive, especially in that first stint," said Franchitti, making his IndyCar return. "He's a damn good race driver." That sentiment was echoed by race winner Briscoe.

"It was tricky out there
and I can't say enough about how fair Justin raced me," said the Aussie who will be tough to beat in 2009, "He's been making great restarts but it looked like he changed his strategy a little and I was able to stay right under his wing coming off the last corner. I may have had a bit less downforce than him and got a great slipstream."

Coyne, who has upgraded his team with engineer Bill Pappas and a couple of other hires, had led races before with Bruno Junqueira, Oriol Servia, Michel Jourdain and Alex Barron but this was as close as the Chicago native had ever been to a checkered flag.

"Justin led the most laps and was the fastest car out there," said Coyne, whose team's pit stops were quick and efficient. "I never thought I'd be disappointed with a podium but we were so close." The fact Coyne has someone of Wilson's ilk is a direct result of the economy, the IRL's lack of properly-funded teams and its sky high budgets. Newman/Haas/Lanigan couldn't find sponsorship so Justin was replaced by Robert Doornbos, who is funded by his father.

Of course instead of whining to everyone about his fate, JWill pressed on and tried to stay positive. The closest he came to bitching was when he said: "It doesn't seem fair but a lot of things in life aren't fair and me complaining about it isn't going to do any good."

Despite his obvious prowess behind the wheel, Wilson couldn't get a sniff in ALMS or Grand Am and was just about to start thinking he might be an Indy 500 driver only when Coyne called.
Wilson stood for the 2009 official IndyCar photo session in plain white overalls. He's traded them for a new red pair, but the problem remains the same: empty spaces waiting to be filled by sponsors. (LAT) » More Photos
A winner in Champ Car with RuSport before it disbanded, Justin got snapped up by NHL last year for the unified IRL and delivered a victory at Detroit. In another era, somebody with his ability would never be without a ride -- let alone end up driving for a team near the bottom of the barrel.

But Coyne seems serious about doing whatever necessary to be competitive and obviously Pappas and Wilson have some chemistry. The best thing about the IRL's first two races of '09 is that they're street shows -- where there's no testing and a good driver/engineer combo can make a difference.

If JWill was hurting after Sunday's opener, you'd never know. He smiled, sprayed champagne and congratulated the two Ryans. Then he told the press conference: "I'm disappointed not to get the win but, under the circumstances, I'm pleased with third because we worked hard and pulled together.

"We've got some good people on this team."

And the best one is in the driver's seat.


The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, SPEED, FOX, or NewsCorp.
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