Justin Wilson

Justin Boyd Wilson (31 July 1978 – 24 August 2015) was a British professional open-wheel racing driver. Just before his death, he was competing part-time in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 25 Honda for Andretti Autosport. Earlier, he competed in the Champ Car series from 2004–07, scoring four wins. He also competed in Formula One in the 2003 season with Minardi and Jaguar and was the winner of the 2001 International Formula 3000 championship. He was also a winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona. To date, he is the tallest person to have raced in Formula One.
On 23 August 2015, Wilson suffered a traumatic brain injury in an accident at the Pocono Raceway,Wilson remains in critical condition - AUTOSPORT which caused his death the following day.
==Racing career==
===Early career (to 2002)===
Brought up in the tiny hamlet of Woodall, near Harthill, South Yorkshire,Justin Wilson – Champ Car Racing Driver Wilson began racing karts in 1987. During the mid 1990s, he spent several years in Formula Vauxhall with Paul Stewart Racing before earning international attention when he won the inaugural Formula Palmer Audi championship with nine race wins. In 1998, he was a finalist in the McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award. A year later, he graduated to the FIA International Formula 3000 championship and won the championship in 2001, setting a record winning margin in the process.
Despite his success, his height proved a liability, and prevented him from securing a Formula One drive for . He found a drive in the Telefónica World Series by Nissan, where he continued his winning ways with race victories at Interlagos and Valencia.
Wilson also tested for the Minardi Formula One team, but although regular driver Alex Yoong was replaced for two rounds, Wilson was unable to race the car due to his height.
===Formula One (2003)===
For , Minardi designed the car around Wilson's frame and signed him up to race. The car was off the pace but Wilson performed favourably against his more experienced teammate, Jos Verstappen. He switched to Jaguar Racing to replace Antônio Pizzonia for the last five races of the season, and scored his first championship point at the United States Grand Prix. However, Wilson did not retain his position with Jaguar Racing, because Ford was not prepared to pour unlimited funds into Formula One and advised the team that they would have to take on a paying driver. Christian Klien, who was funded by Austrian drink company Red Bull, and who had tested for Jaguar in November 2003, was able to bring sponsorship and thus secure a driver's seat for .
===Champ Car (2004 to 2007)===
At the beginning of 2004, Wilson joined the Champ Car World Series with Mi-Jack Conquest Racing. He qualified as high as second in his rookie season and finished the year in 11th place in the standings. In addition to Champ Cars, Wilson also raced at the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race, sharing the Racing for Holland Dome-Judd S101 with Tom Coronel and Ralph Firman, personally setting the fifth fastest lap.
In 2005, Wilson moved to the RuSPORT team to partner with A. J. Allmendinger. He won his first Champ Car race at Toronto. Continuing with his success in Canada, Wilson finished third at Montreal, then rounded off the year with a victory from pole in the final race of the season at the Mexico City circuit. Wilson finished the season in third place in the drivers' standings behind series champion Sébastien Bourdais and second-placed Oriol Servia.
Wilson stayed with RuSPORT for the 2006 season, and finished second in the series. On 19 October 2006, in the Friday qualifying for the Surfers Paradise race, Wilson hit a small barrier of tyres in a chicane. When the front wheels lurched sideways after the impact, the steering wheel spun sharply in Wilson's hands and broke a small bone in his right wrist. 
For 2007, Wilson was signed on a multi-year contract with RSPORTS, a merger of his former team and Rocketsports.RuSPORT News He finished second in the championship. Preceding the European rounds of the championship (Zolder, Belgium and Assen, Holland), RSPORTS announced their separation back into RuSport and Rocketsports.Champ Car: RSPORTS Team Re-Divided, SpeedTV.com, 23 August 2007
===IndyCar (2008–2015)===
Wilson signed for reigning ChampCar champions Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing for 2008, replacing Sébastien Bourdais. The ChampCar series merged with the Indy Racing League for 2008, meaning that Wilson and team-mate Graham Rahal competed in the IndyCar Series. Wilson qualified on pole for the Long Beach Grand Prix and second at Edmonton. Wilson won his first race for NHLR and took his maiden IndyCar Series win at the Detroit Indy Grand Prix in late August, moving up from fourth at the start to second through pitstops before gaining the lead when Hélio Castroneves was penalised for blocking. However, like many drivers switching from the road and street course based Champ Car series, he was not yet competitive in the series' oval races.
At the end of the points scoring races of the season Wilson placed 11th in the overall standings and finished second in the Bombardier Rookie of the Year standings. He missed out by just four points from Hideki Mutoh of the long established IndyCar Series Andretti Green Racing team, he was the best placed of the so-called transition drivers without any significant oval racing history. Oriol Servia finished higher but had enough oval racing experience in both the IRL and Champ Car to not be deemed a rookie.
thumb|left|Wilson racing at the Milwaukee Mile for Dale Coyne Racing in 2009
Wilson agreed to drive for Dale Coyne Racing in 2009,http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/indycar-justin-wilson-joins-dale-coyne-says-miller/ after losing his ride at Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing. Wilson qualified second for the 2009 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg to start the season, which is Coyne's best qualifying result in the team's 23-year history. He finished the race in third position, set the fastest lap of the race and led the most laps. Wilson was leading before a late-race caution came out; eventual race winner Ryan Briscoe passed him on the restart.
On 5 July 2009 Wilson scored his second IndyCar Series win, and Dale Coyne's first victory as an owner in his team's 23-year history. At the 2009 Camping World Grand Prix at the Glen, Wilson again qualified second, only behind Briscoe, who set a new track record twice over the course of qualifying. Because Dario Franchitti crashed early in the final round of qualifying, Wilson was able to save a set of Firestone's alternate-compound tires, which are designed to make the car faster, but also wear out more quickly. Wilson was the fastest driver in final practice. In the race itself, Wilson attempted to pass Briscoe on the second lap, but was unsuccessful; two laps later, he made the pass stick, leading the first of 49 laps he spent in front. With six laps remaining in the 60-lap event, a full-course caution came out, resulting in the same setup as St. Petersburg: Wilson leading late, with Briscoe right behind him. This time, however, Wilson retained the lead, stretching it to 4.9 seconds by the end of the race.http://www.dalecoyneracing.com/release070509_1.html
Wilson took part in the 2010 running of the Daytona 24 Hours race. This time he was racing for Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates in the Telmex/Target sponsored 01 Riley BMW prototype. Wilson shared the car with Max Papis, Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas, the car finished the race on the lead lap in second place. During the race in an interview with Speed TV Wilson confirmed he was still working on a drive in the 2010 IndyCar season, saying he hoped to have a deal arranged "in the next few weeks".
On 2 February 2010 it was announced that Wilson would be joining Dreyer & Reinbold Racing for the 2010 IndyCar season, he drove the No. 22 Z-Line Designs sponsored car and was partnered by Mike Conway. For the opening race in Brazil they were joined by Ana Beatriz. For the 94th running of the Indianapolis 500 the team was expanded to run four cars for Tomas Scheckter and Ana Beatriz. Wilson begun the season well in the road and street courses, often running near the front, finishing second in both the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg and the Long Beach Grand Prix. He ran in the lead towards the end of the Indy 500 setting the fastest out lap of all the drivers during the race.
After Conway was sidelined for an accident in the closing stages of the Indy 500, Wilson was partnered by Tomas Scheckter, Graham Rahal and Paul Tracy. It was announced that he would be joined by J. R. Hildebrand who made his IndyCar debut at Mid-Ohio. Wilson won the pole in the Toronto event but fell to seventh in the race. Wilson finished the season eleventh in points.
On 11 November 2010 Dreyer & Reinbold announced that Wilson would return for a second season. Wilson was having a difficult season, but had just captured a season best finish of fifth at Edmonton when he injured his back when his car was launched into the air after running off course at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course during a practice session.Justin Wilson sidelined with back injury, Crash.net, 7 August 2011, Retrieved 24 August 2015 He was replaced by four different drivers in the car for the remaining races.
In January 2012 Dale Coyne Racing revealed that they had signed Wilson for the 2012 season. Wilson captured the team's first and his first oval victory at Texas Motor Speedway, although unapproved bodywork was found on Wilson's car during post-race inspection, the win was allowed to stand, with Wilson being docked five points and the team being fined.Graham Rahal questions penalty, ESPN, 15 June 2012, Retrieved 24 August 2015 The result would be by far his best of the season and he finished fifteenth in points. In 2013 Wilson returned to the team. He finished on the podium four times and finished sixth in the championship, his best IndyCar series points result since the merger with Champ Car. Wilson also captured his best career Indy 500 finish of fifth in the 2013 race. In 2014 Wilson again returned to the Coyne team, but failed to reach the podium and finished fifteenth in points. Wilson was a free agent at the beginning of the 2015 IndyCar Series season when Andretti Autosport announced that they had signed him to compete with them in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis and 2015 Indianapolis 500. After those races, Wilson was again on the sidelines until 7 July 2015 when Andretti announced that Wilson would compete in the final five races of the season with the team.Justin Wilson to complete IndyCar season with Andretti Autosport, Autosport, 7 July 2015, Retrieved 24 August 2015 Wilson finished on the podium in second at Mid-Ohio.
===Sports car racing===
In 2006, Wilson took part in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona event for the first time in his career, racing for the Michael Shank Racing team in a Lexus powered Riley & Scott Daytona Prototype chassis. Teaming up with Champ Car teammate A. J. Allmendinger, Oswaldo Negri and Mark Patterson, the car made it to the chequered flag in second place.
In 2008 Wilson again drove in the Rolex Daytona 24 Hours race for Michael Shank Racing, this time in a Ford powered Riley prototype chassis. He shared the number 60 car with Oswaldo Negri, Mark Patterson and Graham Rahal, they finished the race in sixth position and were the highest placed Ford powered car.
On 28–29 January 2012, Wilson and co-drivers AJ Allmendinger, Oswaldo Negri and John Pew won the 50th Rolex 24 at Daytona, driving the No. 60 Michael Shank Racing Riley MkXXVI Ford Daytona Prototype. It was his first Rolex 24 win. Wilson returned to the podium with Michael Shank Racing at Daytona in 2013 after he and co-drivers John Pew, Ozz Negri, Marcos Ambrose, and AJ Allmendinger recovered from being several laps down to finish third in the race.
==Investment program==
Wilson struggled to raise the money needed to get a Formula One seat with the Minardi team in , so his management team developed a program that gave investors the opportunity to support Wilson's career by buying shares in him to the public to raise the £1.2 million needed.Justin Wilson Investors' Club Retrieved 4 February 2008 The program was supported by television commentator Murray Walker amongst others and ended up being oversubscribed. There are nearly 900 shareholders, each of whom invested a minimum of £500. Wilson was formerly managed by former Grand Prix driver Jonathan Palmer.
==Personal life==
Wilson married girlfriend Julia in Sheffield, England on 29 December 2006.RuSPORT News The couple resided in Northampton, England and in Longmont, Colorado. Their first child, Jane Louise, was born on 12 April 2008 in Lafayette, Colorado, and Jessica Lynne was born on 12 January 2010.Proud parents Justin and Julia welcome Jane Louise Wilson 
Wilson's younger brother, Stefan, is also a racing driver. In 2009, Stefan joined the Indy Lights Series for its street and road course events, the support series to IndyCar. Stefan made his first IndyCar start in the 2013 Grand Prix of Baltimore driving alongside Justin for Dale Coyne Racing. It was the first time brothers had raced in IndyCar as teammates since Gary Bettenhausen and Tony Bettenhausen, Jr. in 1983.
==Death==
Wilson was fatally injured in an accident during the ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway on 23 August 2015. Race leader Sage Karam crashed late in the race, sending debris airborne. The nose cone from Karam's crashed car hit Wilson's helmet as he drove through the accident scene, and Wilson's car immediately veered left into the inside wall. Wilson was extricated from his car and airlifted to Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown. He was subsequently reported to be in a coma, and died the following day. Tributes from the motorsport world included Nigel Mansell, Jenson Button and Dario Franchitti.
==Motorsports career results==
===Complete International Formula 3000 results===
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Year	Entrant 	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	6 	7 	8 	9 	10 	11 	12 	DC 	Points
1999	Team Astromega 	IMO6	MONRet	CAT6	MAG10 	SILRet	A1RRet	HOCRet	HUN7 	SPARet	NÜRRet	 	 	20th	2
2000	Nordic Racing 	IMO8	SIL3 	CAT5	NÜRRet	MON7 	MAG9 	A1R2 	HOCRet	HUN5 	SPA5 	 	 	5th 	16
2001	Coca-Cola Nordic Racing	INT1	IMO6 	CAT3	A1R1 	MON2 	NÜRRet	MAG2 	SIL2 	HOC2 	HUN1 	SPA2	MNZ2	1st 	71
===Complete American Le Mans Series results===
Year	Entrant 	Class 	Chassis 	Engine 	Tyres	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	6 	7 	8 	9 	10 	Rank	Points
2002	Team Ascari 	LMP900	Ascari KZR-1	Judd GV4 4.0L V10	 	SEBovr:6cls:6 	SON	MID	AME	WAS	TRO	MOS	MON	MIA	PET	39th	19
2004	Taurus Racing	LMP1 	Lola B2K/10 	Judd GV4 4.0L V10	 	SEBovr:22cls:9	MID	LIM	SON	POR	MOS	AME	PET	MON	 	27th	8
===Complete Formula One results===
(key)
Year	Entrant 	Chassis 	Engine 	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	6 	7 	8 	9 	10 	11 	12 	13 	14 	15 	16 	WDC 	Points
2003	European Minardi Cosworth	Minardi PS03	Cosworth V10	AUSRet	MALRet	BRARet	SMRRet	ESP11	AUT13	MONRet	CANRet	EUR13	FRA14	GBR16	 	 	 	 	 	20th	1
2003	Jaguar Racing 	Jaguar R4 	Cosworth V10	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	GERRet	HUNRet	ITARet	USA8	JPN13	20th	1
===American open-wheel racing results===
(key)
====Champ Car====
Year	Team 	Chassis 	Engine 	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	6 	7 	8 	9 	10 	11 	12 	13 	14 	Rank	Points
2004	Conquest Racing	Lola B02/00	Ford XFE 	LBH6 	MTY6	 	POR5 	CLE18	TOR12	VAN14	ROA7	DEN7 	MTL14	LS18 	LVG8	SRF8 	MXC4 	11th	188
2004	Conquest Racing	Reynard 02i	Ford XFE 	 	 	MIL11	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	11th	188
2005	RuSPORT 	Lola B02/00	Ford XFE 	LBH4 	MTY4	MIL4 	POR17	CLE7 	TOR1 	EDM4 	SJO4	DEN17	MTL3 	LVG11	SRF7	MXC1 	 	3rd 	265
2006	RuSPORT 	Lola B02/00	Ford XFE 	LBH2 	HOU5	MTY2 	MIL2 	POR2 	CLE13	TOR4 	EDM1	SJO3 	DEN8 	MTL14	ROA5	SRFWth	MXC2 	2nd 	298
2007	RSPORTS 	Panoz DP01 	Cosworth XFE	LVG14	LBH4	HOU10	POR2 	CLE4 	MTT5 	TOR3 	EDM2	SJO13	ROA8 	ZOL5 	ASN1	SRF2 	MXC10	2nd 	281
====IndyCar Series====
Year	Team 	No.	Chassis 	Engine 	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	6 	7 	8 	9 	10 	11 	12 	13 	14 	15 	16 	17 	18 	19 	Rank	Points
2008	Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing	02 	Dallara 	Honda 	HMS15	STP9 	MOT1 	 	KAN9 	INDY27	MIL7 	TXS27	IOW12	RIR7 	WGL25	NSH18 	MDO11	EDM3 	KTY19	SNM9 	DET1 	CHI11	SRF212	11th	340
2008	Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing	02 	Panoz 	Cosworth	 	 	 	LBH119	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	11th	340
2009	Dale Coyne Racing 	19 	Dallara 	Honda 	STP3 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	9th 	354
2009	Dale Coyne Racing 	18 	Dallara 	Honda 	 	LBH22	KAN14	INDY23	MIL15 	TXS15 	IOW18	RIR14	WGL1 	TOR5 	EDM8 	KTY21 	MDO13	SNM7 	CHI10	MOT12	HMS10	 	 	9th 	354
2010	Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 	22 	Dallara 	Honda 	SAO11	STP2 	ALA7 	LBH2 	KAN18 	INDY7 	TXS19	IOW24	WGL10	TOR7*	EDM21	MDO27 	SNM6 	CHI7 	KTY11	MOT16	HMS21	 	 	11th	361
2011	Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 	22 	Dallara 	Honda 	STP10	ALA19	LBH22	SAO7 	INDY16 	TXS17 	TXS21	MIL10	IOW12	TOR15	EDM5 	MDOWth	NHM 	SNM 	BAL 	MOT 	KTY 	LVS 	 	24th	183
2012	Dale Coyne Racing 	18 	Dallara DW12	Honda 	STP10	ALA19	LBH10	SAO22 	INDY7 	DET22 	TXS1 	MIL23	IOW10	TOR21	EDM9 	MDO18 	SNM11	BAL17	FON23	 	 	 	 	15th	278
2013	Dale Coyne Racing 	19 	Dallara DW12	Honda 	STP9 	ALA8 	LBH3 	SAO20 	INDY5 	DET3 	DET22	TXS15	MIL9 	IOW11	POC7 	TOR11 	TOR8 	MDO8 	SNM2 	BAL4 	HOU3 	HOU4 	FON18 	6th 	472
2014	Dale Coyne Racing 	19 	Dallara DW12	Honda 	STP8 	LBH16	ALA6 	IMS11 	INDY 22	DET4 	DET12	TXS21	HOU10	HOU12	POC14	IOW13 	TOR10	TOR10	MDO15	MIL17	SNM9 	FON13	 	15th	395
2015	Andretti Autosport 	25 	Dallara DW12	Honda 	STP 	NLA 	LBH 	ALA 	IMS24 	INDY21	DET 	DET 	TXS 	TOR 	FON 	MIL18 	IOW17	MDO2 	POC15	SNM 	 	 	 	24th	108
: 1 Run on same day.
: 2 Non-points-paying, exhibition race.
Years	Teams	Races	Poles	Wins	Podiums(Non-win)	Top 10s(Non-podium)	Indianapolis 500Wins	Championships
8 	4 	120 	2 	3 	9 	41 	0 	0
====Indianapolis 500====
Year	Chassis	Engine	Start	Finish	Team
2008	Dallara	Honda 	16 	27 	Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing
2009	Dallara	Honda 	15 	23 	Dale Coyne Racing
2010	Dallara	Honda 	11 	7 	Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
2011	Dallara	Honda 	19 	16 	Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
2012	Dallara	Honda 	21 	7 	Dale Coyne Racing
2013	Dallara	Honda 	14 	5 	Dale Coyne Racing
2014	Dallara	Honda 	14 	22 	Dale Coyne Racing
2015	Dallara	Honda 	6 	21 	Andretti Autosport
===Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results===
Year	Team 	Co-Drivers 	Car 	Class	Laps	 	
2004	Racing for Holland	Tom Coronel Ralph Firman	Dome S101-Judd	LMP1 	313 	DNF	DNF
===Touring Car racing===
==== V8 Supercar results ====
Year	Team 	Car 	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	6 	7 	8 	9 	10 	11 	12 	13 	14 	15 	16 	17 	18 	19 	20 	21 	22 	23 	24 	25 	26 	27 	28 	29 	30 	31 	Final Pos	Points
2012	Kelly Racing	Holden VE Commodore	ADER1	ADER2	SYMR3	SYMR4	HAMR5	HAMR6	PERR7	PERR8	PERR9	PHIR10	PHIR11	HDVR12	HDVR13	TOWR14	TOWR15	QLDR16	QLDR17	SMPR18	SMPR19	SANQ	SANR20	BATR21	SURR2213	SURR2320	YMCR24	YMCR25	YMCR26	WINR27	WINR28	SYDR29	SYDR30	NC 	0 †
† Not Eligible for points
===Complete Formula E results===
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Year 	Team 	Car 	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	6 	7 	8 	9 	10 	11 	Pos 	Points
2014–15	Andretti Autosport	Spark-Renault SRT 01E	BEI	PUT	PDE	BNA	MIA	LBH	MON	BER	MOS10	LON	LON	25th	1
==References==
==External links==
* 
* 
* Justin Wilson Investors Club
Category:1978 births
Category:2015 deaths
Category:Sportspeople from Sheffield
Category:English racing drivers
Category:English Formula One drivers
Category:24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
Category:24 Hours of Daytona drivers
Category:Indianapolis 500 drivers
Category:IndyCar Series drivers
Category:Champ Car drivers
Category:International Formula 3000 drivers
Category:International Formula 3000 Champions
Category:EFDA Nations Cup drivers
Category:Formula Palmer Audi drivers
Category:American Le Mans Series drivers
Category:BRDC Gold Star winners
Category:McLaren Autosport BRDC Award nominees
Category:British expatriate sportspeople in the United States
Category:People educated at Birkdale School
Category:Minardi Formula One drivers
Category:Jaguar Formula One drivers
Category:Rolex Sports Car Series drivers
Category:V8 Supercar drivers
Category:United SportsCar Championship drivers
Category:Formula E drivers
Category:Sports deaths in Pennsylvania
Category:Filmed deaths in sports
Category:Racing drivers killed while racing