Indianapolis 500
Wilson just glad to have a ride
INDIANAPOLIS – Even with a team such as Andretti Autosport behind him, Stefan Wilson couldn’t help but allow a little doubt to cross his mind as he approached qualifying for this year’s Indianapolis 500.
Wilson gave up what amounted to a guaranteed spot in the race a year ago to Fernando Alonso, and while Wilson received what was thought at the time to be a guaranteed spot in the 2018 race, Bump Day’s resurgence reduced it to a mere shot at making the show. The move he made — one many praised — started to feel like a mistake. He wondered if he should have raced last year instead.
Thirty-five cars. Thirty-three spots on the grid. One mistake could put a driver on the bubble and, as a one-off, Wilson had so much on the line. But like the five other Andretti Autosport cars, Wilson’s day wouldn’t end like that of Pippa Mann or James Hinchcliffe.
“It’s just a lot of pressure to have on your shoulders before you make the four-lap qualifying run,” Wilson told The Indianapolis Star. “As soon as you get through that and that gun fires at the end of the day to signal the end of Bump Day and you’re in the field, that’s the biggest relief that you get all month.”
Wilson’s return to Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy 500 finally feels secure. Although he hadn’t even been in an Indy car since the 2016 Indy 500 (he finished 28th), he felt comfortable behind the wheel quickly and knocked out his rookie orientation with relative ease.
Wilson is racing for more than just himself though. His older brother Justin, a former full-time IndyCar driver, competed in the Indy 500 eight times, finishing a career-high fifth in 2013. Justin Wilson’s final 500 came in 2015 when he drove for Andretti. Three months later he would die from injuries suffered in a crash at Pocono Raceway.
Wilson has made his brother’s memory a significant part of his return to IMS with his No. 25 Driven2SaveLives Honda and wishes he could have shared the qualifying success with him. That’s who he wanted to call first.
“We always had so much to talk about after a qualifying run and would always sort of digest it with him and go through it and just talk about it,” Stefan Wilson said. “Just wanted to do that same thing again, but obviously that’s not possible.”
While all teams are adjusting to the new aero kit and adapting to the intricacies of IMS, Wilson is glad he’s with a team that has as committed a program as Andretti Autosport.
“I would much rather be racing for them than against them,” said Wilson, who qualified 23rd. “They’re such a for- midable team.”
Conor Daly, whose one-off spot this year comes with Dale Coyne Racing with Thom Burns Racing, doesn’t know if he would have made the same decision but understands Wilson’s calculation of the team’s pedigree.
“That’s a very high-level organization, obviously one of the biggest teams in the sport,” Daly said. “So I respect the decision fully. If he knew for a fact those guys were going to guarantee him a ride the next year, then I think it’s a respectable decision for sure.”
While the deal to rejoin Andretti Autosport in 2018 didn’t come together as quickly as Wilson hoped, which created a bit of unease, he couldn’t be happier since he’s been at IMS.
It’s his ultimate goal, like many if not all one-off drivers at the Indy 500, to be either full time or a regular at IMS during the month of May. While it usually takes a significant finish at this race to be able to propel someone to that position, there’s no other race in IndyCar that generates the buzz for sponsors and teams like the Indy 500.
Carlos Munoz is driving a one-off entry for Andretti Autosport this year after enjoying a far more regular schedule in IndyCar the previous four seasons. At the Indy 500, he has a couple of seconds and a fourth-place finish in five tries, four of which came with Andretti.
Munoz understands the move Wilson made but he said his success at the track would have made it difficult for him to surrender his position for Alonso.
“I don’t think so, because I know I can win this race,” Munoz said. “I’ve proved myself.”