Drivers reflect on returning to Pocono one year after Wilson’s death

Justin Wilson

LONG POND – It's what Justin would have wanted writes Scott Walsh of the Times Tribune.

That is the sentiment among Verizon IndyCar Series drivers about returning to Pocono Raceway after Justin Wilson died as a result of injuries he suffered during last year's ABC Supply 500 at the 2.5-mile triangular track.

Many of them talked about it during a recent test session for this year's upcoming race.

Practice and qualifying for this year's ABC Supply 500 are Saturday, with the fourth annual race scheduled for Aug. 21 at 3 p.m.

"Coming back here for the first time, it's going to be a bit raw," said James Hinchcliffe, driver of the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports No. 5 Honda. "But he would want us to carry on and put on a good show. That's what we're going to come here and try to do."

Last year's race featured close racing and daring moves. At one point, during a restart, the field was seven-wide heading down the long front straightaway toward turn 1.

Then, on lap 180 of the 200-lap race, leader Sage Karam spun and struck the outside wall in turn 1. Debris flew everywhere. Wilson's car came upon the scene and, as he tried to navigate his way through, the nose cone came down and hit Wilson in the helmet. Immediately, Wilson's car veered out of control and slammed into an inside wall in turn 1.

Wilson was airlifted by helicopter to an Allentown hospital in a coma. He died the next day from a traumatic head injury. He was 37.

From Sheffield, England, Wilson was quite popular, so his death hit the racing world hard.

It was particularly tough July 31. That would have been Wilson's 38th birthday.

Ed Carpenter, driver of the No. 20 Chevrolet, said he spent the day thinking about the Wilson family – wife Julia and daughters Jane and Jessica.

Josef Newgarden believes the healing process never ends. That's why he thinks coming back to Pocono will help that process.

"Last year was a very difficult thing for the entire community with who Justin was. Everyone felt it," said Newgarden, driver of the Ed Carpenter Racing No. 21 Chevrolet. "But part of the healing process is drivers getting back in the race car and doing what they do. Any driver will tell you that. It's the best remedy."

Scott Dixon, driver of the Chip Ganassi Racing No. 9 Chevrolet, has fond memories of Pocono. He won the race in 2013 when IndyCar made its return to the track after a 23-year absence.

While he admits coming back puts a damper on things, Dixon said his opinion of Pocono hasn't changed. He just wishes he had a different memory of Wilson there.

Mikhail Aleshin is driver of the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports No. 7 Honda. But last year, he was commentating the race for Russian television.

Aleshin agrees with Dixon that you can't think about the negatives that have happened at a particular track.

"If you think about it, every track has a history. Not every day of every track is a great history," Aleshin said. "This is racing. It is part of our job."

Graham Rahal was one of several drivers who said they must block out what happened last season in order to perform their job.

"Justin was a good friend of mine," said Rahal, driver of the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing No. 15 Honda. "But to be honest, you have to keep your head held high. I don't want to say it's part of the job because it shouldn't be. But you've got to focus on today and the task at hand and not worry about the past."

Carpenter concurs.

"Not to sound cold, but we're here to race," he said. "We're professionals. You're not thinking about that. Coming here, I have total confidence in the race track, the series and the constant push to make things safer."

As a result of Wilson's death, IndyCar made a safety change for 2016. It tethered the nose piece and other parts to the car at superspeedway ovals (1.5 miles or longer) to prevent them from getting airborne during a crash.

"I think we've learned from last year," Charlie Kimball, driver of the Chip Ganassi Racing No. 83 Chevrolet, said. "It sucks that it takes an unfortunate incident like that to drive change, but I think it will continue to drive change and make progress. That's what matters."

Pocono Raceway president and CEO Brandon Igdalsky and IndyCar officials are working on an appropriate tribute to Wilson during the ABC Supply 500 weekend. Scott Walsh/Times Tribune