Stefan Wilson wins his first Indy Lights race

Stefan Wilson celebrates his first win

Tim Wohlford/AR1.com

IndyCar driver Justin Wilson's younger brother Stefan Wilson won his first Indy Lights race on the streets of Toronto Canada in convincing style. He opened up a lead of over 10 seconds before a late caution flag for the crash of David Ferreira closed the field up and the race ended under caution.

A happy Stefan Wilson was glad to get the monkey off his back and get his first win after 3 years.

"I love street courses and I love Toronto," said Wilson. "Thanks to the Andretti team for giving me a good setup today. I could have won by 15 seconds if not for the caution flag at the end."

When asked what his brother said to him after getting the win, Wilson said, "He said congratulations and gave me a hard bear hug that about knocked the wind out of me."

As to who is taller, Stefan would say that they are pretty close in size at 6'-3" and he thanked IndyCar for having cars that allow a tall driver to fit in the car and be competitive. "In Europe drivers of our size have no chance. If you are 6'-3" they disregard you totally."

POST-RACE QUOTES:

STEFAN WILSON (No. 5 Andretti Autosport, winner Toronto 100): "I'm so happy right now, I'm so emotional. I was close to crying on that end lap, so happy, such a relief to get this win and get the monkey on my back. Yesterday when I had my lap taken away, I can't tell you how disappointed I was. It felt so good to get that lap time and get a lap record, to get it taken away was heart breaking, but this really makes up for it." (About seeing Esteban Guerreri spin out): "He took my pole. I felt like he was blocking me a little bit in the start there, so I was a little upset about that. I knew I was fast enough, I knew it was just a matter of time before I got by. I set some of the passes up, I think I might have even gotten fastest lap yet, so when he actually went round I couldn't believe it. It was like Christmas morning. But it was actually quite tight getting around there, it's the tightest section of the course, and the way he spun, he was broad side, so I had to make a quick decision and chose to go to the outside and it paid off. (What it means to celebrate with his brother, Justin): "It's very special. I've always said I'm very proud of him and that he's a great role model. When he won here, it was very emotional for our family, and I'm sure it's going to be very emotional for us now. It's great to do this today, and I know he's got a fast car and can do the same this afternoon in the big race.

PETER DEMPSEY (No. 26 Andretti Autosport, finished second): "It feels fantastic. It was a huge effort from the whole team today. We got first and second, and Stefan drove a great race. You work so hard together to try to get a one-two possible, Stefan was [indiscernible] in qualifying, and I'm just glad we were able to bring the car home in these positions. I want to thank all the guys on the team of Andretti Autosport, especially Michael himself, because without him I would have never been in the car, and all my sponsors and supporters because without their help I would have never have gotten here either. So, I'm really happy, it's as good as a race win for me."

GUSTAVO YACAMAN (No. 2 TMR-Tuvacol-Xtreme Coil Drilling, finished third): "It feels great, two podiums in a row, it's just amazing. After the season starter we've had and the years I've had in Indy Lights, just having two podiums in a row is just a dream. We need to keep building on this momentum and fight for my first win. This is really important for me, this is really important for my team, it's just a great job—we've had a lot of issues this whole weekend and just coming out of here with a third place is just unbelievable."

ESTEBAN GUERRIERI (No. 7 Lucas Oil/Sam Schmidt Motorsports): "What caused the spin: "It was the low tire pressures. It takes at least one and up to two laps to get the pressures up. I got a bit of understeer in the entry to (turn) three, and when I got on the power it just came around. It was really stupid, but I just lost the rear. We had even been practicing with low tire pressures and to push hard. But apparently, we didn't practice enough so we will continue working on it."

ANDERS KROHN (No. 9 Liberty Engineering Racing Special): "I'm so proud of all the work that Belardi Auto Racing and the Liberty Engineering guys did We've had a rough time now for the past two months with one crash and two DNFs, so getting up into the top five again was priceless and something we really needed. For a while there it looked like we might have a shot at the podium, but didn't quite have the pace for that today. However to me this fifth place finish is everything right now because it puts us right back where we belong in the thick of things and hopefully moving forward. With Edmonton coming up maybe we can get a podium. I'm so thrilled and it's great to see all of the Toronto fans out here.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN (No. 11 Copart/Score Big/Robo-Pong/SSM): "At first, I thought it was great racing. Everyone was giving each other room and being nice. If anything, it's a big learning experience for me this weekend. I can already guess what advice Sam (Schmidt) is going to give me. I probably should have known, with Esteban spinning, to be conservative and score some points. I really thought I had a great run and was trying to run Peter clean. I also thought he was running me clean and then he just ran out of road there when I was going to the inside of him. It was a shame to lose the front wing like that when it was a race where there were good points to be had."

DAVID OSTELLA (No. 16 Global Precast Team Jensen): "I was making a pass and slipped it into neutral and locked up the front and put me into the all. I was pleased with the track conditions and with the way the car performed. I will just have to come back and get them at Edmonton."

Results

Race Statistics
Winners average speed: 84.529
Time of Race: 01:01:02.4296
Margin of victory: Under Caution
Cautions: 3 for 8 laps
Lead changes: 1 among 2 drivers
Lap Leaders: Guerrieri 1 – 20, Wilson 21 – 49
Point Standings: Newgarden 267, Guerrieri 230, Wilson 221, V. Garcia 199, Yacaman 186, Goncalvez 181, Krohn 165, Ostella 160, Dempsey 159, Carbone 154.