IndyCar Racer Justin Wilson Dies After Pocono Crash

Aaron Cole
by Aaron Cole

Justin Wilson died Monday from injuries sustained Sunday, when a piece of another crashed race car struck him. He was 37.

His family released a short statement thanking well-wishers and fans for their support after the crash. Wilson was a native of Sheffield, England and lived in Longmont, Colorado with his wife and two daughters.

“Justin was a loving father and devoted husband, as well as a highly competitive racing driver who was respected by his peers.”

Wilson was an advocate for track safety, not only for the racers but also for the spectators.

Wilson’s family announced Justin’s death on his website.

With deep sadness, the parents of Justin Wilson, Keith and Lynne, his wife Julia, and his brother Stefan share the news that Justin passed away today after succumbing to injuries suffered during the Verizon IndyCar event at Pocono Raceway on Sunday, August 23.

Justin was a loving father and devoted husband, as well as a highly competitive racing driver who was respected by his peers.

The family would like to thank the staff at the Lehigh Valley Health Network Cedar Crest Hospital, Pocono Raceway, Andretti Autosport, and the Verizon IndyCar Series as well as the entire racing community for the amazing outpouring of support from fans around the world.

The family has requested that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Wilson Children’s Fund care of INDYCAR.

Wilson Children’s Fund
C/O INDYCAR
4551 West 16th Street
Indianapolis, IN 46222

Wilson was a part-time driver in this year’s IndyCar series. His career spanned Formula 1, endurance and American Le Mans Series, including a win at the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2012.

On Sunday, Wilson was struck by debris from Sage Karam’s crash, outside of turn 1 on lap 179 of 200. Wilson was airlifted to a hospital in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where officials said he was in a coma Sunday and Monday.

“We are deeply saddened by the passing of Justin Wilson,” Andretti Autosport said in a statement released on Monday night. “He was a tremendous racer, a valuable member of the team and respected representative to our sport. While Justin was only part of the Andretti lineup for a short time, it only took a second for him to forever become part of the Andretti family. His life and racing career is a story of class and passion surpassed by none. Our thoughts and prayers remain with the Wilson family and fans worldwide.”

(Personally: Living in Denver and covering motorsports and cars, Justin’s personality was inescapable — not because it was so large, but because he was so magnetic. Wilson wasn’t only friendly, he was also very genuine — and even I know that’s rare. I sincerely missed seeing him at Pikes Peak this year partly because I looked forward to giving him grief for not racing the mountain on his bicycle. Take care, Justin. — Aaron)

(Photo courtesy JustinWilson.co.uk)


Aaron Cole
Aaron Cole

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  • JMII JMII on Aug 25, 2015

    RIP this is very sad. Like many of the IRL guys Justin seemed to be very friendly and generally a nice guy. Never heard anyone complain about his driving. He had true skills and competed in many disciplines (F1, Champ, Indy, 24 Hours, etc). He was one of the tallest drivers in the IRL and thus was consulted with Honda and Dallara in the development of the current car.

  • Pete Zaitcev Pete Zaitcev on Aug 25, 2015

    Even in his days of F1, Wilson was known for his fan-friendly posture, kinda like Berger. He was also a pioneer of crowdfunding in a way, financing his career with fans chipping in many years before Kickstarter was a thing. That's how I remember him anyway.

  • ToolGuy The other day I attempted to check the engine oil in one of my old embarrassing vehicles and I guess the red shop towel I used wasn't genuine Snap-on (lots of counterfeits floating around) plus my driveway isn't completely level and long story short, the engine seized 3 minutes later.No more used cars for me, and nothing but dealer service from here on in (the journalists were right).
  • Doughboy Wow, Merc knocks it out of the park with their naming convention… again. /s
  • Doughboy I’ve seen car bras before, but never car beards. ZZ Top would be proud.
  • Bkojote Allright, actual person who knows trucks here, the article gets it a bit wrong.First off, the Maverick is not at all comparable to a Tacoma just because they're both Hybrids. Or lemme be blunt, the butch-est non-hybrid Maverick Tremor is suitable for 2/10 difficulty trails, a Trailhunter is for about 5/10 or maybe 6/10, just about the upper end of any stock vehicle you're buying from the factory. Aside from a Sasquatch Bronco or Rubicon Jeep Wrangler you're looking at something you're towing back if you want more capability (or perhaps something you /wish/ you were towing back.)Now, where the real world difference should play out is on the trail, where a lot of low speed crawling usually saps efficiency, especially when loaded to the gills. Real world MPG from a 4Runner is about 12-13mpg, So if this loaded-with-overlander-catalog Trailhunter is still pulling in the 20's - or even 18-19, that's a massive improvement.
  • Lou_BC "That’s expensive for a midsize pickup" All of the "offroad" midsize trucks fall in that 65k USD range. The ZR2 is probably the cheapest ( without Bison option).
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