Wilson rallies back after difficult weekend in Texas
The defending winner of the Firestone 550 drove the No. 19 Boy Scouts of America Honda as high as second before finishing 15th in a race that ran at a furious pace.
Photo by: Michael C. Johnson
Fort Worth, Texas – Justin Wilson returned to IZOD IndyCar Series action on Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway for Round 8 of the championship just one week after scoring a podium finish of third in Detroit. The defending winner of the Firestone 550 drove the No. 19 Boy Scouts of America Honda as high as second before finishing 15th in a race that ran at a furious pace.
Due to the setup issues, Wilson had completed just 14 laps of practice ahead of qualifying on Friday which saw him already on the back foot as he took to the track for his two-lap qualifying run. Still struggling to dial in the right setup, Wilson’s qualifying effort saw him start from 20th on the grid.
Though the team lacked practice time, the overnight change proved successful through the first half of the race. Just as Wilson did on his way to Texas victory lane last year, the setup of the car combined with his skilled tire management saw him come back strongly at the end of each stint – moving the No. 19 Boy Scouts of America Honda machine through the field to run second prior to the third and final caution period of the race which was displayed just before the half-way point.
Dale Coyne Racing took advantage of the yellow and brought Wilson to pit lane for tires, fuel and a half-turn of wing with Wilson having reported that the car was not handling as well as it had been through the early running.
Great pit work by the Dale Coyne Racing crew members saw Wilson return to the banked 1.5-mile oval third in line for the restart. Unfortunately the handling was still not to Wilson’s liking as he fought among the top-10 during the third stint.
When no more cautions were displayed, Wilson was forced to pit for his final stop of the race under green flag conditions and returned to the field deep in the order. And without another caution to slow the fast-paced race - which saw just five cars finish on the lead lap – Wilson took 15th at the finish.
“That second to last stint cost us a good finish tonight,” said Wilson. “It’s disappointing because the No. 19 Boy Scouts of America Honda was running in the top-five up to that point and we had a very good chance at repeating as race winners. The team did an incredible job giving me a really competitive race car tonight.”
Wilson will return to IZOD IndyCar Series competition next week for the Milwaukee IndyFest at the Milwaukee Mile. NBCSports will carry live coverage beginning at 4:00 PM (ET) on Saturday, June 15.
Justin Wilson
Be part of Motorsport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Top 10: F1 feeder series kings who were overlooked the following year
Dale Coyne Racing signs veteran team manager Mitch Davis
Dale Coyne picks the Top 10 drivers in his giant-slaying team
Dale Coyne Racing tabs Jack Harvey for GP of Long Beach
Katherine Legge lands Indy 500 ride with Dale Coyne Racing
Bourdais on the mental and physical fightback after a 118G shunt
Full-time IndyCar move “an option” says supersub Pourchaire
When Senna broke his F1 duck by walking on water
Josh Berry "not necessarily panicked" over tough 2024 season
Greg Biffle among new 2025 NASCAR Hall of Fame nominees
The apprenticeship that will aid Ilott's IndyCar to WEC switch at Jota
The long evolution of Dallara's Indy 500 winner
Nigel Mansell’s greatest F1 and Indycar drives
Ranking the top 10 IndyCar drivers of 2021
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments