SAN FRANCISCO - Monday night was a night to honor Scott Dixon for his fourth Verizon IndyCar Series Championship, but it was also a night that served as a tribute to his fallen racing comrade, the late Justin Wilson.
The 35-year-old Dixon gladly shared Monday night’s event at the Nob Hill Masonic Center in downtown San Francisco as a moment to remember the 37-year-old driver from Sheffield, England, who died Aug. 24 from a serious head injury suffered in a crash at Pocono Raceway on Aug. 23.
The first 15 minutes of the formal program were devoted to Wilson including a brief eulogy from his younger brother, Stefan.
“Thank you to all the fans and fellow drivers remembering Justin,” Stefan Wilson said. “Your messages the last week have truly been overwhelming. Although it won’t bring him back or fill the 6-foot-3 void that he has left it does provide some comfort to know how well-thought of he was and how much he was loved. I’ve been trying to learn the qualities that made Justin so special to us and to others. The last week my definition of a true competitor has changed. I used to think a true competitor would do anything to win.
“A true competitor maintains integrity. Competing to be the best he can be, to accurately measure himself against the fellow competitors and to know when he wins he was the best on that day. That integrity and that spirit is exactly what Justin embodied.
“Just over a week ago today I sat holding his hand praying for a miracle that didn’t come. I stand here today in front of you all as we reflect on his life and I challenge you, what lessons did you learn from Justin?”
Fellow drivers J.R. Hildebrand and James Hinchcliffe also gave tributes to Wilson to the crowd before the celebration shifted to honoring Dixon and his Target/Chip Ganassi Racing team for his fourth championship.
Dixon also opened his remarks with a heartfelt tribute to Wilson.
“I want to start with our friend Justin,” Dixon said. “I want to thank all the speakers tonight for their strength tonight and the words they all spoke showed that Justin exemplified all that we try to aspire to be. We know how amazing he was on track and what he accomplished. Me and my wife Emma and his family - it’s been an extremely tough week for a number of people. Justin was someone you always saw walking through the paddock, he would stop and you would chat.
“His passion was racing and that is what we can’t forget. Justin was doing what he loved doing - what he strived to do - to be a race car driver and a Verizon IndyCar Series driver.
“I feel so hard for his family. His wife, Julia, is such a special person in his life and his daughters Jane and Jessica and his brother Stefan and his parents. We are here for them. I think you have seen the continuing outpouring from all of motorsports.
“Justin, you will never be forgotten. We will always remember you for the passion you had for racing and aspire to be what you were as a person.”
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