Justin Wilson finishes third in Detroit

Detroit, Mich. - For the second consecutive week, Justin Wilson drove from deep in the pack to score a strong finish in IZOD IndyCar Series competition. Saturday’s Dual in Detroit saw Wilson start from 16th on the grid for the 70-lap race before moving the No. 19 Boy Scouts of America up to third at the checkered flag. Wilson’s Dale Coyne Racing teammate and countryman Mike Conway won the race.

Race winner Mike Conway, Dale Coyne Racing Honda with Dale Coyne and Justin Wilson

Photo by: Art Fleischmann

Wilson moved up early in the race, jumping to 11th after just 10 laps. Taking on a second set of Firestone primes on a lap 21 pit stop, Wilson continued to make forward progress, moving up to sixth at the halfway point of the race and then up to third with 45 laps in the books.

One final pit stop for the “red” alternate tires saw Wilson hold strong in third as he fended off the advances of Scott Dixon to score his second podium result of the season.

“It’s great to be part of Dale’s first double podium,” said Wilson. “I’m really pleased for Mike (Conway) – it’s been a great day. Five days ago Mike didn’t know what he’d be doing this weekend, so it’s quite a story. It’s fantastic for Dale too - he puts so much into this race team.

To get two cars on the podium is just so satisfying for everyone on the team. It’s been a lot of hard work, but everyone at Dale Coyne Racing has proven that we’re capable of running at the front."

The Detroit race weekend features an all-new format for the IZOD IndyCars as Saturday’s race precedes a second 70-lap shootout on Sunday. It was a busy Saturday, as Wilson opened the day with qualifying in the morning for Sunday’s race, locking into eighth on the grid.

"I had a lot of fun out there,” said Wilson. “After starting from 16th I was just trying to pick people off and attack and it all went to plan. When others were on the reds early on I was able to pass them and open up a nice gap. And then we were far enough ahead when we put our reds on in the last stop that they couldn’t come back.

The last few laps were pretty intense with Scott (Dixon) breathing down my neck. He was pushing hard, but I just had enough to hold him off. I’m really pleased with today’s result, and we’ll focus now on the second race tomorrow. We’ll go back and study everything now to see what we can learn for Sunday.”

Justin Wilson