The Verizon IndyCar Series heads to Pocono Raceway for the ABC Supply 500 on Sunday, August 21st at 3:00 p.m. ET on the NBC Sports Network. The fans and drivers will be returning to the place where tragedy reared it’s angry head.
Former IndyCar racer Justin Wilson was hit in his helmet by debris in a freak accident and succumb to his injuries a short time later. Unfortunately, just two weeks ago, Bryan Clauson was also killed in an on track incident. Clauson was regarded as one of the world’s best open-wheel dirt track competitors.
Justin Wilson’s passing was shocking to the racing world. A year ago, the race leader Sage Karam spun his hot-rod and slammed into the wall. Just as Karam plowed into the wall, Wilson was attempting to navigate around the incident. The nose-cone from Karam’s car landed in Wilson’s cockpit and hit him in the head. The Englishman died the next day.
What makes what happened all the more tragic is that Justin Wilson left behind a wife and two young daughters. Julia Wilson said she is going to spend the weekend near their Longmont, Colorado, home. The family would prefer to be away from as many people as possible this weekend.
The Verizon IndyCar authorities announced later that aerodynamic components of the cars, including the nosecone, would be strapped to the race cars. Heavy hearts will no doubt be the theme as the teams also prepare for the ABC Supply 500 and the final four race push to the end of the 2016 season.
“The thing about Justin is that he was a damn good guy,” Graham Rahal said. “He was a good guy to race with, a good guy to hang out with. From top to bottom, class and dignity stood out with him. Without him, you also lack a guy who was the best and everybody knew that. Furthermore, it’s frustrating that he’s been gone. It would be nice to hear his voice and ask him questions, get some advice from him as I always did. But I’m sure it’s a lot harder for Julia and the girls than it is for the rest of us. It’s going to be a tough weekend for them.”
Simon Pagenaud leads the Verizon IndyCar Series championship heading into the ABC 500 at Pocono Raceway. The speedster lays claim to a 58 point lead over fellow competitor Will Power. The 58 point bulge is the largest margin since 2010. Power was on the other side of the coin that year. He was out in front of Dario Franchitti by 59 points.
Currently, there are still 18 different racers drivers mathematically eligible for the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series championship. Any driver who is behind Simon Pagenaud by 212 points or more following the event will be eliminated from contention.
Ryan Hunter-Reay, Juan Pablo Montoya, and Scott Dixon have won the previous three contests at Pocono Raceway. Montoya may have the best chance to make a push to the top of the point standings. He has finished in the top three in each of his starts at Pocono.
Juan Pablo Montoya captured glory in his first start at the track in 2014 and finished out the Verizon IndyCar season in third last year. Carlos Munoz also has reeled in two top five’s in his starts at the 2.5 “Tricky Triangle”. Scott Dixon finished in the top five in two of his three starts at Pocono.
“Pocono has been good to us the last couple of years.” said Juan Pablo Montoya “We also won in 2014 and were on the podium last year. As a result, I hope it brings some good luck. The Penske Truck Rental Chevrolet team definitely needs some of that right now. This season has been as frustrating as I can remember. We’ve had good car pretty much everywhere, but not getting the results for one reason or another. Furthermore, Pocono is great track for IndyCar with a lot of opportunities to make things happen. It would be nice to finish the season strong.”
The 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series Point Standings:
1 Simon Pagenaud 484 4 6 8 9
