Photo Credit: Chris Owens/IndyCar
When the Verizon IndyCar drivers take to Pocono Raceway, it will be four days shy of the one-year anniversary of Justin Wilson’s death. Last year at the tricky triangle, Wilson died from injuries sustained from an accident.
Wilson was one of the sweetest people around the track as when someone met him for the first time, he treated you like he knew you forever; he was also one of the tallest drivers around the track hence why people started calling him ‘Gentile Giant’. He might have been nice around the track but as soon as he climbed in that car and flipped his helmet down, he quickly became a true competitor. He raced hard but clean and was dubbed ‘bad ass Wilson’ by his racing peers.
As much as he was known for his racing, the English Driver was known for his actions outside of the car. The Longmont, Colorado native, who was diagnosed with Dyslexia at 13 years of age, never hid his condition from his racing peers and loved to give back. In 2012, he started working with the International Dyslexia Association so more awareness could be raised about the learning disability. He also gave back, even beyond his death by being an organ donor; he made the decision easy for his family at the time of his passing by having done that prior too. A few days after his death, Wilson’s younger brother Stefan announced via his twitter account his older brother had saved six lives as a result.
The Wilson racing genes continue despite his death as Stefan is also a race car driver. He started his IndyCar career driving part-time in Indy Lightsa from 2009 up to 2010. In 2011, he finished third in the standings in his first full-time season with Andretti Autosport. In 2013, Stefan made his first attempt in an IndyCar race at the Baltimore Grand Prix get to compete against Justin in a race for the first time. Stefan wouldn’t get back into an IndyCar again until 2016, racing for KVSH Racing in the 25 car to honor his brothers memory in the 2016 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. His sponsor was Driven2SaveLives to help promote organ donation.
When Justin wasn’t on the track racing cars, you probably could find him out on the trails near his home in Colorado riding his bike – which is how he got the idea for the sock company. Therefore Justin and his wife Julia, along with Michael Waddel, launched a sock company called USWAG Gear in early 2015 prior to his death . After his death, his brother along with Julia and Waddel kept it going by producing socks for NFL Teams, NBA Teams, and IndyCar drivers amongst others. The socks have become popular and the company is doing really well, including a set of special socks to honor Justin as well as proceeds from the purchases go towards the Dyslexia Foundation. IndyCar has asked on Saturday at Pocono Raceway all race fans who are attending the track that day to wear their Justin Wilson socks or any pair of USWAG socks to pay homage to him and to remember him.
With approval from Julia, a brand new website http://wilsonchildrensfund.com is being launched to help with long term financial aid to help with care to their two daughters Jess and Jane Wilson. The site provides pictures taken by Ashleigh Mower and provides a safe way for people to make donations using Pay Pal.
