Wilson Wins Firestone 550

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Saturday was a day of firsts for Indy car racer Justin Wilsonat the Firestone 550. His first lead heading into the final three laps. His first win since 2009. His first win in an oval. This was also Justin Wilson’s first win at Texas Motor Speedway.

Wilson, the driver of the No. 18 car for Dale Coyne Racing, finished first at the race track in Texas followed by Graham Rahal who had his best finish of the season. Ryan Briscoe finished third, also his best finish of 2012. Ryan Briscoe, James Hinchcliffe and JR Hildebrand finished out the top 5. Last year’s winner, Dario Franchitti finished 14th after a rough start.

“That was a long, long night for the Energizer team,” said Franchitti, “We just fought as hard as we could for every single point.”

On the 226th lap of the 228 lap race, Wilson, trailing then leader Rahal, saw his opportunity to advance after a costly mistake. His approach would eventually change the fate of the race.

“I saw him sliding more and more every lap,” said Wilson. “When I saw him hit the wall, I thought ‘OK, now it’s time to go.’ “

Rahal, who finished in second, realized that he had made a mistake and understands that the only thing to do is to avoid making the same mistake next year.

“You know, I own up to it, and we’ll come back and we’ll win one here, and I certainly feel like it should have been today,” Rahal said.

Milwaukee will be the site of next week’s Indy car race. The Milwaukee IndyFest will take place in West Allis, Wisconsin on Saturday, June 16th.

 

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