Points possibilities for the six title contenders
This visit to Sonoma Raceway won’t be the same for Juan Pablo Montoya. He’s pursuing the Verizon IndyCar Series championship, but enthusiasm has been dashed. The smile is gone, the spark diminished, the light dimmed.
It’s that way for all of the competitors this weekend. News of Justin Wilson’s passing Aug. 24 from a head injury sustained in a race a day earlier has left the field -- and Montoya, who’s leading the championship as the season heads to its finale Aug. 28-30 -- stunned and saddened.
After INDYCAR announced the news about Wilson, Montoya tweeted: “Tough day in motorsport today as we lose another great person and driver. RIP Justin. You will be missed. Thoughts and prayers for his family.”
Last year at Sonoma, Montoya and his fellow competitors were rattled by an earthquake in the early morning hours before the race. Montoya then started 19th and finished fifth -- not a small feat on Sonoma’s hilly, 12-turn road course.
This time, he heads to Sonoma with a job to do, but with sadness and concern for Wilson’s family, including his wife, Julia, and daughters Jane and Jessica.
“It’s one of our guys,” Montoya said after advancing a field-high 16 positions relative to his qualifying spot in the 500-mile race at Pocono Raceway. “We’re all family here. We might not like each other all of the time, but we’re family. We understand the risk, and we’re hoping that it’s not too bad.”
Click it: A gentle man at and away from racetrack
As arrangements regarding pre-race tributes to Wilson are being finalized, Montoya tries to focus on the task at hand. With double points up for grabs in the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma, six drivers remain mathematically eligible -- Montoya, Graham Rahal, Scott Dixon, Will Power, Helio Castroneves and Josef Newgarden.
“(It’s the) same thing as every week: Go out there and do the best we can and see what happens,” Montoya said. “It's double points, so it's open for anything. I feel if we run a smart day all day, we'll be fine.”
But it will be done quietly and without the typical enthusiasm.
Montoya, who holds a 34-point lead over Rahal, expects his No. 2 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet to be up to the task, and he knows he will be.
“(We’ll) do what we do -- have a good race and that's it,” said Montoya, who tested Aug. 13 on the 2.285-mile course. “We know Graham didn't really have that stellar car in Mid-Ohio. We think we should have a strong car there. Last year there we finished fifth. Hopefully we can qualify better. We opened some more points (47 from 34 entering Pocono) on Dixon. I think that's important. That's it. We'll do what we can.”
A decal, created to honor the memory of Wilson, will be on the race cars this weekend. INDYCAR will be selling T-shirts and stickers with the logo at Sonoma Raceway and online with 100 percent of the net revenues donated to the Wilson Children’s Fund.