Fansided

Stefan Wilson racing for IndyCar glory, but also much more

By Brittany Frederick

Stefan Wilson examines timing data before the 2018 Indianapolis 500. Photo Credit: Joe Skibinski/Courtesy of IndyCar.
Stefan Wilson examines timing data before the 2018 Indianapolis 500. Photo Credit: Joe Skibinski/Courtesy of IndyCar. /
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Stefan Wilson led the 2018 Indy 500, but this IndyCar driver’s hard work goes well beyond the racetrack. Meet him in FanSided’s interview.

Stefan Wilson gets one shot every year. The Verizon IndyCar Series fan favorite drives solely in the Indianapolis 500, and this year he almost won it.

Wilson was leading the 2018 Indy 500 with a handful of laps to go but knew he was short on fuel and was forced to pit from the lead. Still, it was an accomplishment just to lead the biggest race in American motorsports.

And that’s not all Stefan Wilson was competing for. His Andretti Autosport entry was sponsored by two important organizations: I Am Second and Driven 2 Save Lives. When he was leading the Indy 500, his car was carrying the names of more than two dozen Indiana residents who were on wait lists for organ transplants.

FanSided connected with him after the Indy 500 to get to know this talented and underrated driver better, discuss the great work he does both on and off the track, and discuss why he’s an outstanding member of the IndyCar community even if he’s only there in the month of May (so far!).

FanSided: You’re winning the Indy 500, but you also know you can’t make it on fuel. What was going through your mind when you were leading those laps?

Stefan Wilson (SW): We pushed it as late as we could to make that stop. If I’d carried on and decided to do one more lap, we would have ran out on track and wouldn’t have made it back to the pit lane.

It was an amazing experience to lead the Indy 500 that late. You’ve always sort of imagined what it would be like, and all of a sudden you’re four laps away and you almost start believing it.

FanSided: You finished 15th, which is your best Indy 500 finish. Between that and getting to lead the race, was the 2018 Indy 500 still a win for you anyway?

SW: It feels like a huge milestone for me and my crew. We legitimately were running up front and winning the Indy 500. That’s just something that, I think it changes my whole attitude going forward. I feel like it legitimizes myself and I definitely feel that kind of positive weight.

I was out of the car for two years [after stepping aside so Fernando Alonso could run the 2017 Indy 500]. The last time I drove an IndyCar was May 2016. So everyone had to have this huge question mark on me like, who is this guy? He’s not been in a car for two years, does he still know how to do this? Does he still know how to compete at this level? And to be honest, I let some of that doubt creep into my own mind. Especially because I’ve only done this twice.

Just in terms of my whole performance, the whole month, we kept the car intact the whole month, which is a huge achievement, and just limited mistakes. I really feel the whole month was a lot of good learning opportunities for myself and a lot of positives, and just the fact that we answered that huge question mark on me of hey, I can compete at this level.

FanSided: The month of May is busy enough for regular IndyCar drivers. This is your only shot, plus you’re making hospital visits and doing other charity work. What’s the month like for you?

SW: It was a whirlwind, honestly. I live in Colorado and I drove back to Indianapolis at the end of April, like April 29. We’re not on track until May 15, so it gives me two weeks to get things in order in Indy and work on my fitness. And then all of a sudden your month fills up with appearances and hospital visits. Your whole month is planned out, and there’s not a single day you’re not doing anything. Even the days we’re not on track, we’re still active.

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It was a whirlwind, and everything I wanted the month of May to be. We’re supposed to be super busy in that month. Especially me, I’m not racing the rest of the year so I’m okay. The rest of the guys had to go [to Detroit] afterwards. For me, I spent so much time at that event and that place with my older brother Justin, so it’s definitely a special place for me. Every time I’m there, a memory pops in my head of spending time with Justin there, so it’s definitely on my mind a lot.

FanSided: What do you do in those other 11 months outside of the Indy 500?

SW: I do my coaching work that keeps me somewhat busy, but a lot of the time away from the month of May is spent trying to get back to the month of May. It sounds crazy to spend 11 months working toward a one-month event, but that’s how it is. We’re utilizing every opportunity after race day.

Pretty much the next day, we’re calling up the partners involved in the race this year and seeing what they enjoyed, what they liked, what they want to do in the future, if they want to come back. It starts at the drop of the checkered flag at the 500 and all the way up till we can get something for the program. For the drivers that are part-time or just do the 500, it’s a year-long process.

FanSided: Many IndyCar fans would be happy to see you as a full-time IndyCar driver. Is that something you’d be open to, if you could get the sponsorship?

SW: I woud like to. I’m definitely trying. That’s my goal, is to try and be in it full-time. It’s something that I work on every day, talking to people every day about it, but honestly it just comes down to sponsors supporting what I’m doing and getting involved. That’s the huge thing that’s lacking right now is getting a sponsor to do more than just Indy.

Right now my primary focus is to make sure I can make it back to the 500 next year, and as soon as that’s in a good spot then I’ll turn my attention towards the other races. It’s almost like a year-long process just to lock in the 500 alone. It really comes down to sponsorship and partners getting involved and helping me make that happen.

The conversations with the team have been great. They’ve all been receptive. I think the willingness is there from the team, the willingness is there for me, it’s just about getting the partner support to make it happen.

FanSided: Speaking of sponsors, the ones you had for the Indy 500 weren’t any ordinary sponsors.

SW: It’s cool that we were able to partner with I Am Second this year and all of the great partners we had on there. Driven 2 Save Lives is an organization that is raising awareness for organ donation and we had 25 different patients that are waiting for a life-saving transplant this year. And then we just got a partnership with Intelisys, which is a business communication distributor around the country, and I think that’s going to be a partnership that’s going to help me do more races next year. So we’re trying to see where that goes.

FanSided: Even though you’re not here full-time, you’re still a part of the great community within IndyCar and one of the series’ many upstanding representatives. What does it mean to you to be part of the IndyCar community?

SW: There’s so many great drivers, especially now, in the sport. I didn’t really realize until I was full time in the sport how much of an opportunity that we have — not just only to just go racing every weekend, but the opportunity we have to help others out or impact someone else’s life with what we’re doing off the track.

Whether it’s that hospital visit where we’re meeting kids, or the special Horsepower 500, which is [for] a organzation called Children’s TherAPlay, helping disabled kids with physical therapy where they ride horses and learn the ability to walk. We did that event and it’s just rewarding. A couple hours out of our time, and it made such a difference and impact on the kids’ lives that were there, and helped that charity.

I think that’s something I’ve realized, is how much of an opportunity we have as drivers to impact other people’s lives. A lot of IndyCar guys grasp that and they already do it, and it’s something that I really want to do more of.

Next: IndyCar's Max Chilton talks Carlin return

For more with Stefan Wilson, visit his website and follow him on Twitter. For full Verizon IndyCar Series coverage, follow the Motor Sports category at FanSided.