Wilson honoring late brother with Indianapolis 500 entry
Stefan Wilson will have a special co-pilot as he strives to qualify and race in the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil: his late brother Justin.
KV Racing Technology announced April 26 that it has entered Stefan Wilson as driver of the No. 25 Driven2SaveLives - KVRT Chevrolet for the historic race. The program is run in conjunction with the Indiana Donor Network's "Driven2SaveLives" initiative to promote organ, tissue and eye donation and transplantation.
Justin Wilson died in August 2015 from injuries sustained in an incident during the Verizon IndyCar Series race at Pocono Raceway. Because Justin had previously registered as an organ donor, he was able to save five others' lives through organ donation.
Stefan Wilson will attempt to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 for the first time, something Justin did on eight occasions with a best finish of fifth in 2014. The Wilsons were teammates in Stefan's only Verizon IndyCar Series race to date, on the streets of Baltimore in 2011. In another way to honor his older brother, Stefan will drive the same No. 25 that Justin ran in his final race.
"I want to say it's a little bit bittersweet," Stefan admitted. "I'm super excited for the opportunity to qualify for the race, but now that we've got the deal done and the focus is on the race, there's a part of me that does start to miss Justin as well.
"When I got the deal done, the first person I wanted to tell was Justin and I couldn't. I know he's going to be looking down and know he's proud. I want to make him as proud of me as I was of him."
Stefan and the Indiana Donor Network hope to get 2,500 people across the country to register their decision to donate through Driven2SaveLives. Indiana Donor Network, one of 58 designated organ recovery organizations in the United States, oversees and coordinates organ, tissue and eye donation, and provides public education on donation and transplantation across the state. To register to become an organ donor, visit driven2savelives.org.
Contact:
mkitchel@indycar.com
