Wilson family very happy with Champ Car

Keith Wilson was trying to get into victory lane to watch his son celebrate but his cell phone kept ringing. "Good news travels fast," he said with a grin.

Sunday's good news was that Justin Wilson had earned his initial Champ Car win for himself and RuSPORT Racing……..triumph came in Justin's 20th start and surprised no one because he's been quick ever since leaving Formula One following the 2003 season. And it made the amiable 6-6 Brit even more satisfied about his career change.

"Let's face it, F-1 can be pretty unpredictable and there's no guarantee you'll ever be competitive," said Wilson, who impressed everyone in his 13 races for Minardi and Jaguar in '03 but lost his ride to a paying driver. I had been looking at Champ Car the year before I came over here and it was appealing because it seemed like a lot of teams had a good chance to be competitive. It turned out to be exactly that."

Champ Car's best selling points were on display here Sunday. A talented driver with a helmet and no money is hired by a team that can buy the same Lola and lease the same Cosworth as Newman/Haas or Forsythe Racing. And, with the right chemistry, you can beat those guys.

"Justin really enjoys Champ Car because there is racing in it and you can't say that about every series," said Keith Wilson. "He's really settled into this series."

In becoming the fifth different winner in six races so far in '05, Wilson made his parents proud, although his mom was in England. "My wife (Lynn) doesn't like to watch the races live, she prefers the replay after she knows what happened," said Keith Wilson. "I've been trying to reach her for almost 30 minutes but the line is always engaged. I imagine she knows by now." In part from ChampCar.ws