Formula 1 fans knew Justin Wilson as the tallest driver ever to race in a Grand Prix, but in the U.S., where he spent the vast majority of his professional career, the Briton commanded universal respect and affection from his peers for his speed and racecraft inside the car, and intelligence and generosity outside of it.

Wilson, who has died at the age of 37 from injuries sustained in an accident during last Sunday’s IndyCar race at Pocono Raceway, was one of a group of Brits who left Europe to explore opportunities in the States in the early 2000s. A career defined by a perennial quest for funding left him short of matching the achievements of compatriots Dario Franchitti and Dan Wheldon, but he still amassed seven victories across Champ Car and IndyCar.

Born in South Yorkshire, Wilson began racing karts in 1987 and progressed into cars via Formula Vauxhall with Paul Stewart Racing. His first championship came during the inaugural Formula Palmer Audi season, an experience that also brought him into the orbit of series owner and former F1 driver Jonathan Palmer, who for a time served as Wilson’s manager.

Three years in Formula 3000 – the predecessor to GP2 – culminated in his dominating the 2001 season with Nordic Racing, BELOW, with Wilson picking up three wins and seven podiums to win the title by a series-record 32 points over future F1 teammate Mark Webber.

The natural step for a F3000 champion was into F1, but Wilson’s 6’4″ frame proved to be a barrier: he tested with Jordan in 2001 and Minardi in 2002, but when an opportunity to replace Alex Yoong arose mid-way through that season, he was overlooked due to the difficulty of fitting him into the car.

Wilson occupied himself by racing in World Series by Nissan instead, earning two victories along the way, and bided his time for another opportunity in F1. Minardi boss Paul Stoddart had made it clear that Wilson was part of his future plans, and to that end, his height was taken into account when the team designed its 2003 car, the PS03.

“It’s not like sitting on the sofa, put it that way,” Wilson conceded during pre-season testing with Minardi. “I’ve always been in the same situation, so for me, I’ve been able to get into a position which I’m happy with. Whether that’s as comfortable as other people get it …

“Obviously it’s something I’ve always had to cope with right through my career, starting in karts. I was always very tall. And when I moved into cars, it’s always been an issue and I just had to get on with it. I moved into Palmer Audi, which was able to accommodate my size much better, 3000 was difficult but possible, and then I got to Formula 1 where it’s been very difficult. With the setback last year, when I was unable to stand in for Alex Yoong, it made everybody very determined to make it happen for 2003. It’s difficult [to fit me], but it’s not impossible.”

In addition to the dimensional challenges associated with getting onto the F1 grid, there was also the issue of budget: Minardi, RIGHT, required its drivers to bring funding, and in the absence of a sponsor, Wilson pre-empted the crowd-funding approach by selling shares in himself on the UK stock market. The scheme was successful, and Wilson was in the car for the season-opener in Australia.

A series of commercial setbacks and a cripplingly unreliable car conspired against the Minardi squad, and on the rare occasions that Wilson was still running at the finish, he was never able to drag himself higher than 11th. A switch to Jaguar for the final five races offered some cause for optimism, but mechanical problems ended his first three outings before he finally managed to score his only F1 point in the US Grand Prix.

When Red Bull-backed Christian Klien bought his Jaguar seat from under him for 2004, Wilson turned his sights across the Atlantic and secured himself a Champ Car ride with Conquest, ABOVE. A sixth-place first time out at Long Beach proved to be the foundation for a strong rookie season that was capped off with a fourth in the season finale in Mexico City.

Better things awaited when he moved to RuSPORT for 2005: he earned his first North American win in Toronto, and backed it up by winning from pole in Mexico, LEFT, to finish third in the points. He was vice-champion in 2006 and 2007, adding victories at Edmonton and Assen along the way.

His momentum was halted by the collapse of Champ Car at the end of the season, and his move to IndyCar would ultimately provide leaner pickings: a win in Detroit with Newman/Haas in 2008; another at Watkins Glen with Dale Coyne Racing the following year, and then a two-year spell with Dreyer & Reinbold that was cut short when he injured his back at Mid-Ohio in 2011 and was forced to sit out the remainder of the season.

A return to Coyne provided a platform for him to punch above the team’s weight when the opportunity presented itself, most notably with the victory at Texas, BELOW, in 2012 – a win that would stand as his final visit to Victory Lane. Shifting dynamics within the Coyne organization led to his drifting away from the team at the end of 2014 and budgetary problems denied him a full-time seat for 2015, but he turned an opportunity to run the two Indianapolis events with Andretti Autosport into a deal to contest the final five rounds of the season. Two weeks before his accident at Pocono, he leaned out of a late-race battle with Graham Rahal to protect his fellow Honda driver’s championship bid, and finished second.

Elsewhere, he won the Rolex 24 Hours in 2012, partnering AJ Allmendinger, Ozz Negri and John Pew in the Michael Shank Racing Riley-Ford. He logged a Formula E cameo in Moscow with Andretti, combined with Tom Coronel and Ralph Firman in a Racing For Holland LMP1 at Le Mans in 2004, raced a Holden V8 Supercar for Kelly Racing at Surfers Paradise in 2012, and made a couple of appearances at Sebring in the early 2000s.

Behind the scenes, Wilson was a vocal and proactive advocate for improving safety for both drivers and spectators: in early July, he told Racer.com about his ideas to protect fans from debris at ovals by shifting the grandstands to the infield.

“You could leave those high-up suites like at Texas Motor Speedway where they are,” he said. “But the majority of the spectators would be on the inside, and they’d be so much safer there that I think you could take them as close to the track as the front rows of the grandstands are now, because physics generally takes a spinning and crashing car to the outside edge of the track. That’s why smart rally fans stand on the inside of a corner, at the apex, and the stupid ones stand on the outside where an out-of-control car is going to go about 95 percent of the time…”

Away from racing Wilson worked to promote awareness and understanding of dyslexia, from which he suffered, and was an active supporter of charities. His later contracts with Coyne included a provision that space on his car be reserved for a charity at every race, an arrangement that benefited the likes of Teen Cancer America, the Dempsey Challenge, the Nolan Ryan Foundation, FIRST robotics, Bo Jackson’s ‘Bo Bikes Bama’ tornado relief effort, and UCLA coach Jim Mora’s ‘Count on Me Family Foundation’, among others.

He is survived by his wife Julia, and two daughters Jane and Jessica. RACER sends its deepest condolences to them, his family and his many fans around the world. We share your grief.

Justin Wilson 31 July 1978 – 24 August 2015