PRUETT: When Wilson went to Le Mans

Two years removed from Justin Wilson's fatal accident at Pocono, friends and family continue to adjust to life without the big man. In time, the week containing August 24 will pass without the current heaviness and dread.

For those closest to the late open-wheel and sports car star, the need to look back in remembrance is unpleasantly odd; owing to the power of his ongoing presence, there's a feeling his grand, comforting smile is somewhere close.

Since the first anniversary of his passing, Justin's younger brother Stefan has gotten married and moved west from Indianapolis to Colorado. Making good on a promise spoken days after losing his role model, Stefan and his young bride are now close enough to help Justin's wife Julia with daughters Jane and Jess. Soon, they'll be even closer when a second move is completed. Honor and love have driven the relocation.

There's an aspect of Justin's character that continues uninterrupted – his voice. Some who were fortunate to have the big man in their life carry his sensibilities forward, like a friendly guidance system, and make use of the earnest wisdom and advice he freely offered.

There was something undeniably true about Wilson and how he conducted himself. It's why his life, even today, continues to sustain his inner circle in small ways. "What would Justin do in this situation?" has become a useful, private refrain when faced with meaningful decisions. That won't change anytime soon.

Two years after Pocono, he's mourned, and missed, but if you knew Justin, you're keenly aware that pity and sorrow served no purpose to the man. It made answering the question of how best to remember this day easier than expected. No tears are necessary when we talk about his accomplishments, and with Justin's open-wheel career having been thoroughly explored, spinning yarns about his passion for sports car racing was the obvious choice.

One event in particular, his lone visit to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, stood out for a variety of reasons, and in Justin's familiar style, his humanity was on display the entire time.

Fresh from a 2003 season spent in Formula 1 with Minardi and Jaguar, Wilson transitioned to the Champ Car series in North America for 2004. A deal arranged between Wilson's manager Jonathan Palmer and sports car team owner/driver Jan Lammers meant the calendar gap between the Milwaukee Mile and Portland road course rounds in June would be filled with a trip to France for an endurance racing adventure.

As one of only three recent F1 drivers in the field at La Sarthe, Wilson could have been excused if self-importance had crept into his behavior. The reverie for F1 talent at Le Mans has always been exceptional, but Lammers – also a former F1 pilot – says the rookie that turned up to drive the second Racing For Holland entry was humbled by the opportunity.

"From the first day we met him, it was a joy," Lammers (below) told RACER. "So skillful, and zero pretense. Just a lovely guy to work with."

The Dutchman, a popular winner at Le Mans with Jaguar in 1988, found some success as a privateer entrant in the early 2000s using Judd V10-powered Dome prototypes from Japan. But with the all-mighty Audi team flexing its muscles with its R8 chassis, the best result the little team could hope for was well clear of the podium.

In the No. 15 Dome-Judd LMP1, Lammers was joined by American Chris Dyson and Japan's Katsutomo Kaneishi, while Wilson and fellow 2003 F1 refugee Ralph Firman relied upon Dutch sports car veteran Tom Coronel to lead the No. 16 effort.

Although they were in different entries, Wilson found a familiar face waiting to receive him in the Racing For Holland garages.

"Justin and I first met in Sebring in 2002," Dyson said. "He was driving for a small team named Ascari, and it was one of his first sports car races. We actually met through Peter Weston (with Dyson, below), who would go on to become the technical director of our race team for many years. Peter was just raving about Justin's ability, and [he] got that car up to a place where it didn't deserve. Then he went on to Formula 1 and Champ Car, and I kept an eye on him the entire time."

Once he was plugged into the 24-hour event, Wilson found an ally in the sister car.

"Jan put together the second car at a late stage where it was impossible for them to do the Paul Ricard test with us, but Justin and I got to reconnect at the Le Mans pre-test and bonded a lot over North American racing," Dyson said. "He'd just come from the Milwaukee Champ Car race, and we ended up carpooling and just had an absolute blast."

The timing of their respective driver rotations throughout the 2004 race meant Dyson or Wilson were rarely out of the car at the same time, but that didn't stop their families from coming together.

"It was like if I was in the car, Justin was out of his, so he'd spent that time with his dad Keith and my dad [Rob Dyson], and I'd do the same when I was out of the car and he was on track, so our fathers always had one son with them during the race," Dyson said. "Our dads really took a liking to each other, and the cool thing about it was it felt like our families were doing the race together. We have some classic pictures of it.

"Justin's one of the few drivers who towered over me, which led to a lot of laughs. I'm 6'2", and have been accustomed to being the tallest driver on most teams – but not when Justin was there..."

For Dyson, whose family has been part of American sports car racing's foundation for decades, endurance competition was close to a birthright. It made the passion Wilson developed for sports car racing – less than a year removed from reaching the pinnacle in F1 (below) – another rallying point for their burgeoning friendship.

"Just out of Formula 1, there were two directions he could have taken it," Dyson said. "He could have been totally immersed and embrace the sports car experience, or he could have been totally indifferent to it. It was the former. He was 100 percent about getting a good result for Racing For Holland that weekend. That's all he cared about. He was a great teammate. He was up, watching his teammates, supporting everything we were doing.

"That's the hallmark of a great racer and champion, and that's who he was. He really loved sports car racing. Sebastien Bourdais is a lot like him. When he's winning poles and races in IndyCar, that's who he is, but when he goes and does a sports car race, nothing changes. It isn't the IndyCar star turning up. He's all-in for the team, and that's what it was like with Justin. He earned that nickname 'Badass' because he was a benchmark in everything he drove. How could you not love that about the guy?"

Beyond Wilson's demeanor, Dyson – who would go on to become a prototype champion in the American Le Mans Series – was in awe of the speed the big man unleashed in the No. 16 Dome-Judd.

"Justin was just brilliant in the race," he said. "In a race with some pretty big names, his pace was eye-opening. It was obvious he was going places. What he did in the next years in Champ Car and then when he did more sports car racing was further evidence of how special he was."

Dyson, Lammers and Kaneishi would finish a credible seventh in 2004 as Audi swept the podium. Despite Wilson's star performance, a late crash by Firman ruined the possibility of having both cars finish together.

"It wasn't so far from the end of the race, and I believe we were both running in the top six at the time, which was unfortunate," Lammers said of the 28th overall that stands as Wilson's only result for Le Mans.

Following Le Mans, Wilson went back to Champ Car and Dyson continued in the Toyota Atlantic championship, where he was gaining open-wheel experience. With both series teaming up at Portland, the new friends were together again a few days later in Oregon.

"I take a lot of gratitude [from] that I got to know Justin and his dad, the fact we got to do Le Mans together, which was both of our first times, and I look back at it as something very special," he said. "I know he was frustrated his teammate wrote off the car with the finish coming up, but he was supportive of Ralph (below) and we had a good laugh about it at Portland."

They'd go on to discuss reuniting in a Dyson Racing prototype in the ALMS, but unfortunately, the timing never worked in their favor. As a friend and fan, Dyson cherishes the relationship that was born in France and continued until Wilson's untimely death.

"The last time I saw him was the morning of the Indy 500 in 2015, and it was funny because he was there with his wife and family, I was there with my wife and family, and the last time we really had a chance to hang out was at Le Mans when we were just kids being chaperoned by our dads," he said.

"We had another laugh at how far we'd come since France. It was heartbreaking for the whole sport to lose Justin. He left a broad impression on the sport, and anybody who got a chance to work with him was fortunate."

Lammers, who was moved to learn Wilson's only Le Mans appearance came in one of his cars, wasn't the only person to feel the lasting impact Wilson made in June 2004.

"I feel very privileged to have been his teammate for the event," he said. "There was a serenity around him. He was at peace with himself, and his kindness preceded him. It influenced the people in our team. It's unfortunate that we lost him, but the love and appreciation for him will never die. That will go on forever."

The WilsonChildrensFund.com website remains active for those who would like to donate and help secure the long-term financial needs of Justin's daughters.