Brian Stewart Racing tabs Wilson for No. 1 car source: indycar.com / Tim Harms Brian Stewart needed to replace a champion. To do so, he looked no farther than another champion. Bobby Wilson will replace Wade Cunningham as driver of the No. 1 Brian Stewart Racing entry in the Indy Pro Series in 2007. "I'm extremely happy that Bobby is joining the team," said Stewart, a legendary team owner who was inducted into the Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2005. "He was high on our list of drivers who we would like to have driving for us. He raced for us in 2005 and sat on the front row at Infineon. Last year, he won at Watkins Glen. He's a shifter kart champion, a (Formula Ford) Zetec champion. He's a proven winner." Stewart thinks the addition of Wilson can lead to a third consecutive entrant championship for his team. Cunningham, the 2003 CIK-FIA World Karting champion, drove the team to the past two, recording four victories and 21 top-five finishes in 24 starts. "Bobby's extremely capable of filling Wade's shoes," Stewart said. "Winston Churchill said, 'Give us the tools, and we will finish the job.' That's what we plan to do with Bobby. We'll give him the car, and he'll do his job." Another championship would also be Wilson's third, albeit his first at this level of racing. The 25-year-old, who boasts sponsorship from Ocala (Fla.) Gran Prix where he is a karting instructor, captured the Stars of Karting championship in 2003 and the Cooper Tires Formula Ford Zetec championship in 2004. He debuted in the Indy Pro Series with three races for Brian Stewart Racing in 2005. Last year, he split the season between Michael Crawford Motorsports and Kenn Hardley Racing, finishing fourth in points. "I'm excited about running for Brian Stewart Racing," said Wilson, who tied for the Indy Pro Series lead with 11 top-10 finishes in 2006. "Taking Wade's seat is a tall order to fill, but I think I can pick up where he left off. "I'm definitely going to be in the lead pack. Last year, I was looked at as a rookie, which led to some conservative setups on the ovals. I showed I was fast at the last race in Chicago. That was a confidence builder." The pursuit of championship No. 3 will begin March 24 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
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