The only thing Barry Wanser failed to do on Sunday afternoon at Nashville Speedway was hold back the tears that were welling in his eyes.
He’d just clinched the third NTT IndyCar Series championship in four seasons with Alex Palou and the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda entry he leads. One year ago, when Palou and the No. 10 crew were celebrating their second championship at Portland International Raceway, Wanser was missing. More accurately, he was missing from the event and the joyous revelry because he was at home in Indiana, facing the scariest challenge of his life.
A few weeks earlier, cancer was found in his mouth and tongue, and with his driver on the cusp of winning a second IndyCar title, Wanser wanted to wait until the IndyCar championship was completed before tending to his own needs. Thankfully, his doctor interceded; Wanser informed the team that his season was over. Battling cancer needed to start immediately, and that meant skipping Portland and the finale at Laguna Seca to perform surgery and commence chemotherapy.
Palou and the No. 10 did their best to keep Wanser in the loop, and to have him there in spirit with his headshot placed on paddles that were placed on each of the Ganassi timing stands. But the excitement wasn’t the same without their car leader. And that’s where the tears and overwhelming emotion on display from Wanser and his teammates in victory lane on Sunday told a tale of brother and sisterhood that goes much deeper than wins and trophies.
Free of cancer, back where he belonged, Wanser stood at the back of the No. 10 Honda, surveyed the packed scene with his crew and driver and colleagues, and his wife Laurie, and was struck by the special nature of what they’d achieved, something that wasn’t guaranteed for the New York native last year when surviving cancer was his sole priority.
“I just I don’t know what to say; I haven’t focused on myself, just the team, but it’s pretty special to be here in person,” Wanser told RACER. “It’s just a pleasure racing with his team and our great people and Alex. It’s awesome. But now I need to let it sink in because a year ago, I had my first surgery.”