IndyCar drivers prep for finale with Wilson on minds

SACRAMENTO — The Verizon IndyCar Series season finale will go on without Justin Wilson this weekend, when a champion will be crowned at the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma on Sunday.

But as some of his contemporaries made clear Wednesday in their first public appearance since Wilson, 37, died Monday, they’ll race on with heavy hearts and concerned minds. Wilson was hit by debris from the car of rookie Sage Karam in Sunday’s race at Pocono Raceway. His death was the first in a major U.S.-based auto racing series since Dan Wheldon was killed in 2011.

“It’s obviously the most unfortunate part of the business, and I think from all the drivers’ points of view, or even the whole paddock, Justin was…