Wickens caps week with another win and birth of his son

BOWMANVILLE, Ontario (AP) — What a week for Robert Wickens, who picked up his second win in seven days on Saturday while celebrating the birth of his first child.

Wickens returned to his native Canada and teamed with countryman Mark Wilkins to win the Touring Car class of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

The win followed their victory last week at Watkins Glen in New York, which marked Wickens' first victory since he suffered a career-halting spinal cord injury in a 2018 IndyCar race. He returned to competition this year with Bryan Herta Autosport in a specially equipped Hyundai that allows Wickens to accelerate and brake using hand controls.

“It’s been a fairytale, really,” Wickens said. “The win at Watkins Glen felt very deserved. We’ve worked hard. We’ve been there every race this year. It finally clicked when we got that win. We thought, ‘Let’s take this momentum into our home race.’”

But his return to Canada was interrupted when Wickens' wife, Karli, went into labor two weeks early. Wickens and Wilkins were in the middle of the track walk Thursday when Karli called and told her husband he needed to rush back to Indianapolis.

“She said, ‘I need you home tomorrow morning,’” Wickens said. “I can’t thank everyone at Bryan Herta Autosport enough – not only for being understanding, but for not making me feel like there was any pressure. They made it very clear that family always comes first."

The couple welcomed their son, Wesley Joseph, on Friday and Wickens made it back to the track Saturday to turn his first laps on the circuit. He started last in class, worked his way up to third, and turned the No. 33 Hyundai Elantra N TCR over to Wilkins midway through the race.

“I’ve never