SAN FRANCISCO -- Maybe it was symbolic, Marco Andretti driving an Indy car intended for Justin Wilson, leading a small pack of his peers across the Golden Gate Bridge on Thursday afternoon.
It wasn't supposed to be a tribute to Wilson, who died Monday after he was struck by flying debris from another driver's crash while racing in a Verizon IndyCar Series race Sunday at Pocono Raceway. It was originally planned as a simple photo op featuring IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe -- the same James Hinchcliffe who survived a harrowing accident of his own during practice for the Indianapolis 500 that nearly cost him his life -- carrying the Astor Cup trophy for the IndyCar championship that is set to be decided this weekend at nearby Sonoma Raceway.
But then, Wilson wasn't supposed to die the way he did, in one of the craziest and unluckiest incidents in the history of auto racing. So perhaps those cars crossing that famous bridge somehow symbolized IndyCar's need to get across to the other side, to accelerate the process of healing from a tragedy that continues to shake the racing community to its core.
There's really not much choice. After all, there's a race to be run this weekend, and a champion to be determined.
Andretti chuckled when he was asked whether he could reach the pedals in a car set up for the lanky Wilson, who was nearly a foot taller than he is.
It was a rare opportunity to smile in what has been an extraordinarily tough week for the Andretti Autosport team owned by Marco's father, former IndyCar champion Michael Andretti.
"I was reaching," he admitted.
He was happy just to be back in a car, any car.
"The atmosphere in the team is as good as it can be, I suppose," he said. "I think we're all sort of lucky that there is a race to focus on right now. Justin would want us to be focused on our craft, and the task at hand of trying to win the race.
"It's been tough, but there's not a lot of time to grieve. We've got to just keep going."
Andretti revealed that, in the immediate aftermath of Wilson's passing, he hosted friends, including P.J. Chesson and three-time IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon, at his home near Pocono as they solemnly paid tribute to Wilson.
But soon, out of necessity, the focus shifted to Sonoma.
"It's hard to move on from anything like that," Andretti said. "I think it won't fully hit me until after the season, after we don't have to be so focused on other things.
"With Dan [Wheldon, the last IndyCar driver who died, in October 2011], it was the last race of the season so it was like right in the face. For this one, don't get me wrong, we've all felt it, but we're just trying to stay busy."
For Graham Rahal, there's even more reason to focus hard on this weekend's race. Rahal sits second in the IndyCar Series standings, 34 points behind Juan Pablo Montoya.
"I think we're all sort of lucky that there is a race to focus on right now. Justin would want us to be focused on our craft, and the task at hand of trying to win the race." Marco Andretti
Like Andretti, Rahal has been surrounded by Indy car racing all his life. As such, he knows about the danger involved, and the effect accidents like Wilson's have on the racing community.
"I guess as a kid, I didn't think about it much," Rahal remarked. "When you're here, when you're driving, it's harder, for sure. But you accept that it's part of it, and he was doing what he loved.
"It's hard, but this sort of thing isn't going to get any easier any time soon," he continued. "It's good to get in the car this weekend and try to go win a championship for Justin. He's a guy I've always admired and looked up to, somebody I'm a big, big fan and friend of.
"It's frustrating, but you've got to take a step forward at some point, and that's exactly what we're doing."
Earlier in the day, five of the six drivers who are still mathematically eligible for the IndyCar championship visited AT&T Park and donned No. 25 San Francisco Giants uniforms to honor Wilson. Rahal threw out the first pitch before the Giants' victory over the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday night.
After the drive across the bridge, Andretti Autosport announced that it will enter the No. 25 car in this weekend's race with driver Oriol Servia, a longtime friend and rival of Wilson's dating to his earliest days racing in America in the 2004 Indy car series sanctioned by Champ Car.
"Justin was a true racer and advocate to our sport," Michael Andretti said in a prepared statement. "We will have Justin and his family in our hearts this weekend as we honor him in the way he would want us to, by doing what he loved -- racing."
"I am honored and emotional with the opportunity of driving his car this weekend," Servia said in the statement. "I want to thank my friends at Andretti Autosport for the opportunity, and I want to express how deeply touched I am by the desire of Julia [wife], Stefan [brother] and all the Wilson family to have me driving the No. 25."
For an IndyCar community still shell-shocked by Wilson's death, the sound of turbocharged engines Thursday was a welcome diversion -- even if Andretti & Co. did their best to keep near the posted 45 mph speed limit on the bridge.
Andretti was joined in the drive across the bridge by cars driven by Rahal, Josef Newgarden and defending IndyCar Series champion Will Power -- as well as Hinchcliffe, who drove the IndyCar two-seater to deliver the Astor Cup, as originally planned.
The drivers smiled for photos and marveled at the beauty of San Francisco Bay and the technological feat of the bridges that span it.
But Wilson was still never far from their minds.
"It's just heartbreaking when it happens to the nicest guy on pit lane," Power said. "It still feels surreal. When you're busy, you kind of forget about it, but every time you think about it, it's just so sad.
"We've got to go out there and honor Justin," he added. "He was one of the hardest racers and cleanest racers out there, and we need to put on a good, safe, hard race for the fans and honor him in the right way."