wilson's career in american single-seaters started in 1982. back with teddy yip's theodore racing, she passed her indianapolis 500 rookie test without a problem, and during qualifying set the fastest ever lap by a female racer (191.042 mph). however, she failed to qualify for the event due to repeated engine failures and the early ending of the qualifying session in which her team-mate, gordon smiley, was killed. she returned the following year, but failed to qualify again. meanwhile, she did race eight other indycar races, with a best finish of 10th in the grand prix of cleveland. her finishing record with wysard racing was poor, though not always due to driver error. she was an impressive novice, especially considering her rapid recovery from a broken leg suffered in a terrifying crash in an imsa race at brainerd international raceway. during the race, her momo corse march 83g's front suspension broke. three weeks later, she was back in an indycar. a third attempt in qualifying for the indy 500, in 1984 also resulted in a dnq.